Jews in Denmark. 2. German Tanks in Denmark, Source:

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1 Jews in Denmark 1. When Germany occupied Denmark on April 9, 1940, the Jewish population was approximately 7,500, accounting for 0.2% of the country's total population. About 6,000 of these Jews were Danish citizens. The rest were German and eastern European refugees. Most Jews lived in the country's capital and largest city, Copenhagen. Source: 2. German Tanks in Denmark, 1940 Source :

2 3. DID YOU KNOW? Germany occupied Denmark on April 9, However, Danish Jews were not persecuted until the autumn of When the German police began searching for and arresting Jews on the night of October 1, 1943, the Danish police refused to cooperate. Unlike Jews in other countries under Nazi rule, the Jews of Denmark were never forced to wear the yellow Star of David or any other identifying badge. Approximately 500 Jews were deported from Denmark to the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia. Following protests from their government, these Danish inmates were allowed to receive letters and even some care packages. Most of them survived the Holocaust. Source: 4. Rescue of Danish Jews, fall 1943 Germany occupied Denmark in When the Germans decided to deport Jews from Denmark in August 1943, Danes spontaneously organized a rescue operation and helped Jews reach the coast; fishermen then ferried them to neutral Sweden. The rescue operation expanded to include participation by the Danish resistance, the police, and the government. In little more than three weeks, the Danes ferried more than 7,000 Jews and close to 700 of their non-jewish relatives to Sweden, which accepted the Danish refugees. The Germans seized about 500 Jews in Denmark and deported them to the Theresienstadt ghetto in Bohemia. The Danes demanded information on their whereabouts. The vigor of Danish protests perhaps prevented their deportation to the killing centers in occupied Poland. US Holocaust Memorial Museum

3 5. Source: ibrary.org/jsource/holocaust/denmark.html&usg= 1pHPmmOgNpEarBZIc8Iwg2mUy- 8=&h=354&w=540&sz=34&hl=en&start=9&zoom=1&tbnid=01q69RFUrv_XBM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=132&ei=T349T_z8MOjW2AWXopCECA&prev=/ search%3fq%3dholocaust%2bdenmark%26hl%3den%26sa%3dx%26gbv%3d2%26tbm%3disch%26prmd%3divnsb&itbs=1

4 6. Danish fishermen (foreground) ferry Jews across a narrow sound to safety in neutral Sweden during the German occupation of Denmark. Sweden, Museet for Danmarks Frihedskamp Source:

5 7. The Story of a Rescuer Preben Munch-Nielsen Born: Snekkersten, Denmark June 13, 1926 Preben was born to a Protestant family in the small Danish fishing village of Snekkersten. He was raised by his grandmother, who was also responsible for raising five other grandchildren. Every day Preben commuted to school in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, about 25 miles south of Snekkersten : There were very few Jews in my elementary school, but I didn't think of them as Jews; they were just my classmates and pals. In Denmark we didn't distinguish between Jews and non-jews, we were all just Danes. By fifth grade, my classmates and I heard rumors of a German military build-up. But later, in 1939, my parents said that Hitler had promised not to invade Denmark, which made us feel relatively safe : Occupation. In April 1940 I arrived in Copenhagen, where I saw planes overhead and German officers in the street. I joined the resistance as a courier, but I became more involved in October 1943 when the Gestapo began hunting down Danish Jews. We began to help Jewish refugees. We hid them in houses near the shore and brought them to waiting boats at an appointed time. Under

6 cover of darkness, we took up to 12 Jews at a time across the straits to Sweden. The four-mile trip took about 50 minutes. Preben helped transport 1,400 refugees to Sweden. He fled to Sweden as well in November 1943 when the Germans seized the Danish government. Preben returned home in May Source: 8. Click this link to hear an interview with a rescuer Jewish Rescue Boat in the U.S. Holocaust Museum Source :

7 10. Portrait of a preschool class in Copenhagen. Gus Goldenburger (top row, second from left) was one of the few Jewish students in the class. His family moved to Denmark from Czechoslovakia, fearing the rising tide of Nazism. When the Nazis planned to deport Danish Jewry, the Goldenburgers managed to escape to Sweden, where they remained until the end of the war. After the war, the Goldenburgers returned to Copenhagen. Photograph taken in Copenhagen, Denmark, US Holocaust Memorial Museum Source: