 Vice admiral Nyholm and his miniaturesThe presentation revolved around Nyholm's school diplomas, appointment papers, award diplomas and decorations - a virtually complete collection, nicely displayed in extension of the presentation.
Very appropriately the presentation took place in the beautiful rooms of the Maritime Association at Nyholm, Copenhagen.
Nyholm received various orders as his career progressed, among them the Polish order Polonia Restituta and the - for Danes - rare Brasilian Order of Naval Merit. The latter displayed with the accompanying diploma.
During the German occupation, Nyholm was active in the resistance movement, including transportation of weapons and especially intelligence work. Nyholm was arrested by the Germans, imprisoned in Shellhuset (the Gestapo's HQ in
Copenhagen), tortured and sent to the concentration camp Neuengamme. He survived the camp, but his health was ruined for good.
For his intelligence work, Nyholm received numerous foreign decorations: The American Legion of Merit and Medal of Freedom, the Order of the British Empire, the French Legion of Honour a.o.
As mentioned, Vidstrup showed an almost complete collection of Nyholm's papers and decorations. It has required a lot of effort and time to reach this point, as the vice admiral's belongings were spread among several auctions.
Hopefully this great collection can remain undivided in Denmark to commemorate an outstanding freedom fighter.
Some of the objects on display:
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