Celebration of Liberty
4 May 1945 at 8.35 p.m. was the moment where the message from the Free London Press was read aloud in the Danish radios. Those who lived and heard it will never forget and we who were born in the years afterwards still become very moved when listening to that speaker’s voice.
He was suddenly interrupted as the message from Montgomery came five minutes’ into the broadcast. You hear the noise in the background as the German occupiers wanted to quench the radio broadcasts from London. It was strictly forbidden to listen. A transcript in Danish is seen underneath :
“I dette øjeblik meddeles det, at Montgomery har oplyst, at de tyske tropper i Holland, Nordvesttyskland og i Danmark har overgivet sig. Her er London. Vi gentager: Montgomery har i dette øjeblik meddelt, at de tyske tropper i Holland, Nordvesttyskland og Danmark har overgivet sig.”
In this moment it is announced that Montgomery has informed that the German troops in Holland, North West Germany and in Denmark have surrendered. This is London. We repeat : This moment Montgomery has informed us that the German troops in Holland, North West Germany and Denmark have surrendered to us.
Those who had waited for this moment ran out in the streets to celebrate. Those who had been on the wrong side of the war hid, I suppose. My mother was one of those who celebrated and left her teaching to find her brother and friends in Copenhagen.
Toftegårds Plads 4. maj 1945 om aftenen man har lys i vinduerne beskyttelses bunkerne på pladsen Valby Lokalarkiv
My father always had mixed feelings, but only because he as a security guard had to help injured people who had been running over by cars. Nobody had been able to drive vehicles in five years so that beautiful May-day in 1945 cost a lot of deaths and injury.
As soon as the message was heard and spread. The hated black curtains were torn down and burnt in gardens and streets. People began to light up candles in the windows. The custom is still alive, but fewer know about it or cherish the liberty we got that day.
I remember the sweet feeling of excitement when we as children saw our mother put candles on sticks and light them in the windows at the same time when the freedom message came out. I did it my self even during my five years in Sweden knowing that nobody there knew what that was about. They had been “Neutral” during WWII though being neutral means that you stand with the oppressor.
A picture from 4 May 1945 in Copenhagen
Here you can see a short video of Marshall Montgomery’s reception in Copenhagen on 12 May 1945.
Photos from 50th years celebration at the mail services of Montgomery in Copenhagen and from Danish newspapers at the time.
From our time in a News Paper
lys-i-vinduet Foto JENS NOERGAARD LARSEN
Categories: Family history, Historical issues, WWII
From one Heart to Another 
Very moving 💜
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you for your kind comment
LikeLiked by 1 person
what a touching memory. I can not imagine. The candles in the windows were so very joyful to see. thank you!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you for telling me that. I think it’s uniquely Danish
LikeLike
A little piece of history that I knew nothing about, so thank you for enlightening me!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you for sharing these memories from your country. The candles in the windows are so poignant. Such a beautiful tradition to continue.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“being neutral means that you stand with the oppressor.” – YES! I wish more Americans truly understood the bottom line truth of that point. I’ve heard it said similarly [“You’re either part of the solution or part of the problem”]. Both are apt, but I believe te former is much stronger. Thank you for sharing this poignant custom and the reason behind it.
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to transform a world!”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for commenting againMadelyn! You are so kind. I read the quote somewhere but I forgot where. So much information is coming through our devices if you seek at least. But I really believe there is a difference between good and evil and to blur that is evil
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m with you on good and evil, Maria — and on how much information we can find on the web if we take the time to search for it — and sometimes even if we don’t. I have learned so much from the blogging community about a variety of things I haven’t actively researched.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too and I find the fellowship on WordPress is a warmer kind of fellowship than what it is at Facebook very often though I have found wonderful new friends there too
LikeLiked by 1 person
My experience as well.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
The candles being spontaneously lit and put in the windows is such a very moving image.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Bernadette and for the possibility to share at your “Senior Salon”
LikeLike
you are truly a student of history and I thank you for supporting my efforts to also do this.
LikeLike