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Rescue in Denmark.
Book by Flender, Harold
281 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1963
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 7, 2008
“How occupied Denmark rose as a nation to save the Danish Jews from Nazi Extermination.” An INCREDIBLE account of an amazing time. Well written, intriguing, gripping and sobering. Flender does a fabulous job of compiling historical documents, court records, individual written accounts and information taken from the author’s personal interviews, to weave a tale that the world should know about – a tale of a heroic, yet humble people, who were “just doing their duty.” Highly recommended!
June 27, 2008
When I was a kid, I went through a phase that I suspect many children in The-Cold-War-is-But-a-Faint-Reality age group went through: a Spy Fetish.
I loved any and all things related to spies, espionage, subterfuge, complicated disguises, and state-sponsored deception (don't read too much into that--I was a child and the idea that you could divide the world into the good guys and the bad guys was very appealing). Anyway, this included books about code languages, books that taught you how to make invisible ink out of lemon juice, and true narrative accounts of particularly famous--and usually doomed--intelligence agents. (Mata Hari was a particular favorite.)
I digress because while this phase may have been short-lived, the seeds were apparently sown deep. Because after re-reading one of my favorite childhood novels, Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, I found myself totally enthralled by the references to the Danish resistance. It was all so romantic and sexy and exciting and tragic and vitally important. The young idealists smuggling anti-Nazi newspapers to their relatives after curfew. The dried-blood and cocaine powder mixture that fishermen hid in handkerchiefs and sprinkled around their boats to deaden the senses of Nazi dogs searching for refugees. The theatrics (such as fake funerals) that were orchestrated to disguise the arrival of refugees to a safehouse. Great stuff. And so, I packed myself off to the bookstore to pick up anything I could find on the Danish resistance.
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to have been much written in English (go figure) that specifically covers the Danish underground movement. I did find this book, though, which was written by a Harold Flender, who during the Nuremberg Trials had been amazed and appalled that on one hand, the Danes had been able to save almost their entire Jewish population (about 8,000 total, all but 430 some saved), but that on the other, theirs was the only nation that had collectively elected to take such measures. Believing that more effort should be made to highlight the Danes' remarkable feat, Flenders first created a short documentary for American television, and then set out to compile a far more comprehensive record of the individuals who were directly involved with the transport of the Jews to Sweden.
The result is a highly anecdotal, sometimes wide-eyed journalistic profile narrative which highlights the completely average people who ended up leading massive exodus efforts, but also the type of 'it-was-nothing' attitude that most of these people seem to have about the whole experience. When asked about the motivation for their involvement in rescuing their Jewish countrymen, interviewees cite reasons that span from 'I was a bored housewife and it seemed exciting,' to 'Of course I helped--these people were being persecuted,' to 'It was the right thing to do,' to 'I just wanted an excuse to annoy the Germans.' But on the whole, it seems to have been an automatic and spontaneous reaction. In fact, Flender makes a point of emphasizing that for most of those involved in the transportation of the Jews to Sweden, 'politics' played no part in their involvement. I would say that 'politics' has nothing to do with one's country being invaded and part of the citizenship being sent off to concentration camps, but the vibe is still distinctly minimizing.
Which made me think a little bit more about my attraction to sexy-espionage stories. If the impulse to involve yourself in an underground movement to save the lives of your persecuted neighbors--at great risk to yourself and your family--is just that, an impulse, a reaction akin to helping someone up when they trip or holding a door open for a little old lady, just the so-called 'right thing,' then perhaps I should start looking into more 'mundane' spy stories from now on.
I loved any and all things related to spies, espionage, subterfuge, complicated disguises, and state-sponsored deception (don't read too much into that--I was a child and the idea that you could divide the world into the good guys and the bad guys was very appealing). Anyway, this included books about code languages, books that taught you how to make invisible ink out of lemon juice, and true narrative accounts of particularly famous--and usually doomed--intelligence agents. (Mata Hari was a particular favorite.)
I digress because while this phase may have been short-lived, the seeds were apparently sown deep. Because after re-reading one of my favorite childhood novels, Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, I found myself totally enthralled by the references to the Danish resistance. It was all so romantic and sexy and exciting and tragic and vitally important. The young idealists smuggling anti-Nazi newspapers to their relatives after curfew. The dried-blood and cocaine powder mixture that fishermen hid in handkerchiefs and sprinkled around their boats to deaden the senses of Nazi dogs searching for refugees. The theatrics (such as fake funerals) that were orchestrated to disguise the arrival of refugees to a safehouse. Great stuff. And so, I packed myself off to the bookstore to pick up anything I could find on the Danish resistance.
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to have been much written in English (go figure) that specifically covers the Danish underground movement. I did find this book, though, which was written by a Harold Flender, who during the Nuremberg Trials had been amazed and appalled that on one hand, the Danes had been able to save almost their entire Jewish population (about 8,000 total, all but 430 some saved), but that on the other, theirs was the only nation that had collectively elected to take such measures. Believing that more effort should be made to highlight the Danes' remarkable feat, Flenders first created a short documentary for American television, and then set out to compile a far more comprehensive record of the individuals who were directly involved with the transport of the Jews to Sweden.
The result is a highly anecdotal, sometimes wide-eyed journalistic profile narrative which highlights the completely average people who ended up leading massive exodus efforts, but also the type of 'it-was-nothing' attitude that most of these people seem to have about the whole experience. When asked about the motivation for their involvement in rescuing their Jewish countrymen, interviewees cite reasons that span from 'I was a bored housewife and it seemed exciting,' to 'Of course I helped--these people were being persecuted,' to 'It was the right thing to do,' to 'I just wanted an excuse to annoy the Germans.' But on the whole, it seems to have been an automatic and spontaneous reaction. In fact, Flender makes a point of emphasizing that for most of those involved in the transportation of the Jews to Sweden, 'politics' played no part in their involvement. I would say that 'politics' has nothing to do with one's country being invaded and part of the citizenship being sent off to concentration camps, but the vibe is still distinctly minimizing.
Which made me think a little bit more about my attraction to sexy-espionage stories. If the impulse to involve yourself in an underground movement to save the lives of your persecuted neighbors--at great risk to yourself and your family--is just that, an impulse, a reaction akin to helping someone up when they trip or holding a door open for a little old lady, just the so-called 'right thing,' then perhaps I should start looking into more 'mundane' spy stories from now on.
May 15, 2009
Fantastic book! Like the cover says, it's about "How occupied Denmark rose as a nation to save the Danish Jews from Nazi extermination."
Inspirational, powerful, and a clear demonstration of doing the right thing.
Inspirational, powerful, and a clear demonstration of doing the right thing.
August 13, 2011
This is the inspiring account of how the Danish people saved the majority of their Jewish population from annihilation during the Holocaust. Definitely worth reading & re-reading.
March 21, 2018
This is a really great book describing many personal stories of resistance to Nazi occupation in Denmark. The Danes resisted in earnest as soon as the Germans decided to round up Danish Jews in 1943. So successful were Danish efforts at protecting Jews that only 472 of 8,000 Jews were sent to a concentration camp. Of those 472, only about 50 died, because the Danish government was constantly concerned about their countrymen in captivity and sent them as much aid as they could. At last, the government negotiated a deal with Nazi Germany which saw the released of Danish Jews on April 13, 1945–a little less than a month before VE Day. In total, 98.5 of Denmark’s Jews survived the Holocaust.
This is a great story, and the Danes’ wholehearted efforts to save their Jewish countrymen deserves to be remembered.
This is a great story, and the Danes’ wholehearted efforts to save their Jewish countrymen deserves to be remembered.
July 21, 2017
"Rescue in Denmark" is deeply inspiring and life-affirming, especially so for a history book. It offers a rare example of how humanity's best impulses can triumph even in the face of the worst depravity. Anyone who has studied the horrific tragedy of the Holocaust will find a measure of relief in this account of the ordinary people of Denmark, who - in contrast to the widespread indifference and collaboration exhibited by other occupied populations in response to the Nazi genocide - collectively achieved success in resisting German efforts to exterminate their Jewish neighbors. This book should be required reading for everyone.
September 11, 2022
One of my favorite finds from a used bookstore. Very inspiring. How I wish our country would see itself as fellow Americans and defend each other per the example of Denmark.
September 8, 2019
I think everybody should read this book. It shows what happens when a country holds its strong commitment to Democracy. It shows what happens when pure evil is resisted! We need this book now!
February 29, 2012
One of the few beaming lights in a sea of darkness . . . during one of the darkest periods of human history . . . This story will restore your faith in humanity and will bring you to tears multiple times! I had the immense privilege of living in a small suburb of Copenhagen called Lyngby (pronounced something like Luungbuu), which was one of the primary centers of resistance during the occupation! I knew several older Danes, who would have been young men and women at that time . . . they never bragged or boasted about what they did . . . they considered it the only decent thing to do . . . I wish I had read this book prior to having moved to Denmark . . . I would have had so many questions for them!! I recommend this book to every living soul!
November 15, 2016
The research alone performed for this book should get 5 stars. The information and the importance of these stories being told is crucial as well; however I'd rate it closer to a 2 star read than a 4. Rescue in Denmark is definitely not a page turner, it reads more like an educational history book. The wide range of events it covers forces the characters to come and go, so there isn't any particular attachment. That being said I still enjoyed it and even though I've read many WWII books and studied countless parts of that time, virtually all of Denmark I wasn't aware of. These were different rescues under completely different situations. It really shows the cultural difference between an accepting country and one still struggling with acceptance of all people.
April 30, 2015
This is a fantastic story ineptly told. What happened in Denmark was so remarkable and so badly forgotten. I read it, but wish it had a better author.
January 14, 2016
This is a very thorough accounting of the Nazi occupation of Denmark during WW II, and how the Danes save most of their Jews from capture.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews