Thousands of Women

In the evening, a train carrying 2,873 women suddenly and without warning arrived at Padborg station. The women came primarily from the women’s prison in Hamburg. Despite the blows dealt by the German guards with fists and rifle butts, the women left the train and began to scatter across the station yard in search of food. Reportedly, they had not eaten for three days and were completely starving.

Trash bins were ransacked for potato peels and similar scraps. All doors to freight warehouses and offices had to be locked or guarded. When the kind Danish civilians in Padborg arrived at the station and began distributing buns, the women got into wild fights over the pieces. Some even climbed over the railway fencing into the town and into houses to scavenge. In haste, the women were rounded up and returned to the train. After a few hours, they were served porridge, milk, and sandwiches, which they treasured as the most precious delicacies.