Knowledge Salon – Unsophisticated warfare

Harsh methods and wild gadgets – hear the story of the English sabotage organization SOE, which trained and armed the Danish resistance movement.

How did you get the Danish men and women to blow up a bomb or kill?

Historian Thomas Egeberg Johansen tells about the English's secret work in training the Danish resistance movement and inventing and delivering incredible weapons and gadgets for the war.

SOE invented, among other things, extreme itching powder, silenced pistols, submarines and strange bombs. Just take the rat bomb – a dead rat turned into a time bomb.

Of course, we also go into our large exhibition and see the real weapons and gadgets!

SOE was called 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare', which can be loosely translated as the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare - Thomas Egebjerg Johansen talks this evening about their inventions, about the DEFENDU close combat system (gutter fighting) and about how SOE's goals justified the means.

It is necessary to buy a ticket in advance.

Coffee and cake are included in the ticket price.

Knowledge salons 2025
Museum Vestsjælland presents a series of 9 different knowledge salons that address questions about armed force, combat, conflict, defense, resistance and escape from different sides, times and places.

The 9 salons contribute together with an insight into exciting places, stories and objects that are linked to war and conflict, defense and resistance with a starting point in West Zealand.

Trine Borake gives a short introduction followed by a presentation from our guest, and we end with a conversation with questions and discussion.

Read more about the salons here (link: https://vestmuseum.dk/det-sker/videnssalon-vaaben-i-vestsjaelland/ )

The salons are arranged in connection with the research project Weapons in West Zealand. The project is led by museum inspector, Ph.D. and archaeologist Trine Louise Borake in collaboration with Mads Dengsø Jessen, senior researcher at the National Museum. The project has received support from the Augustinus Foundation, the Beckett Foundation, the Knud Højgård Foundation, the Åge and Louis Hansen Foundation and the Ministry of Culture.