Denmark and the Holocaust

Denmark and the Holocaust Edited by Mette Bastholm Jensen and Steven L. B. Jensen Institute for International Studies Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies Denmark and the Holocaust Edited by Mette Bastholm Jensen and Steven L. B. Jensen Institute for International Studies Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies © Institute for International Studies, Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies 2003 Njalsgade 80, 17. 3 2300 København S Tlf. +45 33 37 00 70 Fax +45 33 37 00 80 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.dchf.dk Denmark and the Holocaust Print: Werks Offset A/S, Bjødstrupvej 2-4, 8270 Højbjerg Editors: Mette Bastholm Jensen and Steven L. B. Jensen Translations: Gwynneth Llewellyn and Marie Louise Hansen-Hoeck Layout: Jacob Fræmohs ISSN 1602-8031 ISBN 87-989305-1-6 Preface With this book the Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies publishes the third volume in the Danish Genocide Studies Series – a series of publications written or edited by researchers affiliated with the Department and its work on the Holocaust and genocide in general, along with studies of more specifically Danish aspects of the Holocausts. I extend my thanks to all the contributors to this volume, as well as Gwynneth Llewellyn and Marie Louise Hansen-Hoeck for their transla- tion work, Rachael Farber for her editorial assistance, and Jacob Fræmohs for devising the layout of the book. Finally, I would like to thank Steven L. B. Jensen and Mette Bastholm Jensen for planning and editing this publication. Uffe Østergård Head of Department, Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Institute for International Studies Copenhagen, April 2003 Table of Contents Introduction............................................................................................................. 7 Mette Bastholm Jensen and Steven L. B. Jensen The Politics of Asylum in Denmark in the Wake of the Kristallnacht .............................................................................................. 14 Lone Rünitz October 1943 – The Rescue of the Danish Jews ............................................ 33 Michael Mogensen The Danish Volunteers in the Waffen SS ....................................................... 62 Claus Bundgård Christensen, Niels Bo Poulsen and Peter Scharff Smith The King and the Star ....................................................................................... 102 Vilhjálmur Örn Vilhjálmsson The Smell of Death – A Visit to Auschwitz................................................. 118 Cecilie Banke About the Authors ............................................................................................. 127 Introduction Introduction Mette Bastholm Jensen and Steven L. B. Jensen As one of the major transformative events of the twentieth century, in all areas of society, politics and culture, the Second World War continues to interest and fascinate people. The massive devastation, displacements and social and political transformations caused by the war have left their mark on individuals, communities, nations and continents until the pre- sent day. They have also left their clear traces in national histori- ographies; therefore a comprehensive understanding of the war must appreciate the disparate nature of these experiences. This book addresses key aspects relating to Denmark and the Second World War and attempts to convey a more profound understanding of them. There are events and developments in the Danish wartime experi- ence that stand out or differ from those of other countries. For example there was no Danish exile government in London to play the role as a symbol of resistance to the occupying power like the Norwegian, Belgian or Polish governments among others. There was no famine facing the country as the liberation was approaching – similar to what occurred during the last months of the German occupation of the Netherlands. There are, moreover, specific issues which are integral to understanding Danish aspects of the Holocaust. The beaches of Normandy and the beaches north of Copenhagen may not have the same importance in the history of the Second World War but both were the sites of significant events in their own right – the latter being where the rescue of the Danish Jews took place in October 1943. By 1945, two out of every three Jews living in Europe in 1939 were dead. Behind this tragic fact one finds widely varying national rates of victimi- zation. At the extreme, Poland's Jewish population was annihilated almost in its entirety. In contrast to this the small Jewish community in Denmark all but escaped devastation and physical destruction. Yet, what establishes Denmark as an historical aberration is not the rate of survival 7 Mette Bastholm Jensen and Steven L. B. Jensen among its Jews (app. 98%), however extraordinary.1 Rather, the anomaly lies in the fact that the threat of deportation of the Danish Jews provoked something resembling a popular movement, involving virtually all parts and strata of Danish society in an effort to save the minority. In the course of just a few weeks, in the early autumn of 1943, more than 7,000 persons were hidden in churches, schools, hospitals, and private homes until they could be guided to points up and down the shores of the Sound, where fishing boats awaited to carry them to safety in Sweden. In most cases, no prior relationship existed between those who lent a helping hand – or a house, a boat, or know-how – and those who, three rela- tively quiet years into the occupation, suddenly found themselves among the beleaguered ranks of Nazi prey. The rescue of the Jews is one of the few events in Danish history that has attracted significant international attention. It is surrounded by a wealth of myths and half-truths, both in Denmark and abroad. Today most Danes are aware of the mythical nature of one of the most popular stories – that of King Christian X wearing the yellow Star of David on his daily horseback rides through the streets of Copenhagen – but abroad the myth persists. Expressions of doubt frequently meet with disappoint- ment, if not outright disbelief when the validity of the story is challenged. The story behind the myth, though somewhat less inspiring, is hardly less fascinating than the myth itself, as its origins are indicative of the precarious situation that the country found itself in. The myth was shaped and promoted by a group of Danish citizens in exile who ex- ploited an opportune story of doubtful origins – most likely a cartoon in a Swedish newspaper – to carefully manipulate Denmark's image and interests abroad. As Vilhjálmur Örn Vilhjálmsson shows in his article, the image of the King and the Star was only one among a number of fabrications more or less deliberately planted in allied media. With Denmark's future reputation in mind, the group of exiles used such stories in their 1 It is often overlooked that a majority of the members of the Jewish population survived in almost half of the nations and regions occupied by or allied with Nazi Germany (Fein, H. 1979. Accounting for Genocide: Victims – and Survivors – of the Holocaust. New York: The Free Press 1979, pp. xv-xvi). 8 Introduction attempts to gain goodwill in America and dispel doubts about Denmark's right to membership in the ranks of the allied nations. According to Vilhjálmsson's analysis, there is little reason to believe that the fabrications were related to the situation of the Danish Jews in either intent or practice. Nevertheless, the King and the Star has become the myth most closely associated with the 1943 rescue of the Danish Jews. Perhaps one reason for its continuing appeal is the way in which certain myths relate an approximated truth beyond their concrete content. From this perspective, the story of the King and the Star – though false – is a marvel in all its simplicity, as it communicates something of the nature of the rescue effort and, indeed, of the predominant response to discrimi- natory Nazi policy. Among high and low, the rescue was an expression of solidarity towards fellow Danes. Such solidarity and long-established democratic values and principles stand at the core of Leni Yahil's 1969 book, The Rescue of Danish Jewry: Test of a Democracy. Though it remains the standard work on the rescue in the English-speaking world, its insistence on solidarity and democracy as causal variables seems today somewhat dated and certainly idealized. Since the 1960s and particularly in recent years, many contemporary sources have been discovered in both Denmark and Sweden. Together, they provide significant new insights into the events of October 1943 and their central actors among Danes, Germans, and Swedes. Michael Mo- gensen's overview article presents the newest research and clearly dem- onstrates that some of this material reveals motives and contingencies that put aspects of the rescue in a somewhat less flattering light than tradition would have it. Whatever the payments that changed hands or German tactical considerations, however, the central fact nonetheless remains that in the hour of need thousands of Danes contributed in whatever way they could to helping their Jewish compatriots to escape from the threat of Nazi deportation. Furthermore, in many cases the help did not end with the Jews' safe arrival to Sweden. Once the allied forces had defeated the German army and Denmark was liberated, many Jews returned to Denmark to find that their homes and even businesses had been maintained by friends and neighbors, coworkers, and sometimes 9 Mette

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