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Kaj Munk

Danish playwright (1898–1944)

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Born
January 13, 1898
Died
January 4, 1944
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1898

About Kaj Munk

Kaj Harald Leininger Munk (commonly called Kaj Munk; 13 January 1898 – 4 January 1944) was a Danish playwright and Lutheran pastor, known for his cultural engagement and his martyrdom during the occupation of Denmark of World War II. He is commemorated as a martyr in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 14 August, alongside Maximilian Kolbe. The Gestapo arrested Munk on the night of 4 January 1944, a month after he had defied a Nazi ban and preached the first Advent sermon at the national cathedral in Copenhagen. As a playwright, Munk became known for "strong characters"—integrated people who fight wholeheartedly for their ideals (whether good or bad). A 1955 film version of Ordet was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, and won numerous awards, including the Golden Lion at the 16th Venice International Film Festival and the 1956 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Kaj Munk timeline

  1. Kaj Harald Leininger Munk (commonly called Kaj Munk; 13 January 1898 – 4 January 1944) was a Danish playwright and Lutheran pastor, known for his cultural engagement and his martyrdom during the Occupation of Denmark of World War II.
  2. The Gestapo arrested Munk on the night of 4 January 1944, a month after he had defied a Nazi ban and preached the first Advent sermon at the national cathedral in Copenhagen.
  3. A 1955 film version of Ordet was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, and won numerous awards, including the Golden Lion at the 16th Venice International Film Festival and the 1956 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

The world when Kaj Munk was born

Kaj Munk was born in 1898. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineSpanish-American War — US gains territories
  • Technology milestoneMarie & Pierre Curie discover radium
  • World population~1.58B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWilliam McKinley
  • U.S. population71.0M

1898 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Kaj Munk's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18982026
Population71.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.