Jenny Marie Ingeborg Kammersgaard (1918-1997) was a Danish female professional long-distance swimmer who rose to fame in the 1930s. Here she swam across inner Danish waters and from Denmark to Germany. Because of her results she was invited by Adolf Hitler to Germany. She was used in the Nazi propaganda as an example of the "aryan" ideal person. After the war she helped refugees getting out of Europe through Sweden. From 1950 she returned to swimming. Youth and sea swimming Jenny Kammersgaard was born in 1918 and grew up in the Jutland town of Horsens a daughter of blacksmith Jens Peter Hansen Kammersgaard and Hedvig Kristine Jensen. She started swimming at age 15 and, in 1934, became a member of the local swimming club. She was not a good competition swimmer but excelled in endurance swimming, which had become popular after World War I. At the age of 17, she swam 18 km on open sea from Snaptun to Horsens in Horsens Fjord and later the same year 25 km from Langeland to Korsør. Her talent was discovered and a Danish newspaper sponsored her for a number of long distance swimmings. At the time she was working at a factory but decided to take on new challenges. The first goal was a swim of 42 km across the Kattegat from Gniben to Grenaa in the Danish part of the Baltic Sea, the longest any woman had swum at the time. She had to quit this attempt on advice from the doctor in the supporting vehicle. The next month she succeeded though after having changed medical advisor. Meeting with Nazism After her crossing of Kattegat in 1937 she was celebrated in Denmark and songs were written in her honor. While in Copenhagen she received a telegram of congratulation from the German chancellor Adolf Hitler which stated: ”Please accept my warm congratulations for your unique sports performance.” This was the beginning of a charm offensive from the Nazi regime, which saw Jenny Kammersgaard and her merits as an example of the perfection of the aryan race. She was invited to Berlin as guest of reichsportsführer Hans von Tschammer und Osten and greeted by people in the streets of Berlin. Between 27 and 29 July 1938 she swam the 52 km from Gedser in Denmark to the German coast city Warnemünde. It took 40 hours and 30 minutes. Again she received congratulations from