Alma Allen (resistance member)

Alma Allen was a member of the Danish resistance against the Nazis in World War II in the early 1940s.^[1]

Allen was Danish but her husband was a pilot in the Royal Air Force.^[2] In 1941, she joined the Danish Resistance.^[2] In 1943, she commanded a unit of fifty men and women.^[2] Her unit attacked German installations.^[2] She personally led combat missions against the Nazis.^[3]^[2]^[4]^[1]

After the war, Allen joined British intelligence.^[2]^[4] She retired in 1968.^[2]

[1]
Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2023). Women Warriors in History: 1,622 Biographies Worldwide From the Bronze Age to the Present. McFarland. p. 375. ISBN 978-1476693057. January 15, 1944. After Nazi Germany began Operation Weserubung to invade and occupy Denmark on April 9, 1940, resistance movement leader Alma Allen (fl. 1940s) led men and women on a dozen missions to rescue Jews from arrest by the Gestapo
[2]
Truby, J. David (1977). Women At War: A Deadly Species. Paladin Press. Alma Allen, a Danish lady whose husband was a British RAF flier, joined one of the active units of the Danish Resistance in 1941. By 1943, she was in command of fifty people, one-third women and two-thirds men. Armed with a variety of SOE-sup- plied weapons, her unit raided various German installations. She personally led a dozen major missions. She survived many German traps and joined British intelligence at the war's end. She retired in 1968 and is now a "fulltime tourist who loves seeing the world."
[3]
Nemitschenko, L. (Jul 2001). "Is Increasing Gender Equity in the ADF Improving Operational Capability?". Australian Defence Force Journal (149): 37. doi:10.3316/informit.716173752639255. Retrieved 2026-04-24 – via Informit. Czechoslovakian, Yugoslavian and Polish women took part in active combat in resistance and partisan groups during the Nazi occupation of their countries. A Lieutenant V. Rennel flew armed missions for the French Air Service; Alma Allen led missions against Nazis occupying Denmark; and Ruth Weber, another Dane, served as a machine-gunner aboard a merchant ship running the Nazi blockade under allied flags.
[4]
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda (1991). The Encyclopedia of Amazons. Paragon House. p. 18. ISBN 1-55778-420-5. Allen, Alma: A Danish Resistance fighter in the early 1940s. She personally led men and women on a dozen missions against the Nazis, surviving many German traps. She joined British Intelligence at war's end.

This biographical article related to the military of Denmark is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

This article about a notable individual during World War II is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

Alma Allen (resistance member)

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks