During the Holocaust, Denmark stood out as a remarkable example of resistance and moral courage. When Nazi Germany occupied Denmark in April 1940, the Danish government negotiated an agreement that allowed it to maintain partial political autonomy in exchange for cooperation in certain areas. For the first three years of occupation, Denmark’s approximately 7,800 Jews lived in relative safety compared to Jewish communities elsewhere in Europe.
This fragile arrangement changed in 1943, when Nazi authorities dissolved the Danish government and moved to impose direct control. Plans were set in motion to deport Denmark’s Jews to concentration camps. The turning point came in late September 1943 when Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz, a German maritime attaché, secretly warned Danish resistance leaders of an impending mass arrest. The news spread quickly, triggering a nationwide rescue effort.
Ordinary Danish citizens—fishermen, teachers, clergy, doctors, and nurses—risked their lives to hide Jewish families in homes, churches, and hospitals. The most dramatic rescues involved ferrying more than 7,200 Jews and nearly 700 non-Jewish relatives across the Øresund Strait to neutral Sweden, often at night. Fishermen played a central role, using small boats for the crossings. The Danish underground raised funds for fuel and bribes to German soldiers. Medical workers even admitted Jewish patients under false names to protect them.
Despite these efforts, around 470 Danish Jews were captured and deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia. Even then, the Danish government and the Red Cross worked to improve conditions for those imprisoned, sending food parcels and pushing for their release. As a result, the survival rate of Danish Jews during the Holocaust was one of the highest in occupied Europe. After the war, most deported Danish Jews returned home to find that their property and possessions had been safeguarded by neighbors.
One symbolic figure of national unity and quiet resistance was King Christian X. When Nazi Germany occupied Denmark in April 1940, King Christian X remained on the throne under the occupation agreement that allowed Denmark some internal autonomy. Every day, he famously rode his horse through the streets of Copenhagen without armed guards, showing that the monarchy and Danish spirit were still intact. While he had little direct political power under the Germans, his public behavior reassured citizens and discouraged collaboration. While he did not personally organize rescue operations, his consistent stance that Danish Jews were to be treated as equal citizens helped shape public attitudes.
A persistent but false legend claims that Christian X wore a yellow Star of David in solidarity with Jews. This never happened, largely because the Nazis never enforced the star requirement in Denmark. The story, however, reflects how Danes viewed him—as a monarch who stood with all citizens, Jewish and non-Jewish alike.
The Holocaust in Denmark is remembered not for mass murder on Danish soil, but for the moral resolve of a small nation under occupation. The swift, coordinated rescue of the Jewish community demonstrated that collective action could save lives, even in the shadow of Nazi terror. It remains a powerful example of how compassion and courage can prevail over hatred and persecution. Today, Denmark’s story is a reminder that, even in the darkest times, moral choices are still possible—and they can change the course of history.
