Byers - Rescuing the Danish Jews : a heroic story from the Holocaust

In Denmark we didnt distinguish between Jews and non-Jews; we were all just Danes.

Bent Melchior, a fourteen-year-old Danish Jew, was crammed into the hold of a fishing boat. But this was not a normal fishing trip. Surviving the crowded, filthy conditions on this trip meant reaching freedom. After many hours at sea, Melchior had reached safety in Sweden. The remarkable story of rescuing the Danish Jews has many heroic tales. In the midst of World War II and the slaughter of millions in the Holocaust, the Danes resisted Nazi brutality and saved thousands of people from certain death.

A welcome addition to the factual account of what transpired in Denmark where, miraculously, almost all the Jews were saved from unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust. A useful start for middle school students to the further exploration of a vital, moral lesson.

About the Author

Ann Byers has been a teacher and curriculum writer for over twenty-five years. She has written many books about the Holocaust for Enslow Publishers, Inc.

The boat looked far too small. Bent Melchior was only fourteen years old, but he could tell the fishing vessel was built to hold five people at the most. There were six in his family alone, and others wanted to be on the boat, too. All of them were desperate to get out of Denmark. Just days before, the Germans had tried to arrest all the Jews in the country. Their only hope of safety was to get across the strait to Sweden. And so, at 7:00 that night, nineteen people squeezed aboard the little craft.

Melchior later remembered that the frightened Jews lay in the boat like fish. This wasnt a boat meant for passengers. It was very cold, crowded and dirty. But it was their only means of escape. He could put up with anything for the hour or two it would take to get to freedom.

But eleven hours later, the boat was still in the water, and Melchior knew that something was dreadfully wrong. Land was ahead, and a lighthouse beckoned, but the land was Denmark, and the lighthouse was manned by Germans. The inexperienced pilot had lost his way in the dark. He was very frightened and almost out of fuel, Melchior said. Melchiors father, Marcus, grabbed the wheel, turned the boat around, and sped away.

The Melchior family in Sweden after their turbulent journey from Denmark in October 1943. Marcus Melchior (left), Bents father, took control of the fishing boat to guide it to safety in Sweden.

Just as the weary passengers spotted land, the engine sputtered. They had no more fuel. Within minutes, fishermen were rowing their boats toward the stranded refugees. Melchior heard the wonderful words, Welcome to Sweden!

Sweden was a safe harbor from the war that raged in Europe. The armies of Germany had barreled across Poland in 1939 and subdued France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, and Denmark in their blitzkrieg, or lightning war, in the spring of 1940. They had not attacked Sweden, which declared itself a neutral country, not taking sides in what was to become a bloody, global conflict.

When Germany invaded Denmark, the Nazis treated Denmark differently. Germany took control of the other nations right away, but not Denmark. German officials said they were there to protect Denmark; they let Denmarks government run the country. The rulers of the other nations fled, but King Christian X stayed in Denmark.

The situation with the Jews of Denmark was also different. In many other countries, antisemitismprejudice against Jewswas strong, and people harassed and persecuted Jews long before the war. Jews often lived in their own neighborhoods, in segregated sections of cities. But Danish law forbade all racial and religious discrimination.

But Adolf Hitler, the German leader who started the Second World War, did distinguish between Jews and non-Jews. Beginning in 1933, he instituted a series of discriminatory actions against Jews. He stated plainly that he would use the war to rid Europe of all its Jews. This attempt later became known as the Holocaust. In the lands he conquered, Hitler ordered harsh measures against the Jews. They could not be on certain streets, their property was taken from them, and they had to wear a badge marking them as Jews. Within months, they were arrested, taken to camps, and eventually sent to their deaths. But not so in Denmark.

What made Denmark different from her neighbors? For one, Denmark barely fought the German invasion. The leaders of the little country knew they were no match for the armed might of Germany, so they gave up in less than two hours. They cooperated with the German occupiers, and Germany let Denmark keep its government and most of its freedoms.

Because Denmark was cooperative, Germany did not need to send brutal officials to keep people in line. Many of the soldiers assigned to Denmark were older men. They were not as radical about Nazism and the war as some of the younger soldiers. They were not concerned about moving up in their careers. Some closed their eyes when Danes disobeyed Nazi rules. As long as the government and King Christian cooperated, Germany had no reason to harm the Danes. Besides, Germany needed the food Denmark produced. If the Germans treated Denmark kindly, Denmark would supply them with fish, meat, and butter.

So for more than three years, from April 1940 to mid 1943, Denmark was peaceful. Guns, tanks, and sirens shook the rest of Europe, but Danes went about their business as usual. One boy, twelve at the time of the invasion, recalled:

Life went on as before, except that they would post soldiers with guns and steel helmets and things like that in front of the banks and the hotels and important institutions that they wanted to guard. But besides that nothing happened really. Life was continuing the way it was.

Adolf Hitler issued harsh measures against Jews in all the territories he conquered. This photo of him was taken in 1933.

When Germany invaded Denmark, the Danish government surrendered without a fight. This front page of the Evening Standard newspaper from April 9, 1940, reports Germanys invasion of Denmark.

But that changed in 1943. By the summer, Germany was under attack from the Soviets in the east and the Allies in the west. Danes had begun to suffer from Germanys plunder of their land. Denmarks agricultural goods went to Germany while Danes went hungry. There were shortages of coal, gasoline, and other items. Some Danes began to look for ways to fight against the German occupiers. They blew up railroad tracks so that German forces could not use them. They set fire to trucks carrying supplies for German soldiers. Danish workers walked off their jobs in factories that were making products for Germany.

The growing sabotage angered the occupiers. The once