RESISTANCE AND RESCUE – DENMARK AND THE HOLOCAUST

Posted on 2023-09-11

During the massive German occupation of much of Europe during World War II, the people of Denmark rescued more than 90% of the country’s Jewish residents from German deportation, brutal internment and starvation, and systemic murder. In the early 1990s, photographer Judy Glickman Lauder took portraits of Danes who had protected or rescued Jews and of Jews who were rescued. The stories accompanying each photograph convey the power of moral courage in confronting hate and atrocities.

The German occupation of Denmark began in April 1940. Unlike in other countries, the Danish government was allowed to continue to control its domestic affairs. For the next three years, Danish Jews were not required to register their property, identify themselves based on their religion, or give up their homes and businesses. The Jewish community continued to function and hold religious services.

Then, in August 1943, the German military commander in Denmark declared martial law, took control over the Danish military and police forces, and implemented a plan to capture and deport Danish Jews. Some German officials warned non-Jewish Danes, who in turn alerted the Jewish community.

Danish authorities, Jewish community leaders, and countless private citizens mobilized a massive operation. The Danish resistance, assisted by many Danish citizens, organized a rescue operation that helped hide Jews and move them to the coast, where fishermen ferried them to neutral Sweden. In just a few weeks, about 7,200 Jews and 700 of their non-Jewish relatives traveled to safety in Sweden.

Despite these rescue efforts, about 470 Jews in Denmark were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto camp in occupied Czechoslovakia, but Danish protests deterred the Germans from transporting them to killing centers. After the war, almost all of the survivors returned to Denmark, where most found their homes and businesses intact because local authorities had refused to allow the seizure or plundering of Jewish homes.

Exhibition runs through to October 1st, 2023

Eastman Museum
900 East Avenue
Rochester
NY 14607

www.eastman.org