Countrymen - 9780385350150

The literally extraordinary story of how Denmark saved its Jews from the Nazis in World War II.



In the entire ghastly history of the Holocaust, only two "good" stories stand out, and this is one of them. Denmark, under German Occupation, but with its king and government intact, did something no other country in Western Europe even tried to do. Knowing that German command was coming in 1943 to round up their Jews (there were 7,000 of them) for deportation to the camps, they said no. The king, his ministers, and parliament were all in agreement--those 7,000 people were theirs, they were Danes who happened to be Jewish, and nobody was going to assist in their roundup and certain death. While the government used its limited but formidable powers to maneuver and to impede matters in Berlin, the warning went out to the Jewish community that crisis was at hand.

Over fourteen days, assisted, helped, hidden, protected by ordinary people who came together spontaneously to the aid of their countrymen, who were suddenly refugees, an incredible 6,500 Jews out of the 7,000 total escaped--smuggled on big boats, little boats, fishing boats, anything that floated--to Sweden.

The bare facts of this exodus have been known for decades but astonishingly, no full history of it has ever been researched or written. The refugees kept diaries, letters, and family accounts that have now been brought together and form the basis of this riveting work. After a powerful historical introduction, the book follows the story on a day-by-day basis. We watch and share the heart-stopping experiences of real people during those fateful two weeks from September 26 to October 9, 1943. This is a story of ordinary glory, of simple courage and moral fortitude that shines out in midst of the terrible history of the twentieth century.