Stephen Hensel, the ex-husband of steakhouse heiress Christina Block, 49, was watching the display with two of their kids, Klara, 13, and Theodor, 10, in the Cafeodora restaurant in the Danish town of Gravenstein.
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Hensel was attacked at around 12.17am by a group of men and knocked down with the kidnappers then fleeing in two vehicles along with the children.
Danish police launched a manhunt and shortly after 1am the German federal police were notified and two patrol cars were parked at the border, a little over 10 miles from the town.
The Schleswig-Holstein state police took over the investigation at 2.53am with the Hamburg cops also getting involved later on.
The children have not yet been found.
The kidnappers used two cars registered in Germany – a Citroen DS7 Crossback with registration number DN-AV 9551 and a Mercedes-Benz A-Class with registration number WI-W 6481 E, reports the German newspaper Bild.
Danish police say it may be connected to a custody battle over their kids which Block and her former husband have been locked in for years.
Hensel kept Klara and Theodor with him following a visit to Denmark in the summer of 2021.
Since then, Block and her current partner Gerhard Delling, a big TV star, have been fighting to have the children returned to Germany.
The eldest daughter Johanna, 17, is supposed to live with Hensel voluntarily.
Block lives in Hamburg with her daughter Greta, 15.
The situation deteriorated last July when the children’s grandmother Christa, 82, died.
They were not allowed to say goodbye to their granny.
Block, the daughter of restauranteur Eugen Block, 83, who founded the Block House steakhouse chain in 1968, said just before Christmas that she felt alienated from her children.
She told Bild: “I sent gifts and letters to the three of them – but I don’t know whether they will arrive.”
Block also expressed doubts that her ex-husband wold give the children the presents.
Eugen Block is said to be worth £0.26billion (€0.3bn) according to the German newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt.
His three children, Dirk, Christina and Philipp each have an eight per cent share in his company Eugen Block Holdings.
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