Rescue of the Danish Jews

The rescue of the Danish Jews in October 1943 during the time of National Socialism in the history of the occupied territories during World War II in Europe without precedent. It was made possible by the German diplomat Georg Ferdinand Duck joke (1904-1973) and prevented the murder of many Jews during the Holocaust. In Copenhagen, the Danish Jewish Museum commemorates the events.

History and process

Duck joke, since 1932 member of the NSDAP, had in 1943 a long time away from National Socialism and had good contacts with leading Danish Social Democrats. On September 29, 1943 he learned of the German Reich plenipotentiary in Denmark, Werner Best, from the forthcoming for the night of 1 to October 2, 1943 deportation of Danish Jews over Germany in the concentration camps. About his Danish acquaintances among shipowners he informed the Chief Rabbi of Copenhagen, Marcus Melchior, a refugee from the Upper Silesian Bytom rabbi. Thanks to a Jewish holiday, the news spread quickly among the Jews in Denmark. Duck joke traveled secretly to neutral Sweden and informed local government agencies about the impending mass exodus. So short term holiday homes could be provided for the refugees.

7000 of the 8000 Danish Jews and some Jewish German refugees were smuggled to Sweden in a night action across the Sound, the Kattegat and the Danish Baltic Sea island of Bornholm. Danish fishermen played a central role in organizing the escape on the sea in the safety in Sweden. Police and coast guard of the Danes looked deliberately away. The Wehrmacht leadership in Denmark was against the deportation of the Jews in order not to jeopardize the hitherto largely harmonious cooperation of Danish and German departments. Therefore, the kingdom Agents Best had expressly ordered that the Gestapo was allowed to leave any doors in their raid when anyone seen during their nocturnal abduction trains, what she did apparently. Overall, the Nazis were able to find only 481 Danish Jews and deported to the concentration camp Theresienstadt, 50 of them have died in Theresienstadt ( to two children born in a concentration camp ).

One of the places through which the escape was organized, was the small port town Gilleleje on the island of Zealand. Just as a larger number of Jewish refugees tried to board a Danish ship to their rescue, the news came of an impending arrest. The ship left hastily. The refugees who had not come on board, searched feverishly in them strange town after hiding. A pastor came up with the idea to accommodate the largest number of refugees in the attic of the village church. Most of the villagers knew the hiding place and brought spontaneously blankets, clothes and food there. But the hiding place was betrayed, and in the early morning hours, the Germans arrested about 70 refugees. Nevertheless Gilleleje remained during the following nights an important safe haven, because there are two Wehrmacht soldiers of the occupying forces were only deployed and the German Chief of Port Police had its employees expressly prohibited nocturnal hunting of refugees.

The Danish government reached a visit to the Red Cross in Theresienstadt for the deportees. The Danish- Jewish survivors of Theresienstadt, Salle fisherman, reported in 2003:

" Spontaneous taken many, many Danes the initiative - all helped where they could to organize hiding places or escape routes: ambulances, even in garbage truck, everything that could go. Hospitals and churches were important hiding places. The Danes have even collected money to pay fishermen for the dangerous escape crossing. They had no income so during this time. Even then deported they did not forget and raised money for aid packages, which they sent to the camps. I would argue that we have the only way to survive. "

But this bailout explains the relatively low number of casualties compared to other Western European countries, at least 20 % ( France) to 84 % ( Netherlands) of their Jewish population lost ( Germany: 165,000 of 499,000, ie 33%). This relief was an important experience in the Danish resistance against the occupation and is still regarded as an indicator of the strength of democratic civil society in Denmark.

On November 3, 1943 Best reported to Adolf Hitler: Denmark is free of Jews! .

Starting with the 13th April 1945, the surviving Danish Jews from Theresienstadt concentration camp during the rescue operation of the White Buses Swedish Red Cross were brought in a convoy through Germany on the Danish border at Padborg according to safety in Sweden. The surviving author Ralph Oppenhejm reported in his diary about the imprisonment in Theresienstadt.

Honor

His deed Duck joke was awarded in 1971 at Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. At the request of members of the Danish subsoil it is honored as a group, their honor of the righteous is a tree planted among the nations at Yad Vashem in the alley.

According to the Danish people and the Danish resistance movement was in memory of this bailout in Jerusalem erected a sculpture that resembles a ship. In this sculpture memorial plaques in Danish, Swedish, Hebrew, Arabic and English are appropriate to explain the bailout.