Grethe Bartram

Grethe Bartram
Grethe Bartram in 1942
Born	Maren Margrethe Thomsen (1924-02-23)February 23, 1924 Aarhus, Denmark
Died	January , 2017 (aged 92) Vessigebro, Sweden
Nationality	Danish
Other names	Thora, Maren Margrethe Bartram
Known for	Informed on at least 53 people from the Danish resistance movement during the Second World War

Maren Margrethe Thomsen, known as Maren Margrethe "Grethe" Bartram and "Thora" (23 February 1924 – January 2017), was a Danish woman who informed on at least 53 people from the Danish resistance movement during the Second World War, resulting in the early communist resistance groups being dismantled and many of their members being sent to Nazi concentration camps. Bartram informed on her brother, husband and close acquaintances.

Bartram was given the death penalty after the war. The sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1947. In 1956 she was released and moved to Halland in Sweden where she lived under her married name.

Grethe Bartram was born in Aarhus, and grew up in a poor household, the second of eight children; both her parents were members of the Communist Party of Denmark (DKP), as were the social circles of the family. Her father, Niels Peter Christopher Bartram (born 1896), was from southern Jutland and participated in World War I on the German side. He suffered from shellshock from the war and found it difficult to work but managed to operate a small bicycle repair shop in Midtbyen, Aarhus.

Bartram left school at 13 years old and started working until she became pregnant at 16 and was married on 12 July 1941 to a young machinist, Frode Thomsen (born 28 March 1920) from her workplace. The marriage did not last long, ending in the Summer of 1943, and their son was put into foster care with her mother-in-law.

Bartram's family, including her older brother Christian Bartram became involved with the resistance. In September 1942 the Danish police put up a DKK 1000 kr. reward for information regarding a sabotage fire in a shop in Fredericiagade in Aarhus. Through her brother, Grethe Bartram learned who had been involved and she gave the information to the police. 5 people were arrested, including her brother. One escaped and the remaining were sentenced between 1 and 10 years prison time.

In the time after, Bartram participated in illegal activities with people in her social circle involved with the resistance movement. In March–April 1944, she was hired as an agent by the Gestapo and in June the Samsing Group and an affiliated group of University students were arrested and eventually deported to Neuengamme concentration camp. The communist resistance groups in Aarhus and across central Jutland were essentially neutralized.