Eighty years ago this month, in October 1943, 95% of Denmark’s Jewish population was rescued from Nazi-occupied Denmark during the Holocaust, when they were ferried from Denmark to Sweden in a short period of a few days. During this exodus, over seven thousand Danish Jews were saved. This amazing story is one of the most remarkable examples of mass resistance and escape in modern history. It is an important example of resistance, bravery, survival, and community that should be celebrated from one of the darkest times in this past century.
My husband and I had the privilege to participate in a tour to Denmark and Sweden this summer focusing on this period in history of resistance and revival, in connection with the Museum of Jewish Heritage, in downtown New York City. We were lucky enough to visit Kobenhavns Synagogue, where the Chief Rabbi of Denmark spoke about the current state of Judaism in modern Denmark. (This was all before Oct. 7th, the day Hamas so barbarously attacked Israel.) Rabbi Jair Melchior told us of how his grandfather stood at the bimah on Yom Kippur that year in his street clothes, urging his congregation to go home, pack, and ready themselves to travel. We had goose bumps. This is the story of courage, resistance, and savior. For a multitude of reasons the Nazi’s plans to round up the Danish Jews was leaked to the Jewish community in time for them to escape, and Sweden, which was “neutral” accepted them. It should be known that although Denmark was taken over by the Nazis, there was a large resistance movement, and the Nazis were never made to feel welcome there.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage in downtown New York City, near the Financial District, has just opened a new exhibit about this period, titled, Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark. It is the Museum’s first exhibition for visitors nine and up. The exhibit tells the unbelievable rescue story of the Danish Jews during the Holocaust as we learned about on our trip to Denmark from the Museum of Danish Resistance by Jewish and non-Jewish neighbors of all ages.
The exhibition explains how many small vessels were used in the Danish Rescue. One was the Gerda III, which alone saved an estimated 300 Jews in groups of 10-15 people at a time, as they were carried across the Oresund Sound to Sweden. This boat was donated to the Museum by the Danish Parliament in 1989, and is currently docked at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut.
This exhibition is highly informative and uplifting in demonstrating acts of tremendous courage and showing how organized resistance can be possible.
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