This book (Ive read this review but havent read the book yet) offers a detailed explanation of how Denmark was able to organize to get virtually all the Jews in the country to safety in Sweden during the German occupation. Some of us were talking about this a recently on Facebook. Lidegaard is right: The special Danish example cannot be used to reproach others who experienced the German occupation under far worse conditions than Denmark. But the Danes made the very best out of their easier circumstances. And for that, they should always be remembered as an example of civility at a time when there was precious little of it. To observe, as Lidegaard does, that Denmark benefited from circumstances that were substantially different from those in other countries under Nazi occupation, does not detract from the moral courage of Danish citizens, but does help explain some of the discrepancies in Europe. First, there were very few Jews in Denmark, about 6,000, compared to about 140,000 in Holland, and more than 3 million in Poland. Most of them were so assimilated as to be indistinguishable from other Danes. Also, it was relatively easy to escape to neighbouring Sweden, which was not under German occupation. The most important factor, however, was the highly ambivalent attitude of the Germans themselves. Unlike Sweden, Denmark was not free from Nazi occupation, but a special deal had been struck. Hitler wanted Denmark to be his model protectorate. Like the Swedes, the Danes would supply the Reich with agricultural goods and other economic assistance. They would crack down on domestic resistance. And in return, they retained their own government, as well as their cherished democratic institutions. Holland, by contrast, was under direct Nazi rule; its government had fled to London in 1940, along with the Queen. Much of France was still administered by a French government, which was neither liberal, nor democratic. Central European countries were either annexed by the Reich or ruled by Nazi governors. theguardian/books/2014/mar/13/countrymen-untold-story-denmark-jews-escaped-nazis-bo-lidegaard-review
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 12:53:27 +0000
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