Danish Citizens who Saved Jews in Denmark
In alphabetical order.
Note: +arrested; †tortured; *killed; ●Righteous Among the Nations (honored by the State of Israel)
ALGREN-PETERSEN, Christian. Seventeen year old son of a doctor. Helped raise money for rescue of Danish Jews, and warned them of the planned deportation in October 1943.
Petersen later recalled; “They came from everywhere. At home, the telephone never stopped ringing, and my mother had to understand… whether the calls were from genuinely sick people, or Jews who needed, well… something else… The reception rooms, the bedrooms, the whole house was full of people waiting until someone had found them a boat… I saw some very moving scenes of people who had to give up enormous suitcases and parcels that they had brought with them. There was not much room on the boats, and priority was not for baggage, but for humans… We had taxis waiting in front of the house, safe taxis, drivers who would not denounce us-and five at a time, every three minutes, a group of Jews accompanied by a non-Jew (like myself) crammed into a taxi to go to the point of embarkation.” (Halter Marek; Werner, 2002, p. 50)
ANDERSEN, crewmember of the Gerda III, which smuggled Jews from Denmark to Sweden. (Pundik, 1998, pp. 107-108)
ANDERSON, Alsing, Chairman of the Trade Unions and Leader of the Social Democrats in the Rigsdad (Parliament). (Flender, 1980, p. 51; Yahil, 1969, pp. 49, 125, 149, 207, 228, 238, 239, 280)
ANDERSEN, Nils, Underground Leader. Underground resistance leader, helped rescue Danish Jews, October 1943. (Yahil, 1969, p. 374)
ARNSKOW, Fanny, Women League for Peace and Freedom.
BACHMAN, Kato, Medical student Copenhagen. Worked with Dr. Karl Henry Køster and others at Bispebjerg hospital to help hide and transport Jews during the attempted deportations of October 1943. (Flender, 1980, pp. 125-126)
BARKER, Mr., Snekkersten, Denmark. Hid Bamberger family and other Jewish families. (Werner, 2002, p. 45)
BECK, Erik, Danish Council lawyer. Hid Jewish Police Commissioner Aage Lothinga during deportation of October 1943. Helped Lathinga escape to Sweden on a fishing boat owned by his friend Axel Olsen. (Flender, 1980, p. 103)
BENNIKE+*, Eric, First Lieutenant, Lyngby Rescue Group. Rescue activist, Lyngby Group. Killed by Gestapo in Nyhavn, April 18, 1945. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 156-159)
BENTZEN, Aage. Protested publication of anti-Semitic literature in Denmark. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 87, 451 FN17)
BERENDSOHN, Mrs., Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 29)
BERENDSON, Mrs. and daughter. Participated, along with her fifteen-year-old daughter, in the rescue of Danish Jews in October 1943. (Yahil, 1969, p. 487 FN 90; Verbannung Aufzeichnungen Deutscher Schriftsteller Wegner, 1964; Testimony, Wiener Library, Daughter: Yad Vashem)
BERG, Mr., Danish Composer, Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 123)
BERTELSEN, Aage, Teacher, Leader Lyngby, Copenhagen, District Leader, “The Ring.”
Mr. Bertelsencollected funds to help save 700 Danish Jews. The Jews were transported to Sweden in October and November 1943. His house was at the center of rescue activities. His house was used to pass several hundred Danish Jews through it. He was helped by Pasteur Krohn, Vicar of Lyngby and others. His activities were discovered and he was forced to flee to Sweden in late October. After the war he authored an important book on the Danish rescue. See Lyngby Group.
Bertelsen recalled the rescue activities: “It was our wish that it should become universally known that there wa a travel agency open any time and to anybody who felt impelled to go on a vacation to Sweden. We were well aware of the risk but we hoped that by the time the Germans got on our heels and closed down the shop we should have finished a useful piece of work.”
Mrs. Bertelsen was arrested in November 1943 she recalled being interrogated by Nazi authorities in prison. They asked why did she help Jews: “We know you have participated in helping Jews to Sweden, isn’t that true?” “Of course it is, all decent people did.” “And why did you help the Jews? Was it to make money?” “Because of sympathy with poor, persecuted people, who came to us confidently placing their lives and fates in our hands…” (Flender, 1980, p. 149)
In October 1943 Aage Bertelsen and his wife discussed how rescue work made them feel. Mrs. Bertelsen told her husband, “It’s as if we never realized before what it means to live” (Flender, 1980, p. 148; Aage Bertelsen, October ’43 New York: Munich: Ner Tamid Verlag 1960; Yahil, 1969, pp. XII, 247, 254, 274, 487 FN 69; Oct. 43, pp. 12, 43 and Passim Werner, 2002, p. 62-64; Flender 10, 70-71, 138-140, 146-149.)
BERTELSEN+, Mrs. Aage, Lyngby Rescue Group. Mrs. Aage Bertelsen worked closely with her husband in saving Danish Jews.
On November 9, 1943, Mrs. Bertelsen was arrested by Nazi authorities. She was questioned about her husband’s whereabouts. She refused to divulge his location. She was asked about her activities rescuing Jews. She recalled that she was asked: “We know you have participated in helping Jews to Sweden, isn’t that true?” She replied: “Of course it is. All decent people did.” Asked “And shy did you help Jews? Was it to make money?” She replied: “Because of sympathy with poor, persecuted people, who came to us confidently placing their lives and fates in our hands.” In discussing the rescue of Jews with her husband, Aage, she reflected: “It’s as if we never realized before what it means to live.” (Flender, 1980, pp. 138-139, 148, 149; Bertelsen, 1954; Gersfelt, 1945)
BOEGH, Franz, Headmaster/Principal in Urikkenborg, Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 20)
BOEGH, Dr. Jorgen (Doctor of Divinity), Lyngby Rescue Group. Worked on the Christian Daily. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 20-22, 31)
BOHR, Harald, Committee for the Support of Intellectual Refugees. Rescue activist brother of Professor Niels Bohr. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 18, 373)
BOHR, Professor Niels, Physicist, Committee for the Support of Intellectual Refugees. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 18, 91, 201, 227-330, 373; Goldberger, 1987, pp. 10, 60, 109, 202; Flender, 1980, pp. 75-77, 126)
BORCHSENIUS, Pastor Poul (Alias “Hans Hansen), Protestant Chaplain. Religious leader opposed anti-Semititism and deportation of Jews. Helped smuggle Jews out of Denmark. Actve in Danish underground. Pastor Borchsenius replied why he helped Danish Jews: “I can’t tell you. Of course, I helped them, but I can’t tell you why. It was spontaneous. Yes, all over the country it was spontaneous” (Borchsenius, Udlaendigheds Dage; Goldberger, 1987, pp. 87, 199; Yahil, 1969, pp. 364, 512, FN 133; Flender, 1980, pp. 177-181, 188, 242-243)
BORGESEN, Jonas, Fisherman. Helped take Jews to safety in Sweden. (Werner, 2002, pp. 74-75)
BRUHN, Ove, Rescue activist, Member Elsinor Sewing Club rescue group. Rescued Jews in Denmark October 1943. (Flender, 1980, pp. 152-153, 164; Goldberger, 1987, p. 87)
BRUNÉ, Mr., Virum, Denmark, Lyngby Rescue Group. Driver, courier, Lyngby Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 144-145)
BUHL, Vilem, Prime Minister (Premier), Denmark, May 5 1942- November 8, 1945, Council of Nine, Finance Minister, Leader Social Democrats. Vilem Buhl became Prime Minister of Denmark after Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning died in office in May 1942. Buhl was actively against the persecution of Jews in Denmark. He warned German officials that the persecution of Jews was a “demand that would be incompatible with the formation of a new (Danish) government.” Buhl also warned Jews of the impending deportation action of October 1943. (Børge Outze, ed., Denmark During the German Occupation, Copenhagen Scandanavian Publishing Co., 1946; Yahil, 1969, pp. 64, 75, 106, 108, 125, 227, 239, 369)
CARSTENSEN, Mr., Railroad conductor, Lyngby Group. Manager, Burmeister and Wain Shipbuilding Company. Hid the family of Mendel Katler, a Jewish foreman in a leather goods factory. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 116; Flender, 1980, pp. 60-61, based on oral history with Harold Flender)
CHRISTIANSEN, Miss, Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 180)
CHRISTIANSEN+†, Juel, Merchant, Finance Department, Lyngby Rescue Group. Worked with B. O. Weeke in Lyngby Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 80, 123)
CHRISTIANSEN, Werner, Owner of Inn at Rødvig, Denmark. Hid and housed Jewish refugees in his hotel until they could be taken safely to Sweden, October 1943. (Flender, 1980, pp. 96, 168-176)
DANISH CUSTOMS HOUSE OFFICIAL, Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 116)
“DAVID” (Jewish), co-founder, Lyngby Rescue Group. Activist, co-founder with Aage Bertelsen, inspiration for Lyngby Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 29-31, 34-37, 68, 70, 74-77, 96-97, 142)
DEDICHEN, Herman, Danish Politician, Social Democratic Party. After September 28, warned Jews. (Bertelsen, 1954; Goldberger, 1987, p. 13; Outze, 1946; Werner, 2002, p. 40)
DIGE, Mr., Permanent Undersecretary, Danish Ministry of Finance. A friend of Aage Bertelsen. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 27, 69)
DOCTOR NO. 2, Rockefeller Institute. Worked with Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 81)
DYBY, Knud, Danish Policeman. (Dyby, Boats in the Night)
EGE, Richard, Professor of Biochemistry and Theory of Nutrition, Institute of Biochemistry, Rescue activist. Ege was active in rescuing Danish Jews during the Nazi deportation action of October, 1943. His and His wife’s house was a rescue center for planning the rescue and for taking Jews to the Danish coast. He worked with Professor Hussfeld of the Freedom Council. He also worked with Aage Bertelsen a leader and rescue activist with “The Ring”
Professor Ege recalled: “It was exactly the same as having your neighbor’s house on fire. Naturally you wanted to do something about it. I never felt any danger. You see, I’ve always been an optimist, and so I never blieved anything really bad could happen to me. There was only one time when I supposed I did feel a bit close to danger. It was the day we were forced to leave our apartment in the Rockefeller Institute and go into hiding under a pseudonym. We were together with our children in the apartment when there was a terrific banging on the door that meant only one thing, the Gestapo. We immediately went through a door that led directly to my laboratory, where I knew we could hide safely. The Germans broke in, but they were too late. They left half an hour later, and we were able to make our way safely out of the Institute.” (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 29, 32-33, 76-81, 131, 144, 171; Flender, 1980, pp. 55-56, 134-139, 141, 144, 233; Goldberger, 1987, pp. 47, 87, 108, 111; Yahil, 1969, pp. 31, 246-247, 254, 292-294)
EGE, Vibeke, Rescue activist. Wife of Dr. Richard Ege, participated with her husband in the rescue of Danish Jews, Oct 1943. Mrs. Ege later reflected: “We helped the Jews because it meant that for once in your life you were doing something worth-while. There has been a lot of talk about how grateful the Jews should be of their fellow Danes for having saved their lives, but I think that the Danes should be equally grateful to the Jews for giving them the opportunity to do something decent and meaningful. It was a terrible time, but I must confess it was also a wonderful time, a happy time. Yes, I don’t think that we were ever happier. Our activities gave us a special feeling of oneness. We were together. Nowhere were we refused.” (Bertelsen, October 1943, pp. 12, 43; Flender, 1980, p. 144; Goldberger, 1987, pp. 47, 87, 108, 111; Yahil, 1969, pp. 246-247, 253, 254, 292)
ERIKSSON, Lief, Lyngby Rescue Group. Student of Bertelsen at State School. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 123)
FEDERSPIEL, Per, Resistance, Rescue Activist, Danish Minister for Special Affairs. Rescue advocate and leader. Helped finance underground movement. His wife was endangered during this period. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 94-95; Foss p 220; Yahil, 1969, pp. 197, 251, 277; Federspiel, Modstandsbevaegelsens Finansiering, Danmarks Frihedskap II, pp. 773-781)
FIBIGER, V., Danish Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs. V. Fibiger opposed anti-Semitism in Denmark. On December 17, 1941 Fibiger met with Jewish community leaders to reassure them of the support of the Danish government against attempts to persecute Jews. The following are the minutes of the meeting with Fibiger; “The Chief Rabbi reported that, at the invitation of the Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs, he had a meeting with him on December 8. The Minister, Fibiger stated that these were difficult times for everyone, especially for Jews. He wanted to know what the mood was among Jews, indicating that he wished to emphasize that there was no cause for alarm. He was aware of the fact that, following the signing of the Anti-Commitern Pact, which had been forced upon the Administration, rumors of a coming legislation designed to deal with the Jewish problem had spread. The Minister stated that no one in the government would even think of going along with such legislation- because in Denmark we do not acknowledge that there is a Jewish problem. He added that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Scavenius, fully concurred with the position that any request from the Germans in this matter would be rejected and that the Foreign Minister, if necessary, was ready to face a show-down on the issue. The Chief Rabbi had expressed his appreciation for this reassuring message. Within the Jewish community, the King and the government enjoyed full trust; in view of the good relationship that had always prevailed, it was unimaginable that special legislation could be introduced applying only to Jews. In this connection, the Chief Rabbi mentioned the shameful disgrace of the publication Kamptegnet. The Minister replied that the magazine ought not to be published. Though he felt that it would be inopportune for the government to ban the magazine outright, he promised that he would arrange to have it withdrawn from newsstands and forbid its advertisement in public areas. The Minister once more stressed that as long as the present government was in office the Jews need have no fears.” (Goldberger, 1987, p. 31)
FLORANDER, Margrethe, Medical Student. Medical student of Dr. Erik Husfeldt at the University of Copenhagen Medical School. She organized a strike in protest of the Nazi persecution of Danish Jews. (Flender, 1980, pp. 127)
FOG, Mr. Johannes, Timber Merchant. Lent a considerable sum to help finance Lyngby Line rescue operation. Lent 168,000 Kroner. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 65-67, 70, 110)
FOG, Professor Mogens, Leader Freedom Council, Leader Danish Resistance Movement. Major advocate and activist for the rescue of Denmark Jews. Worked with other Freedom Council Members Frode Jakobsen, Arne Sørensen, Erling Foss, and many others. (Fog, M., Danmark Frit 1942-1946, Thaning & Appel, Kbhn., 1947, pp. 29-33; Goldberger, 1987, p. 5; Yahil, 1969, pp. 34, 108-109, 116, 226, 455 FN 79)
FOSS, Erling, Founder Danish Freedom Council. In the introduction to is book, Foss wrote: “It is, indeed, really this cooperation on the part of the active, sound, and moral forces of the people which gives the conception of democracy meaning in a progressive and highly civilized society such as ours” (cited in Yahil, 1969, p. 224). (Foss, E., Daa Eget Ansuar 194-1945, Gyldendal, Kbhn., 1958; Yahil, 1969, pp. 183, 223-224, 229, 232, 236, 277, 374)
FRISCH, Hartvig. Protested Anti-Semitism, warned Jews of deportation. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 59, 64, 96, 223, 239)
FRISS, Aage, Chairman, Committee for the Support of Political Refugees. In 1933, founded, along with Dr Niels and Harold Bohr, The Committee for the Support of Political Refugees. It was to support German Jewish refugees who fled to Denmark after the Nazi takeover. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 18, 373)
FUGLSANG-DAMGAARD, H., Bishop of Copenhagen, Clergyman. Strongly protested the persecution of Jews and the attempted deportation of Jews by Nazis in October 1943. He prepared a letter of protest to be given to German occupation commander Dr. Werner Best. The letter was read in many Danish churches on Sunday, October 3, 1943. In part, it stated: “We understand by freedom of religion the right to exercise our faith in God in accordance with vocation and conscience, and in such a way that race and religion can never in themselves be a reason for depriving a man of his rights, freedom, or property. Despite different religious views, we shall therefore struggle to insure the continued guarantee to our Jewish brothers and sisters of the same freedom we ourselves treasure more than life itself. The leaders of the Danish Church have a clear understanding of the duty to be law-abiding citizens and would never revolt needlessly against those who exercise the functions of authority over us—but our conscience obliges us at the same time to maintain the law and to protest against any violation of rights. We will therefore unambiguously declare our allegiance to the doctrine that bids us obey God more than man” (quoted in Yahil, 1969, pp. 235-236). (Yahil, 1969, pp. 173, 207, 234-236, 308, 486n49)
GAMMELOFT, Dr. Allan, Medical Doctor. Worked to help save Danish Jews during the attempted deportation of October 1943. Worked closely with Medical stude Ole Secher and Dr. Karl Henry Koster in saving Jews. (Flender, 1980, p. 120)
GERGERSEN, Miss, Lyngby Rescue Group. High school teacher, Buddington Lane, Copenhagen. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 21)
GERSFELD, Dr. and Mrs. Jørgen, Physician, Member, Leader Elsinore Sewing Club. Helped 1100 Danish Jews cross the Øresund and escape to neutral Sweden, October-November 1943. He often accompanied Jewish refugee boats to Sweden. He and his wife arranged transports and helped finance the operation. Wrote book about his rescue group. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 67, 76, 82, 131; Flender, 1980, pp. 152-154, 164, 167; Gersfelt, Saadan Narrede vi Hestapo [How We Cheated The Gestapo], 1945; Goldberger 86-88, 130-131; Yahil, 1969, pp. 262, 266)
GRENTH+, Mr., Lyngby Rescue Group. Hotel and restaurant owner. Hid Jews, worked with Lyngby Group. Caught by Gestapo. Went underground in Copenhagen. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 126-131)
GROSSEN, Uffe, Lyngby Rescue Group. High school principal, Zeeland, Denmark. Helped move/transport Jews. Raised money for rescue effort. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 140-141)
GYBERG, Werner, Danish Help Service. Underground leader, founded and operated Danish Help Service, which saved Danish Jews. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 346-349)
HANSEN, Danish Police, Gasoline Rationing Office. Supplied crucial ration coupons to Lyngby Line. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 180)
HANSEN, H. C., Danish Politician, Social Democratic Party. Warned Jews of impending deportation, September-October, 1943. (Bertelsen, 1954; Flender, 1980, pp. 50; Goldberger, 1987, pp. 13, 35, 40, 147; Outze, 1946; Werner, 2002, pp. 40, 124, 130, 155, 158; Yahil, 1969, p. 239)
HANSEN, Peder Christopher, Fisherman. Danish fisherman Peder Christopher Hansen, transported numerous Jews on his fishing boat to Sweden in the first week of October 1943. Hansen worked with Danish hotel owner Werner Christansen who was hiding Jews in his coastal resort hotel. (Flender, 1980, pp. 98-101)
HANSEN, “Sparky,” Engineer of the Gerda III, which smuggled Jews from Denmark to Sweden. (Pundik, 1998, pp. 107-108)
HANSEN, Stig, civil engineer. Saved life of a Jewish tailor from Nazi deportation action. Gave him money and took him to his friend A.P. Møller in Hellerop, Denmark. (Flender, 1980, pp. 97-98)
HEDTOFT, Hans (1903-1955), Chairman, Social Democratic Party, Prime Minister, Denmark, November 13, 1947 – October 27, 1950, September 1953 – January 29, 1955. Hedtoft was warned of the deportation of the Jews by German diplomat Georg F. Duckwitz. Hedtoft Remembered: “He came to see me while I was in a meeting in the worker’s old meeting place at 22, Romersgade. ‘Now the disaster is about to occur,’ he said. ‘The whole thing is planned in full detail. Ships are going to anchor in the harbor of Copenhagen. Your poor Jewish fellow countrymen who will be found by the Gestapo will be forcibly transported to the ships and deported to an unknown fate.’ His face was white with indignation and shame. I frankly admit that – although during those years I was accustomed to get many surprising messages from this man – I became speechless with rage and anxiety. This was too diabolic. I just managed to say, “Thank you for the news,” and Duckwitz disappeared. He personally did everything that was possible to save as many human lives as he could.”
Hedtoft then warned the leaders of the Jewish community of the impending deportations by Eichmann’s SS police battalions. He went to the president of the Jewish community Carl Bernard Henriques, and told him: “A great disaster is about to happen. The feared action against the Jews will come about in the following way: In the night between October 1 and 2, the Gestapo is going to seize all Jews in their residences, and then transport them to waiting ships in the harbor. You must immediately notify all Jews who live in the city. Obviously, we are ready to help you with everything you need.” (Bertelsen, Aage, October 1943; Flender, 1980, pp. 50-51, 76; Goldberger, 1987, pp. 8, 13, 14, 16, 29, 32, 46, 82; Hedtoft, Hans 1945. “Conscience Must Never Be Neutral.”; Outze, Børge, Ed., Denmark During the German Occupation, Copenhagen Scandinavian Publishing Co., 1946; Werner 39-40, 124, 130; Yahil, 1969, pp. 18, 148, 214, 239, 370-373)
HEILESEN*. Rescue activist killed (shot) in Taarbaek Harbor while loading Jews in boats during rescue operation. He was the son of a Danish Supreme Court attorney. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 172-174)
HELWEG, Ole, Rescue Activist, Hendil Line, Swedish Danish Rescue Line. Rescued Danish Jews October 1943. Operated rescue line between Denmark and Sweden. See also Hendil Line. (Flender, 1980, pp. 168-176; Goldberger, 1987, pp. 87; Yahil, 1969, pp. 335-344)
HENDIL, Lief B., Danish Resistance Leader, Founded Hendil Line in Malmo, Sweden. Lead and operated major rescue line to help Jews escape from Denmark to Sweden. See also Hendil Line, Danish-Swedish rescue service “Ferry Service.” (Flender, 1980, pp. 170-171; Yahil, 1969, pp. 336-353, 356-357, 371, 374, 377, 390)
HENDRIKSEN, Carl Naesh, Newspaper Reporter, Copenhagen. Warned his Jewish friend Judge Moutz in Assens about impending deportation. He didn’t believe the warning and was arrested and deported to Theresienstadt, where he perished.
HOLBECK, Kaj, Newspaperman, rescue activist. Worked with Pastor Borchsenius to rescue Danish Jews.
HOLM, Dr. Johannes, Medical Officer, Danish Legation in Berlin, Germany. Dr. Johannes Holm successfully negotiated with the German RSHA for the release and repatriation of Danish Jews imprisoned in the Thereiesenstadt concentration camp in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He worked closely with Dr. Rennau, the liason official with Fold Bernadote’s Office in Friedrichsruth. (see Dr. Rennau_ He was stationed in Berlin February to May 1945. (Koch, p. 81-82; Yahil, 1969, pp. 316, 500 FN102)
HUSFELDT, Professor Erik, M.D., Leader, “The Ring,” Member Freedom Council. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 227, 246-247)
HVASS, Franz, Head, Political Department Danish Foreign Ministry. Franz Hvass requested to German Plenipotentiary Dr. Best in Denmark for permission for representatives of the Danish Foreign Ministry and the Red Cross to inspect conditions in the Theresienstadt concentration camp and see to the welfare of Danish Jews imprisoned there. Best recommended the visit. Hvass visited Berlin in April and May 1944 with SS officials to facilitate permission to visit the camp. The visit was approved by SS chief Himmler and was scheduled for June 23, 1944. With Hvass were representatives of the Danish Red Cross, Dr. Juel Henningsen and Dr. M. Rossel. Both representatives were greatly deceived by the ‘improved conditions’ and were highly critical of the SS in their report of the camp. (Flender, 1980, pp. 221-223)
HVIDBERG, Professor Fleming, Newspaper Editor, Nationaltidende. Wrote pro-Jewish newspaper articles during the Nazi occupation of Denmark. He actively protested publication of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Denmark along with Fredrick Torm, Aage Bentzen and Joh Petersen. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 87, 234, 451, FN 17,18)
JAKOBSEN, Frode, Leader Freedom Council. Frode Jakobsen, one of the principle leaders in the Danish Underground resistance movement wrote to his ally and resistance leader Christian Møller in September 1943: “For me the main think is the struggle for the soul of the people. The essential aim is to get the people to fight… One cannot in all conscience totally reject the assertion that it is not the Danish people but small ‘gangs’ which are fighting… In my opinion ‘how to draw the masses into the war’ is more important than ‘how to cause the greatest practical damage to the Germans.’… I am in no doubt that we must work toward this broader popular rising. Whether this will succeed and how it is to be done—well, I must admit I can’t see quite clearly at the moment.” (Goldberger, 1987, p. 5; Haestrup, 1960-1964; Yahil, 1969, pp. 225-227, 252)
JANSEN, Signe, Head Nurse, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen. (Flender, 1980, pp. 121,124; Werner, 2002, p. 49)
JENSEN, Mrs. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 111-112)
JENSEN+†, Christian, Husun, Lyngby Rescue Group. Worked with Dr. Strandbygaard. Arrested and severely tortured. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 124)
JENSEN, Mr. V. A. C., Headmaster, Elsinore High School, Lyngby Rescue Group. Aided Bertelsen and Lyngby Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 111-112)
JENSON, Robert (Alias Code Name “Tom”), Danish Help Service. The chief liaison officer of the Danish Help Service rescue line. He was partnered with the Werner Gyberg the lines leader and founder Jenson’s code name was Tom. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 346-349, 508 FN 88)
JESPERSENS. The Jespersens, a Danish family, hid the Kaufman family during their escape, October 1943. (Kaufman; Werner, 2002, p. 53)
KAER, Miss, Copenhagen, Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p.41)
KAMPMANN+†, Mr., Civil Engineer. Worked at technical high school. Major helper and organizer in Lyngby Group. Arrested and tortured. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 152-154)
KARLBY, Brent, Rescue Leader, Activist Hendil Line. Helped organize and operate Hendil line which helped hundreds of Danish Jews cross the Øresund to neutral Sweden. (See Hendil Line.) (Flender, 1980, pp. 168-173; Yahil, 1969, p. 20)
KIAER, Erling, Bookbinder, Rescue Activist, Kiaer Line, Elsinore Sewing Club. Smuggled Jews to Sweden in rescue operation he founded. Called the “Kiaer Line.” Also founded Elsinore Sewing club rescue group. (Flender, 1980, pp. 151-153, 157-160, 164-166, 246; Kiaer, Erling, Med Gestapo I Køluandet, 1945, pp. 1, 7-8, 13-14, 16-19, 23, 26-27, 32, 84; Yahil, 1969, pp. 256-258, 487 FN 92, 488 FN 93)
KIELER, Elsebeth. (Pundik, 1998, pp. 104-106)
KIELER, Jorgen
KILDEBY, Pastor Hans, Lutheran Minister, Orslov, Denmark. Hid Rabbi Melchior, his wife and 5 children. (Flender, 1980, pp. 53-54; Melchior; Werner, 2002, pp. 47-48)
KISLING, Captain Christian, and wife, Gethe. In October 1943 hid, fed, and comforted 40 Jews in an attic above a garage in a Salvage company Kisling worked for.
Mrs, Kisling later said: “Those were indeed horrible days for all of us. It was not easy to enjoy one’s own warm bed at night, knowing your countrymen were frightened and uncertain about what was going to happen to them, not knowing where to escape, where to turn.”
“At first public opinion was against sabotage, but then once the Germans started in with the Jews and we had to help them escape, we got a taste of what it was like to fight the Germans, and we liked it. We thought, now that the Jews are safe in Sweden- let’s continue, let’s go all the way.” (Flender, 1980, pp. 72-73, 225)
KJAER, Holger, Teacher. (Goldberger, 1987, pp. 33-34)
KJELDSEN, Lyngby Rescue Group, rescue activist. Kjeldsen was a key transportation volunteer for the Lyngby Group in Copenhagen, Denmark. Kjeldsen subtly transported many Jews in his taxi cab during the Nazi attempt to arrest and deport the Jews of Denmark in Oct. 1943. He was recruited by Lyngby group leader Aage Bertelsen after he volunteered to save Jews. Kjeldsen exclaimed: “Alright then… Now I know what it’s all about, and from now on you can count on me, night and day! Yes, you’re right. I don’t know much about Jews, but this is against my religion and my morals- hunting people as if they were rats.” (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 134-137; Flender, 1980, pp. 146-147)
KLEENER, Herman, Lyngby Rescue Group. Former student of Aage Bertelsen. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 141-142)
KNUDSEN, Jørgen, Ambulance Driver, Copenhagen Denmark. When he heard of the deportation order he obtained a telephone directory and drove to houses of Jews in the city. He then took them to Bisperbjerg Hospital in his ambulance. Then full time transported Jews to the dock of Copenhagen.
Knudsen later recalled: “It was never a question of Jew or non-Jew. It was a question of people in distress. I would have helped anyone to escape from the Gestapo.”
“Are you sure that there is nothing – really nothing that you have done against us? Come, I give you my word that we are going to let you go free. We really have nothing to hold you on. But, just for the fun of it, off the record, isn’t there anything that you have done against us?”
Knudsen was so taken in by the officer’s apparent charm that he admitted that he had helped Jews escape to Sweden.
“But why?”
“Because I felt it had to be done. I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing while friends of mine were being persecuted.”
“So you have Jewish friends?”
“Yes.”
“And you did not like the way we were treating them?”
“No.”
Jørgen Knudsen, rescuer, after being arrested and questioned by Gestapo agents, was then beaten and released (cited in Flender, 1980, pp. 227-228). (Flender, 1980, pp. 54-56, 122-124, 226-229)
KOCH, Hal, Professor, Theologian, University Teacher, Writer, Resistance Advocate. (Goldberger, 1987, pp. 27, 32, 123, 126, 131; Yahil, 1969, pp. 38-41, 44-45, 50-51, 55, 56, 58, 94, 376)
KØSTER, Dr. and Mrs. Karl Henry, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen. Leader of rescue efforts by Danish physicians, nurses and hospital personnel. Worked with Dr. Steffan Lund of the Kommunehospital in Copenhagen. More than 75 percent of doctors and nurses participated in the rescue of Danish Jews. (Flender, 1980, pp. 55, 116, 117, 226; Werner, 2002, p. 49; Yahil, 1969, pp. 241, 487 FN 63; Den Hvide Brigade)
KRAFT, Henrik, Head of Publicity Department Tuborg Brewery. Prominent rescuer, had to escape to Sweden after the mailbag in the Julius was found. He worked from Stockholm in the rescue of Jews. Worked in the financial department Hendil rescue line. Helped to secure funds and guaranteed loans used to save Danish Jews. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 353, 374)
KRAFT, Ole Bjørn, Representative of the Conservative Folk Party, Member Rigsdag’s Foreign Policy Committee, Council of Nine. Ole Bjørn Kraft was firmly opposed to any form of discrimination or legislative actions against Danish Jews. In April 1941 he protested the forced removal of Jewish journalists from the paper, Nationidende. Kraft seconded the motion to dissolve the Danish government in the crisis of August 29, 1943. (Goldberger, 1987, p. 33; Yahil, 1969, pp. 49, 107, 125)
KROHN, Pastor, Vicar of Lyngby, Copenhagen, Lyngby Rescue Group. Provided funds for Lyngby Line and blank Baptismal Certificates for use to save Danish Jews. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 64-65)
LARKING, Mr. and Mrs. Speedy, Trapeze artist, Lyngby Group, Rescue activist. Helped Danish Jews as part of the Lyngby Group. After observing fishing boats to Sweden he said this to his fellow rescuer: “Do you know what I think I am feeling, Mr. Bertelsen?” “Perhaps,” said Bertelsen, “but tell me anyway.” “I feel – hang it – I feel like throwing myself down upon the road and saying, ‘thank you!’” (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 83. 138-139, 163, 180; Flender, 1980, pp. 148-149)
LARSEN, Eivind, Head Danish Justice Department. (Goldberger, 1987, pp. 48-49; Yahil, 1969, pp. 174, 185, 204, 209-211)
LARSEN, Thomod, Police Detective, Founding Member Elsinore Sewing Club, Rescue Activist. (Flender, 1980, pp. 152-153, 163-165, 246)
LEIFER, Vilhelm, Danish Police Officer, Rescue Activist. Warned Jews. Helped rescue Benjamin Serv and other Jews. (Flender, 1980, pp. 191-193)
LILLELUND, Jens, Leader, Holger Danske Group, Rescue Activist. Jens Lillelund (alias Finn), was a rescue activist and a leader of the Holger Danske Group, a resistance underground organizations responsible for sabotage against German war efforts in Denmark. He helped organize the rescue of Danish Jews in October 1943. Worked with Morens Staffeldt. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 247, 487 FN 71; Goldgerber, pp. 87, 148; Flender, 1980, pp. 56-57,103-115, 232-233; Yad Vashem, 027/13. Kieler, Jørgen. 1993. Nordinske Laenkehunde: Den Første Holger Kanske Gruppe. [(The Scandinavian watchdogs: The first Holger Danske group.] Copenhagen: Gyldendal.)
LINDERSTROM-LANG, Professor. Assistant to Professor Richard Egg. Worked with Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 29, 79)
LUND, Ebba, Copenhagen, age 20. Organized rescue effort for Danish Jews with her sister Ulla Lund. Ebba remembered: “When transportation of the Jews began, I… wracked my brains for ways to come up with shipping contracts and money… Ulla and I went begging for money, large and small amounts, wherever we could. After a while people would come to our home and donate money… Soon a fisherman and some others became involved… Then about a dozen boats were willing to sail regularly. Some passengers were troublesome, insisting on… having large amounts of luggage. Others, who had more of a perspective on things and better nerves were… easier to work with.” (Pundik, 1998, pp. 107-108)
LUND, Ulla, Copenhagen. Organized rescue effort for Danish Jews. Worked with her sister Ebba Lund. (Pundik, 1998, pp. 107-108)
LUND, Dr. Steffen, Kommunehospital, Copenhagen. Major rescue leader among Danish physicians in Copenhagen and in local districts of the Kommunehospital. Worked under leadership of Dr. Karl Køster. (Flender, 1980, p. 127; Yahil, 1969, pp. 241, 487 FN 63; Den Hvide Brigade; Werner, 2002, p. 49)
MADSEN, Henning, Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 123)
MADSEN, Mr. and Mrs. Thorvald. Worked with Lyngby Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 131)
MAGIUS+†, Mr. Engineer from Funen Lane, Lyngby, Denmark. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 124)
MARX, Erich, Boatman/Skipper, Jewish Rescue activist, Danish Swedish Rescue Service. Passed as a Swede helped ferry Jews from Denmark to Sweden. (Flender, 1980, pp. 169, 173-176; Yahil, 1969, pp. 34, 339-342)
MEXICAN SEA CAPTAIN. Owner of a large fishing schooner helped the Lyngby group transport Danish Jews to Sweden. He charged a nominal fee and took great risks helping desperate Jews flee Denmark in October 1943. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 114-119, 180-181; Flender, 1980, p. 147)
MOHR, O.C., Minister Danish Legation in Berlin, Germany. Requested to German Foreign Ministry officer for official permission ofDanish officials to inspect Danish citizens (Jews) in Theresienstadt and be able to send relief parcels to its citizens there. Permission was granted and members of the Danish Legation in Berlin petitioned the German Foreign Ministry to have some Jews deported to Theresienstadt released from the camp and returned to Denmark, and further deportation halted. It further requested parcels be sent to Theresienstadt for the relief of Danish Jews. Eichmann and Best agreed on the following:
Jews over sixty would not be arrested or deported.
Half Jews living in a mixed marriage would be released and returned to Denmark
All the Jews deported from Denmark to Theresienstadt would remain there and not be transferred to other camps (that is, Auschwitz), and the representatives of the Danish administration and the Danish Red Cross would pay a visit to the camp in the near future.
Eichmann replied by telegram to Werner Best on 4 November 1943:
RSHA Obersturmbannführer Eichmann has promised the implementation of the proposals in the above telegram (of Best). It has emphasized that paragraph 1 refers only to the future. As regards paragraph 2, each case will be thoroughly investigated, and only when it is clear beyond a shadow of doubt that an error has occurred will the deportees be returned. As regards paragraph 3, the RSHA agrees in principle to the proposed visit, but this should not take place before the spring of 1944. The Jews in Theresienstadt will be allowed to write to Denmark, but the dispatch of food parcels is still undesirable
(Adler TheresienstadtNote 229A; Bertelsen, 1954; Correspondence German Red Cross, Foreign Relations Department JM/1700/4; Goldberger, 1987, pp. 46-47; Tannenbaum, “Red Cross to the Rescue Yad Vashem Bulletin Oct.1959; Yahil, 1969, pp. 104, 106, 167, 169, 173-174, 180, 185, 192, 200, 207-209, 212, 221, 235, 291-293, 296, 300-301, 304, 329, 492, 492FN15-16)
MØLLER, Christmas John. Leader Conservative Party, Underground Activist Leader, Danish Council, London, England, 1942-1945. Christmas John Møller was one of the principal organizers and leaders of the Danish resistance movement. Escaped to London in May 1942, and continued his resistance actions there.
Møller was leader of the Conservative Party in Denmark. He served in the Danish national government from July to October 1940. He was forced to resign under pressure from the German occupying forces. Møller was opposed to any proposed anti-Semitic measures against Danish Jews.
In a speech on October 16, 1941 he stated, “The treatment of Jews as practice in Germany is completely unsuitable to the Danish character.” Møller became a leader of the Danish underground resistance. In April 1942 he was forced to escape Denmark. He went to England and was appointed leader of the Danish Council in the Danish government in-exile. (Flender, 1980, p. 68; Jakobsen manuscript, cited in Yahil, 1969; Yahil, 1969, pp. 16, 43, 65, 94, 225-226, 330, 342, 345, 355-356, 484n11)
MOURIDSEN, Chief of Police, Lyngby, Denmark. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 21, 22, 146-147)
MUNCH-NIELSEN, Preben. (Werner, 2002, p. 74)
MUNCK, Ebbe, journalist, liaison, Representative of the Danish Resistance in Stockholm, Sweden. Worked with Hendil Line rescue group. Munch was appointed a representative of the Freedom Council in Stockholm on December 9, 1943. Munch worked with nuclear physicist and rescue advocate Dr. Niels Bohr.
Haestrup wrote of Munch: “Through his work, he had earlier and more forcefully than anybody else striven to extract Denmark from that neutrality which, in the face of a movement such as Nazism, seemed to him a national, political, and ethical impossibility.”
(Flender, 1980, pp. 20, 168-169, 171, 247; Munch, Ebbe, Outze, Børge, Ed. Danmark Frihedskamp, I-II. (Bogforlaget Nutiden, KBHN, 1949); Yahil, 1969, pp. 326-327, 330, 333-342, 345-352, 355-358, 374)
MUNK, Kaj, Clergyman. (Flender 70,109, 234, quoted p. 28; Yahil, 1969, p. 233)
NICOLAISEN. The Pundik family was safely hidden in Nicolaisen home. He later arranged the safe passage to Denmark, October 1943. (Pundik, 1998, In Denmark it Could Not Happen: The Flight of the Jews to Sweden in 1943; Werner, 2002, p. 52)
NIELSEN, Mrs. Ellen, Fish Seller, Rescue Activist, Dragør, Denmark. (Flender, 1980, pp. 182-185, 187; Werner, 2002, p. 57)
NIELSEN, Ole, Fishing Boat Captain, Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 123; Werner, 2002, p. 82)
NIELSEN, Poul, Inspector, Member Danish Resistance. Helped Jews escape. (Werner, 2002, p. 54)
NORDENTOFT, Pastor (Dean) Johannes, Clergyman. (Flender, 1980, p. 69; Yahil, 1969, p. 233)
NORGAARD, Ole, Lyngby Rescue Group. Student of Aage Bertelsen. (Bertelsen, 1954)
NORRID, Mr., Lyngby Rescue Group, Sorgenfri, Copenhagen. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 21, 31, 97, 101, 115, 122, 147, 173)
NORRID, Mrs., Lyngby Rescue Group, Sorgenfri, Copenhagen. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 21, 31, 97, 101, 115, 122, 147, 173)
NYSKOV-SORENSEN, Mr. Jens, Lyngby Rescue Group. Lyngby Line activist, parliamentary usher in Humlebaek. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 112, 114, 115, 122, 123, 180)
OLSEN Mr. and Mrs. Axel, Danish fisherman. Danish Fisherman Axel Olsen helped transport Danish Jews to Sweden. He transported Aage Lothinga, a Jewish Police Commissioner, to Sweden on his boat. (Flender, 1980, pp. 101-103)
“THE ORDERLY” +† A shoemaker and an orderly in the Danish Sea Scouts. Courier/taxi driver for the Lyngby Group. Caught, severely tortured by Germans. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 125, 126)
PEDERSEN, Robert, Medical Student, Copenhagen. Warned Jews in Copenhagen. (Pundik, 1998, pp. 109-112; Werner, 2002, p. 49)
PETERSEN*, Brent (“Big P”), Medical Student, rescue activist, Lyngby Rescue Group. Driver, courier, helped rescue Jews during attempted deportation of Danish Jews in October 1943. Died doing rescue work. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 145-146; Petrow, 1974, p. 227)
PETERSEN, Joh. Prohibited publication of anti-Semitic nature from the Danish National Socialist Party. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 87, 451 FN 17, 18)
PETERSEN, Miss, Housekeeper. (Werner, 2002, pp. 59-60; Roi, Emile. A Different Story)
PLUM, Bishop and Wife, Lutheran Bishop at Nykøbing, Island of Falster, Denmark. Bishop Plum and his wife Hid and fed Melchoir family and 150 refugee families during the deportations of October 1943. (Melchioir; Werner, 2002, pp. 47-45)
PRIOR, Lyngby Rescue Group. Lyngby Group in Humlebaek. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 115, 123)
PROHASKA, Professor, Lyngby Rescue Group. Teacher, shipbuilding, Technical High School. Helped with shipping problems for Lyngby Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 116, 122, 144, 153-154, 171)
RASMUSSEN, Pastor Henry, Lutheran Minister. Provided money to pay Danish fishermen to smuggle Jews to Sweden. (Goldberger, 1987, p. 44; Werner, 2002, p. 44)
RASSMUSSEN, Valentin, Salesman Carlsberg Brewery, Underground Rescue Activist. Helped rescue Benjamin Slor and his Brother in law from Nazis. (Flender, 1980, pp. 196-197)
REHBERG, Professor Brandt, Lyngby Rescue Group. Assistant to Professor Richard Ege. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 29, 179)
RODE, Mr. Axel, Lyngby Rescue Group. Activist, rescuer. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 122)
ROERDAM, Mr. Skat, Head of Department, Danish Ministry for Finance. Supplied 70,000 Kroner for the Lyngby Line to rescue Danish Jews. (Bertelsen, 1954)
RONHOLT, Klaus. (Pundik, pp. 104-106)
RØNNE, Børge, Newspaper correspondent, Founding member Elsinore Sewing Club. Rescued Jews October 1943. (Flender, 1980, pp. 151-153, 156-159, 162-164; Goldberger, 1987, p. 87)
SANDOE, Erik (“Mester”), Lyngby Rescue Group. Student of Aage Bertelsen. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 123)
Erik Scavenius, Danish Foreign Minister, Summer 1940-1943, Prime Minister (Premier) 1943-194? Eric Scavenius was the Danish Foreign Minister for the summer of 1940 through -. Was firmly opposed to the German pressure to institute anti-Semitic measures in Denmark. In a meeting with Hermann Goering in November 1941 Scavenius wrote: “But Denmark (Goering) said could not circumvent the Jewish question. To this I replied as always there was no Jewish question in Denmark.” In a meeting with German Minister Renthe-Fink on January 9, 1941 Scavenius warned that implementation of anti-Semitic measures would undermine German-Danish relations. Renthe-Fink convinced his superiors in Berlin of the undesirability of carrying out the final solution in Denmark.’
On August 24, 1942 in a meeting with Renthe-Fink, Scavenius stated that the Danish government would not institute measures against its Jewish population, “Since the Danes would regard this as a denial of their ideals.”
On November 7, 1942 announced to the new German minister in Denmark, Dr. Werner Best, that he was opposed to any legislation against Jews.
Scavenius was elected Prime Minister (Premier) in March 1943. He served as Prime Minister until the resignation of the Danish government in August of 1943. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 34, 46, 47, 49, 56, 58, 67, 68, 75, 104, 116, 121, 123)
SCHMIDT-PETERSEN, Elise, School Teacher. (Flender, 1980, pp. 182, 185 -188; Werner, 2002, pp. 57-58)
SECHER, Ole, Medical Student. Saved 140 Jews from deportation in Denmark. Worked with Dr. Karl Henry Koster. They smuggled Jews duringphony funeral procession on Oct. 7, 1943.
Secher explained: “We just had to. We- that means some of my medical student friends and myself- just felt that we had to do something about this particular situation. There was nothing else we could do.” (Flender, 1980, pp. 118-122, 124)
SCOLDY, Founder, Speditør Rescue Line. (Yahil, 1969, p. 506 FN 85)
SIGTRYGGSSON, Bjarne (“Sig”), Lyngby Rescue Group Leader, School Headmaster. Bjarne Sigtryggsson was a leader of the Lyngby Group from Humlebaek who rescued Jews during the German action of October 1943. Coordinated activities of Lyngby Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 23, 63, 107, 111-112, 121-123, 168-171, 176-178, 180; Petrow, 1974, p. 224)
SIMONSEN, Kai, Attorney. (Yahil, 1969, pp. 18, 353, 355, 374)
SKOV, Niels Aage, Danish Underground. Organized escape for Jews during deportation action of October 1943. He used the red canal system utilizing his small boat to deliver Jews to hiding places. Worked with friend Theis.
Skov remembered: “I stood at the iron railing… and watched a family of four arrive and apprehensively sit down some fifty feet away on the bench for waiting passengers. The man was clutching a pair of gloves in his hand, our recognition sign. The woman was talking to their two children, barely of school are, who each carried a school bag… that held a few necessities. The family looked for all the world to be ordinary citizens, waiting for a canal boat as part of the normal daily street scene. Thies was approaching with three more people, and a minute later watched it approach, Thies came over to me and lit a cigarette. “Last batch,”… he mumbled… As the boat put into landing below us, I looked at the people… then turned around and spat in the water. That was our signal to indicate that this was the boat they should take. They all trooped down the stone steps to the landing and aboard, the children chattering about the harbor tour they had been told they were taking. A moment later, they were all gone” (Skove, Niels Aage. 1997, Letter to My Descendants. Odense: Odense University, cited in Werner, 2002, pp. 65-66)
SMYTH, Henry, Director Swedish-Orient Line, Rescue Activist. Worked with Danish Police officer Vilhelm Leifer. Helped rescue Benjamin Slor and his brother in law.
SØENSEN, Mr., Fisherman, Boat Rescuer. (Halter, 1998)
SOLJE, Lyngby Group. Driver, courier for Lyngby Group. Involved in transports of Jews and others. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 134, 183-185)
SØRENSEN, Arne, Danish Freedom Council. (Goldberger, 1987, p. 5)
SØRENSEN, K. (Yahil, 1969, p. 509 FN 104)
SØRENSEN, Niels, Fisherman. Niels Sørensen was a sixteen year old who, with his father and their boat, helped bring Danish Jews to Sweden in October 1943.
Sørensen recalled: “The local councilors, the doctors, the Protestant Pastors, and many of the villagers came to see if we could help the Jews evacuate to Sweden. It was our mother who told us children that these people… were going to be persecuted by the Germans and that they needed our help. It was she who encouraged us to take part in the evacuation. They went down there (through the trap door), and disappeared in the hull. If they squeezed up it could carry five or six. They could only take one little bag for the journey… once they were all in the hold, we shut the trapdoor, and we stacked our ropes on top. The Germans who inspected the boat never suspected that under the nets and ropes there was a trapdoor! We made man trips to Sweden… The crossing would take an hour and a half- two hours, depending on sea conditions. When sleeping at home, some of us kept a ladder by the bedroom window to escape if the knock came on the front door.”
Niels’s father was arrested and was deported to a concentration camp. Niels had to escape himself to Sweden. (Halter, Marek. 1998. Stories of Deliverance: Speaking with Men and Women Who Rescued Jews from the Holocaust. Translated by Michael Bernard. Chicago: Open Court.)
STAERMOSE, Lt. Erik, Boatman/Skipper Danish Navy, Rescue Activist. Rescue activist with the “Danish Swedish Refugee Service.” In the “Ferrying Service.” (Flender, 1980, pp. 169, 172-176; Yahil, 1969, pp. 340, 342)
STAFFELDT, Mogens, Bookshop Owner Rescue Organizer. Major rescuer of Jews and leader of the Danish Underground. He owned a book shop in Copenhagen which served as a safe haven during rescue operations in October 1943. As many as 600 Jews were helped by Staffeldt and his volunteers. “Staffeldt recalled: “I never think of a man as a Jew or not. It makes no difference to me. At that time I was helping people in trouble. I did the same for the Jews as I did for the Allied fliers, saboteurs and others who had to get to Sweden.” (Flender, 1980, pp. 56-58, 105-115, 122, 189, 230-232, 247, 253; Yad Vashem Testimony, Mogens Staffeldt, 027/13; Yahil, 1969, pp. 247-248, 362)
STEFENSEN, “Stef,” crewmember of the Gerda III, which smuggled Jews from Denmark to Sweden. (Pundik, 1998, pp. 107-108)
STRANDBYGAARD, Dr., woman physician, Lyngby Group. Dr. Strandbygaard helped rescue numerous Jews with the Lyngby Group in October 1943. About her activities helping Jews, Dr. Strandbygaard reflected to Mrs Bertlesen: “Isn’t this strange? Don’t you think so? A very strange feeling! It’s almost like experiencing again the overwhelming love of one’s youth.” (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 123, 124, 148-149, 162, 178, 180; Flender, 1980, p. 148)
SUNDO, Henny Sinding, Four Crew Members of Gerda III
Helped several hundred Jews escape from Copenhagen to Sweden, October 1943. The Gerda was a 19 ton Danish Mailboat. It made numerous crossings safely.
Haney Sundo recalled: “My task was every evening to look for Jews (that had been hidden by friends and neighbors), to assemble them in groups of twenty or twenty-five, and to guide them to the warehouse, where we hid them. From there they had to cross the quay in the dark to get on the boat… The Jews we brought passed the night in the warehouse granary, watching for favorable moments to cross the quay. In the warehouse we left them something to eat and drink, and also sleeping draughts to make the children sleep, as it was essential that no noise could be heard by the German soldiers patrolling outside.” He continued “The boat couldn’t lift anchor until seven o’clock in the morning. When it started its engine, the two Germans on duty came on board to check the papers. They never thought to go down to the hold where they would have found our Jewish guests. Every morning, the crew offered a beer to the two soldiers; they toasted each other and talked about the weather. Then the Germans went back on the quay.”
Henry’s father was Chief of the Lighthouse service and facilitated the rescue effort.
The Gerda III’s crew consisted of: Captain Tønnesen, Engineer “Sparky” Hansen, and crew members “Stef” Stefensen and Andersen. (Pundik, 1998, pp. 107-108)
SVENNINGSEN, Nils, Danish Deputy Foreign Minister. (Swedish Foreign Office, The Swedish Relief Expedition to Germany 1945: Prelude and Negotiations [Stockholm, 1956], White Book, 1956; Persson, 2009, pp. 105-106; Haestrup, Jörgen, Til landets bedste. Hovedtraek af departementschefsstyrets virke 1943-1945 [For the Good of the Country: The Main Features of the Deparmtmental Heads’ Work 1943-1945], bind I-II,Odense, 1966, Copenhagen, 1971; Departmental Head H. H. Koch, Socialministeriet under Besaettelsen [The Ministry of Social Affairs under Occupation], original manuscript at Finn Nielsen’s private archive,dossier 1, DRA; Barfod, Jörgen H., Helvede har mange navne [Hell Has Many Names], Copenhagen, 2nd Edition, 1955, pp. 29-39; Sode-Madsen, Hans, Redeet fra Hitlers Helvede. Danmark og de Hvide Busser 1941-45 [Rescued from Hitler’s Hell on Earth: Denmark and the White Buses 1941-1945], Copenhagen, 2005; Yahil, 1969, pp. 104, 106, 167, 169, 173-174, 180, 185, 192, 200, 207-209, 212, 221, 235, 329)
TESDORPF, Mr. and Mrs. Edvard, Lyngby Group, Rescue Activists. Owner of a large estate at Gjørslev south of Copenhagen. The Danish Underground (Hendil line) used his beach to smuggle Jews. Hid Jews on their estate October 1943.
“Edvard Tesdorpf and his wife worked with the Lyngby Group hiding Jews in their large estate by the sea. Many Jews took refuge on their estate waiting for boat transport to Sweden. Mrs. Tesdorpf recalled telling her husband about the first Jews who hid on their estate:
‘Who are they?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘The only think I know about them is that they’re Jews fleeing arrest by the Germans. They simply turned up at the estate earlier this afternoon and asked if I would hide them. Naturally, I couldn’t turn them away!’
‘Of course,’ replied her husband. ‘We must do everything we can to help them.’
Mrs. Tesdorpf further reflected, ‘Actually, it was all rather exciting. Every time we took the refugees down to the beach on our estate where they were to meet one of the boats I kept hearing over and over in my head “The Smuggler’s Theme” from Carmen.’
Discussing the rescue of Jews with her husband, Mrs. Bertelsen said, ‘It’s as if we never realized before what it means to live.’” (Flender, 1980, pp. 148, 173)
THIES, Underground activist. (Skove, ch. 33)
THIESEN, Mr., Teacher, Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 143)
THYKIAER, Anders, Lyngby Rescue Group. Student of Aage Bertelsen. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 123)
TØNNESEN, Captain of the Gerda III, which smuggled Jews from Denmark to Sweden. (Pundik, 1998, pp. 107-108)
TORM, Frederik, Professor of Theology, University of Copenhagen. Prohibited publication of anti-Semitic literature in Denmark. (Goldberger, 1987, pp. 33-34; Yahil, 1969, pp. 50, 87, 373)
TRUELSEN, Sven, Lawyer, underground leader, rescue activist, Copenhagen. Sven Truelsen worked with Morgens Staffeldt, His brother Jørgen and Jens Lillelund in a rescue operation out of a bookshop in Dagmarhus section of Copenhagen. This section of Copenhagen was known to have the Gestapo HQ. Helped smuggle numerous Jews to neutral Sweden in October 1943. (Flender, 1980, pp. 105-106)
ULFF, Miss, Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 180)
VILLUMSEN+, Lyngby Rescue Group. Coordinated movement of Jews from Copenhagen. Imprisoned in Vestre Prison and the Horserod Prison Camp. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 111-112, 157-159, 168-169, 179-180, 184-185)
WANG, Niels, Lyngby Rescue Group. Student of Aage Bertelsen. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 123)
WEEKE+, B. O., Lyngby Rescue Group. Manufacturer, worked on rescue route from Smidstrup. Coordinated with Juel-Christiansen. Took over operation of Lyngby Line when Aage Bertelsen and his wife were forced to go into hiding. Sent to Vestre Prison. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 123, 179-180, 182-187)
WEINBERG, Lyngby Rescue Group. Humlebaek, Gylfe. (Bertelsen, 1954, pp. 178-180)
ZEUTHEN, Mrs. Else, Lyngby Rescue Group. (Bertelsen, 1954, p. 131)