Estvan Svend Aage Wehlast

Estvan Svend Aage Wehlast (15 April 1916 – 9 February 1945) was a member of the Danish resistance killed by Gestapo while resisting arrest.

Estvan Svend Aage Wehlast
Born	(1916-04-15)15 April 1916^[1] Læssøgade 10-I, Copenhagen
Died	9 February 1945(1945-02-09) (aged 28)
Cause of death	Killed while resisting arrest^[2]
Resting place	Ryvangen Memorial Park, from 1946 Brønshøj cemetery^[2]
Other names	Eswan Wehlast
Occupation	Construction worker
Known for	Killed while resisting arrest as member of the Danish resistance movement^[2]
Website	"Modstandsdatabasen" [Resistance Database]. Eswan Wehlast (in Danish). Copenhagen: Nationalmuseet. Retrieved 28 May 2015.

Biography

On 9 February 1945 Gestapo attempted to arrest Wehlast and his six years younger brother Egon Frants Albert Wehlast at Smørumvej 60 where they kept a duplicating machine. Wehlast resisted the arrest and was shot and killed,^[2] while his brother was interned in Frøslev Prison Camp.^[3]

After his death

On 29 August Wehlast and 105 other victims of the occupation were given a state funeral in the memorial park founded at the execution and burial site in Ryvangen where their remains had been exhumed. Bishop Hans Fuglsang-Damgaard led the service with participation from the royal family, the government and representatives of the resistance movement.^[4]

Soon after the funeral the authorities received information that not only had Wehlast contributed very little to the resistance, but also that he and his brother had committed a series of crimes including robbery, and there were demands to remove his remains from the memorial park. Thus on 3 May 1946, one day prior to the first anniversary of the liberation, Wehlast was exhumed a second time, after his father had agreed to pay for his funeral at the local Brønshøj cemetery.^[2]

The official list of resistance members buried in Ryvangen does not include Wehlast.^[5]

References

1. "Modstandsdatabasen" [Resistance Database]. Eswan Wehlast (in Danish). Copenhagen: Nationalmuseet. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
2. Birkeland, Sven Arvid (2009). I krigens kølvand : danske skæbner efter 2. verdenskrig [In the wake of the war: Danish destinies after World War II] (in Danish). Gyldendal. pp. 54–57. ISBN 9788702078770. OCLC 895025207.
3. "Modstandsdatabasen" [Resistance Database]. Egon Frants Albert Wehlast (in Danish). Copenhagen: Nationalmuseet. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
4. [History – Ryvangen Memorial Park] (in Danish). Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
5. [The large Grave field – Ryvangen Memorial Park] (in Danish). Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.