The Shell House Raid (S)

Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, located in a building called Shell House, was the evil center of oppression in Denmark during World War II. It was a place of terror and torture . . . a place of surveillance where files and evidence were kept detailing the activities of Danish resistance fighters. And to deter air raids on Shell House, the Germans imprisoned resistance personnel as 'hostage-shields' in cells in the attic. The intelligence activities of the Gestapo threatened the effectiveness of the resistance movement. With reluctance, for fear of civilian casualties, the Danes asked the RAF to bomb Shell House and destroy it. The goals of this daring raid were to destroy incriminating records, kill Gestapo personnel, and free the resistance prisoners in the attic.