6. Staldloftet på Østergade

Hagadeta - Du skal fortælle det til dit barn

Hør lydfilen: "Staldloftet på Østergade" (MP3)

Den samme nat, hvor flygtningene fra kirkeloftet blev fanget, lå næsten ligeså mange mennesker gemt på et andet loft, mindre end 100 meter derfra. Men, de var heldigere; Gestapo fandt dem ikke, omend faren for opdagelse var overhængende.
Dette skjulested var staldloftet hos vognmand Kaj Olsen. Olsens ejendom ligger på Østergade mellem Lille og Store Strandstræde og består af tre længer i u-form omkring gården.
I krigens tid stod der heste i stalden – stod og sparkede, som en af flygtningene har fortalt. Ad en smal stejl stige kom man op på loftet, der var 8 gange 5 meter. Flygtningene var nogen af de ulykkelige, der ikke nåede ombord, da M.A.Flyvbjerg sejlede onsdag middag.
Først fandt de skjulested hos sognerådsformand A. Chr. Petersen, hvis hus lå på Havnevej overfor Stejlepladsen. De fik mad og opholdt sig nogen timer i Petersens stuer, men skjulestedet var for udsat, og de blev ført videre ad den lille smøge til Olsens stald.
Her tilbragte de et døgn, der ikke var særlig behageligt. Der var nogenlunde varmt over hestene, men de kunne ikke forlade stedet, højst kunne nogle vove sig ned i stalden for at forrette deres nødtørft. De turde kun hviske sammen og avner fik de overalt i tøj og hår.
En høj, lidt fyldig herre havde humøret i behold og søgte at holde humøret oppe hos dem alle.

Hagadeta - You must explain to your children

Listen to the audioguide: "The Hayloft in Østergade" (MP3)

The same night in which the refugees from the Church loft were captured, nearly as many people were hidden in another loft less than 100 metres away.
But they were luckier: the Gestapo did not find them, although the risk of being found was very high.
This hiding place was the hayloft above the stables of haulier Kaj Olsen in Østergade between Lille Strandstræde and Store Strandstræde and comprises three wings in a U shape around the garden. During the war, there were horses in the stables, and some of the refugees said that they were kicking. Access to the hayloft, which was 8 by 5 metres, was via a narrow, steep ladder.
The refugees here were among the unlucky ones who did not make it onboard when the M.A. Flyvbjerg left for Sweden on Wednesday afternoon. They first hid at the house of A. Christian Petersen, the head of the parish council, whose house was on Havnevej across from Stejlepladsen.
They ate and stayed a few hours in A. Christian Petersen’s living room, but this hiding place was too risky, and they were led further along the little alley to Olsen’s stables. They stayed there for 24 hours, and this was not very comfortable. It was somewhat warm above the horses, but they could not leave the hayloft except a few very briefly to relieve themselves. They had to whisper and got chaff all over their clothes and hair. A tall, slightly stout man remained in a good mood and tried to keep everyone’s spirits up.