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BOPA, or the Bourgeois Partisans, set fire to a Nazi supply depot in 1944. 

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King Christian X of Denmark - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

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Did King Christian X of Denmark Wear a Yellow Star in Support of the Danish Jews?

No, he did not. According to popular legend, King Christian X of Denmark chose to wear a yellow star in support of the Danish Jews during the German occupation of Denmark. In another version, the Danish people decided to wear yellow stars. Both of these particular stories are fictional. In fact, unlike Jews in other countries under German occupation, Jews in Denmark never wore an identification mark such as a yellow star.

The legend conveys an important historical truth, however: both the King and the majority of the Danish people stood by their Jewish citizens and were instrumental in saving almost all of them from Nazi persecution and death.

Occupation

Soon after they occupied Denmark on April 9, 1940, the Germans imposed unusually mild terms on the country. While they would control Denmark's foreign policy and set delivery quotas of Danish raw materials and foodstuffs, the Germans would not interfere with Denmark's internal affairs. The Danish government continued to govern with consent of the Danish Parliament and the Danes were permitted to maintain an active army and navy. Considering the relatively small Jewish population and the steadfast support most Danes gave to their fellow Jewish citizens, Germany did not push the Danes on the so-called Jewish question.

The ability of the Danish government to run the internal affairs of the country was decisive for the absence of anti-Jewish legislation, which lacked the public support and votes to pass the Danish parliament. The Danish government did not require Jews to register their property and assets, or to give up apartments, homes, and businesses. The Danish authorities did not require Jews to identify themselves, with a yellow star or any other form of identification.

For a number of years, the Danish Jews lived in relative tranquility. The Jewish community continued to function, including holding services regularly, throughout the occupation. The status-quo changed dramatically in August 1943. Danish resistance operations, to which some Danish Jews contributed, had gathered momentum during the spring and summer of that year. Rather than yield to a German demand to prosecute suspected saboteurs in German military courts, the Danish government resigned on August 28, 1943. The following night, the German military commander, General Hermann von Hanneken, declared martial law. German authorities arrested Danish civilians, Jews and non-Jews alike, and Danish military personnel.

Under the state of emergency German authorities took direct control over the Danish police and armed forces. Responding to a suggestion from German occupation officials that martial law might be a good opportunity to "solve" the Jewish "question" in Denmark, the German Security Police sent a deportation coordinator to Copenhagen in September to make arrangements.

Rescue

The German plans, were betrayed by German diplomatic officials to Social Democratic delegates in the Danish parliament. Unlike in the rest of western Europe and Norway, the plans foundered on Danish autonomy and the resulting absence of legislation segregating Jews from Danish society.

With encouragement and support from King Christian and the Danish government, Danish resistance groups and thousands of sympathetic citizens launched a national rescue effort, hiding the Danish Jews for several days, smuggling them onto boats of all sizes, and ferrying them across the narrow straits, known as the Øresund, at the southern end of the Kattegat Sound to safety in neutral Sweden.

The Germans were concerned about sparking general revolt in Denmark. They were also short on military and police resources due to the occupation of northern Italy in mid-September, an operation made necessary by the Italian surrender to the Allies on September 8. For these reasons, the Germans did not act decisively to stop the rescue operation.

King Christian X

All the while, King Christian X expressed firm objections to German deportation plans, lending visible moral support and encouragement to his countrymen. Universities closed down to allow students to participate in the rescue efforts. From the pulpits, Danish clergy urged their congregations to help the Jews. By and large, the Danish police refused to cooperate with the German deportation experts.

In the end, the Germans arrested and deported 476 Jews to Theresienstadt, a ghetto and concentration camp in German-occupied Bohemia (now a part of the Czech Republic), where 52 of them died. Even then, the Danish people sent parcels of food and provisions to their Jewish countrymen. The intense public focus generated by constant demands from the Danish Red Cross to visit the Danish Jews in Theresienstadt may well have prevented the Germans from deporting them to the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center.

The refusal of the Danish authorities to discriminate against the Danish Jews and King Christian's outspoken support of the Jewish community in Denmark has given rise to the apocryphal story that when the Germans required the Jews in Denmark to wear the yellow star, King Christian himself wore a yellow star. Though untrue, the story accurately reflects Christian's opposition to persecuting or removing Denmark's Jewish citizens and residents.

Author(s): United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

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Did King Christian X of Denmark wear a yellow star in support of the Danish Jews? Read more about the historical truth behind the legend.

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A workshop and hideout for Holger Danske, a Danish resistance group that targeted Nazi factories. 

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“I will assume responsibility for everything I am going to do.  I am consoled by my strong faith that good deeds can never be wrong.” -Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz

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“We Danes know that the whole population stands behind resistance to the German oppressors.  The Council calls on the Danish population to help in every way possible those Jewish fellow-citizens who have not yet succeeded in escaping abroad.  Every Dane who renders help to the Germans in the persecution of human beings is a traitor and will be punished as such when Germany is defeated.” -Danish Freedom Council, the Unification of All Danish Resistance Groups and the British Special Operations Executive (SOE)

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Danish fishermen hid Jews on their boats and smuggled them to neutral Sweden after Georg Duckwitz, a German official, tipped Denmark off on Germany's plan to begin deporting Danish Jews. 

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Refugees on their way to Sweden in the summer of 1944

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“The Jews are a part of the Danish nation.  We have no Jewish problem in our country because we never had an inferiority complex in relation to the Jews.  If the Jews are forced to wear the yellow Star, I and my whole family shall wear it as a badge of honor.” -King Christian X of Denmark

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A tiny Danish fishing boat called the "Sunshine" that ferried Jews to safety in Sweden. 

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April 9, 1940: Germany invades Denmark

June 22, 1941, to December 5, 1941: Germany invades the USSR (which emboldens and sparks Danish resistance)

Sometime in 1942: BOPA is Created and Begins Sabotaging Nazi Supplies

Sometime in 1942: Holger Danske is Created and Begins Sabotaging Nazi Supplies

1942-1943: Most Danish Resistance Groups Shift Towards Sabotage

Around 1943: Danish Resistance Groups Make Contact w/SOE

August 29, 1943: SS General Werner Best Declares Martial Law and Introduces the Death Penalty; the Danish Government Refuses to Cooperate

September 8, 1943: SS General Best Decides to Deport the Danish Jews on Oct. 1-2, 1943

Soon After Sept. 8, 1943: Georg Duckwitz Tips Off the Danish Government to the Upcoming Deportations

September-October, 1943: Danish Hospitals, Fishermen, and Citizens Hide/Evacuate Every Jew They Can Find

September, 1943: Danish Freedom Council is Organized

October 1-2, 1943: Germany Only Finds 284 Jews Out of 8,000

September-June, 1943: Danish Freedom Council and SOE Increase Rebellion in Denmark to Distract Germany from Normandy (D-Day Landings)

June 6, 1943: D-Day Landings in Normandy

Throughout 1944: The Danish Freedom Council Starts an Underground Newspaper That Publishes 11M Copies

June, 1943: Denmark Goes on Strike to Protest Germany’s Declared State of Emergency

Also June 1943: Germany, in Protest of Denmark’s Protest, Cuts Off Denmark’s Utilities, Establishes a Blockade, and Floods Copenhagen with Troops

July 1943: 23 Danes are Killed and Around 200 are Wounded, but Denmark Refuses to Give Up the Strike; Germany Gives Up Their Punitive Measures

May, 1945: Berlin Succumbs to the Allies, Forcing Germany to Abandon Denmark

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A portrait of Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz, a German maritime official, leaked SS General Werner Best's plan to begin deporting Danish Jews to Denmark's government. His treason against Germany saved roughly 7,950 Danish Jews. 

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Sweden welcomed Danish Jewish refugees with open arms. This picture features newly arrived Jews registering for aid in Sweden. 

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Danish refugees register in Sweden after escaping from Denmark. Sweden, after October 1943.

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The Story of Henny Sinding Sundø

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How This Brave Young Woman Saved Danish Jews From Nazis

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Danish Resistance During the Holocaust - The HEART Organization

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At the beginning of World War II, the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Sweden and Norway declared their neutrality. That means they would not take sides in the conflict. With memories of the devastation of World War I still fresh in the memories of many Danes, the governments thought that by being neutral their citizens would be spared the horrors of this new crisis.

This however was not to be the case.

The morning of 9 April 1940, German forces crossed the border into neutral Denmark, in direct violation of a German-Danish treaty of non-aggression signed the previous year. In a coordinated operation, German ships began disembarking troops at the docks in Copenhagen. Although outnumbered and poorly equipped, soldiers in several parts of the country offered resistance; most notably the Royal Guard in Copenhagen and units in South Jutland.

At the same time as the border crossing, German planes dropped the notorious Oprop leaflets over Copenhagen calling for Danes to accept the German occupation peacefully, and claiming that Germany had occupied Denmark in order to protect it against Great Britain and France. Colonel Lunding from the Danish army's intelligence office later confirmed that Danish intelligence knew the attack would be coming on either April 8th or 9th and had warned the government accordingly. The Danish ambassador to Germany, Herluf Zahle, issued a similar warning which was also ignored.

As a result of the rapid turn of events, the Danish government did not have enough time to officially declare war on Germany. Sixteen Danish soldiers died in the invasion, but after two hours the Danish government surrendered, believing that resistance was useless and hoping to work out an advantageous agreement with Germany

Within the first years of the German occupation, the Germans had often raised the question of the status of the Danish Jews. However the Danish government had consistently refused to engage in any debate on the "Jewish question" as they insisted there existed no "Jewish question" in Denmark.

It became increasingly clear to Berlin that if they wished to maintain a peaceful occupation and secure the collaboration of the Danish government, it would be opportune not to put pressure on the government. It was abundantly clear that a compromise was out of the question, and as long as the Danish government adhered to collaboration the "problem" was put aside.

During the first years of the occupation, active resistance activities were few in number and consisted mostly of the production of underground newspapers. This lack of active fighting prompted Winston Churchill to refer to Denmark as "Hitler's Pet Canary". Following the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, many Danish Communists formed resistance cells.
Resistance Groups

BOPA (Borgelige Partisaner, Bourgeois Partisans) was a group of the Danish resistance movement operating at the time of the occupation of Denmark by Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

In 1942, the illegal Communist Party of Denmark had begun organizing small sabotage cells across the country, mainly formed by veterans who had been part of the volunteer anti-Franco brigades of the Spanish Civil War. However, as arms were scarce, the weapon of choice was often petrol and matches, and only small scale operations were carried out.

On January 25, 1943 a group of students - who had previously been refused membership of the communist resistance group due to the mistrust held by its members toward any elitism - set fire to a stock of German listening devices at Dansk Industrisyndikat in Hellerup using a bottle of spirit. The students were hereafter accepted into the group, and this caused a change of name from the original KOPA (Kommunistiske Partisaner, Communist Partisans) to BOPA. The new name was at first used jokingly by old members, but it soon became the most widely used name.

Operations grew in magnitude as individuals with inside knowledge of possible targets joined the group. Especially young apprentices from large factories proved useful in identifying targets which were supplying the German military, and this resulted in attacks on factories such as Burmeister & Wain and Riffelsyndikatet in 1943, Riffelsyndikatet (again) and Global in 1944 and Always in 1945.

Holger Danske (Resistance group)

The group was formed in Copenhagen in 1942 by five men who had all fought on the Finnish side during the Winter War. By this time of the occupation resistance work carried a great deal of risk because the general public was still largely opposed to sabotage and the government was following its "co-operation" policy with the Nazis to avoid as much German intervention in Danish affairs as possible.

Holger Danske, as well as the rest of the Danish resistance, was very opposed to this collaboration and continued to believe that the Danish should have resisted the invasion much more fiercely. Gunnar Dyrberg recalls in his book how he had seen Danes engage in friendly conversation with the Germans immediately after the invasion and cites this as one of the reasons he later decided to enter Holger Danske.

The group was infiltrated by the Gestapo twice but because of its loose structure (unlike BOPA the organization was very loose) they were unable to identify all the members. A total of 64 members were excecuted by the Gestapo during the occupation.

Among their largest sabotage actions were the blowing up of the Forum Arena in 1943 and the attack on Burmeister & Wain in 1944.

In 1942-43, resistance operations gradually shifted to more violent action, most notably acts of sabotage. Various groups succeeded in making contacts with the SOE which began making airdrops of supplies. The number of drops were slow until August 1944, but increased in the last part of the war.

As the war dragged on, the Danish population became increasingly hostile to the Germans. Soldiers stationed in Denmark had found most of the population cold and distant from the beginning of the occupation, but their willingness to cooperate had made the relationship workable.

The government had attempted to discourage sabotage and violent resistance to the occupation, but by the autumn of 1942 the numbers of violent acts of resistance were increasing steadily to the point that Germany declared Denmark "enemy territory" for the first time. After the battles of Stalingrad and El-Alamein the incidents of resistance, violent and symbolic, increased rapidly.

On August 29, 1943, SS-General Werner Best declared martial law and demanded the introduction of capital punishment. The Danish government, after cooperating for three years, defiantly stopped functioning but refused to resign formally to prevent Germans from taking over, without violating the Danish constitution. The Danish administration however continued to function.

In a move to save face, Best decided to crack down and launched plans to arrest Jews. On September 8, he sent a telegram to Berlin: "The time has come to turn our attention to the solution of the Jewish question." When final orders for the raid arrived from Berlin on September 28, Best informed his confidant, Georg Duckwitz, that Jews would be rounded up within two days, on the night between October 1 and 2.

German maritime attaché Georg F. Duckwitz leaked the information to Danish politicians and the news spread like wildfire through friends, business acquaintances, and strangers wanting to help. Ordinary citizens all over the country offered refuge in churches, attics, and country homes, and residences. Complete strangers walked up to Jews on the street to offer keys to their apartment. Medical staff hid more than 1, 000 Jews in Copenhagen hospitals.

On the night of the raid, Germans only found 284 Jews out of almost 8,000 in the population.

Read more about the fate of the Danish Jews HERE

The Jews were smuggled out of Denmark by transporting them by sea over the Øresund from Zealand to Sweden, a passage of approximately 10 miles. Some were transported in large fishing boats of up to 20 tons, but others were carried to freedom in rowboats or kayaks. Some refugees were smuggled inside freight cars on the regular ferries between Denmark and Sweden, this route being suited for the very young or old who were too weak to endure a rough sea passage. The underground had broken into empty freight cars sealed by the Germans after inspection, helped refugees onto the cars, and then resealed the cars with forged or stolen German seals to forestall further inspection.

Some of the fishermen assisting in the rescue charged money to transport Jews to Sweden, while others took payments only from those who could afford passage. Some profiteers took advantage of the confusion and fear during the early days of the escape, but as time passed, the Danish underground movement ousted them and took an active role in organizing the rescue and providing financing, mostly from wealthy Danes who donated large sums of money for the rescue.

During the first days of the rescue action, Jews swarmed into the many fishing harbors on the Danish coast for rescue, but the Gestapo became suspicious of activity around harbors (and on the night of October 1-2, eighty Jews were caught hiding in the loft of the church at Gilleleje, their hiding place betrayed by a Danish girl in love with a German soldier). Subsequent rescues had to take place from isolated points along the coast. While waiting their turn, the Jews took refuge in the woods and in cottages away from the coast, out of sight of the Gestapo.

In September 1943, the 'Danish Freedom Council' was created. This attempted to unify the many different groups that made up the Danish resistance movement. The council was made up of seven resistance representatives and one member of SOE. The resistance movement grew to over 20,000 and in the lead-up to D-Day acts of sabotage markedly increased. Though the D-Day landings were to be in Normandy, SOE believed that the more German soldiers tied up elsewhere in Europe, the less that could be present in northern France. Therefore, the more acts of sabotage in Denmark, the more German troops would be tied down there.

In 1944, the 'Danish Freedom Council' stepped up its efforts and more than 11 million copies of underground newspapers are published. That June, following a declared state of emergency, the entire city of Copenhagen goes on strike. Infuriated, Germany floods the city with troops, cuts off water and electricity, and establishes a blockade. By July 2, 23 Danes have been killed and more than 203 are wounded. But the dauntless Danes persevere. Exasperated, the Germans abandon these punitive measures by July.

Later that fall, when the Germans try to deport Danish police officials whom they believe are turning a blind eye to sabotage and disorder, Copenhagen goes on strike again, joined this time by 58 other cities and towns. Unafraid of Gestapo arrests, civilians flock to the resistance movement; enrollment exceeds 45,000 at its highest point. In May 1945, war-ravaged Berlin succumbs to advancing Allied forces, prompting Germany to abandon Denmark altogether.

After the war, 40,000 people were arrested on suspicion of collaboration. Of these, 13,500 were punished in some way. 78 received death sentences, although only 46 were carried out. Most received prison sentences of under four years.

Many people criticized the process for victimizing "small" people disproportionately, while many politicians and businesses were left untouched. Another difficult issues was what to do with collaborators who were essentially "following orders" that their own government had given them, such as business executives who had been encouraged to work with the Germans.

Sources:
The Museum of Danish Resistance

Holocaust Historical Society

Danish Peace History

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Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team

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Rescue in Denmark - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

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Rescue in Denmark Most individuals in occupied Europe did not actively collaborate in the Nazi genocide. Nor did they do anything to help Jews and other victims of Nazi policies. Throughout the Holocaust, millions of people silently stood by while they saw Jews, Roma (Gypsies), and other "enemies of the Reich" being rounded up and deported. Many of these bystanders told themselves that what they saw happening was none of their business. Others were too frightened to help. In many places, providing shelter to Jews was a crime punishable by death.

In spite of the risks, a small number of individuals refused to stand by and watch.These people had the courage to help by providing hiding places, underground escape routes, false papers, food, clothing, money, and sometimes even weapons.

Denmark was the only occupied country that actively resisted the Nazi regime's attempts to deport its Jewish citizens. On September 28, 1943, Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz, a German diplomat, secretly informed the Danish resistance that the Nazis were planning to deport the Danish Jews. The Danes responded quickly, organizing a nationwide effort to smuggle the Jews by sea to neutral Sweden. Warned of the German plans, Jews began to leave Copenhagen, where most of the almost 8,000 Jews in Denmark lived, and other cities, by train, car, and on foot. With the help of the Danish people, they found hiding places in homes, hospitals, and churches. Within a few weeks, fishermen helped ferry some 7,200 Danish Jews and 680 non-Jewish family members to safety across the narrow body of water separating Denmark from Sweden.

The Danish rescue effort was unique because it was nationwide. It was not completely successful, however. Almost 500 Danish Jews were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia. Yet even of these Jews, all but 51 survived the Holocaust, largely because Danish officials pressured the Germans with their concerns for the well-being of those who had been deported.

Compared to other nations that came under Nazi Germany's control, Denmark enjoyed several advantages that helped make the rescue of its Jewish population possible. It was only lightly occupied and, until August 29, 1943, had a largely independent government that had not adopted antisemitic measures, such as marking Jews. Copenhagen, where Denmark's small Jewish population was concentrated, is less than twenty miles from Sweden, which, as the roundups began, announced it would admit them. In addition, the German military and even most Nazi officials in Denmark made little effort to prevent Jews from escaping. The situation was very different in countries like the Netherlands and Poland that had much larger Jewish populations and that came under total occupation and direct rule by Germany. There, the possibilities for rescue were far smaller and the risks far greater. Nevertheless, without the Danes' widespread support for Jews and active resistance to Nazi policies, few if any Jews would have survived the Holocaust in Denmark.

There are numerous stories of brave people in other countries who also tried to save the Jews from perishing at the hands of the Nazis. Nearly 12,000 Jewish children were rescued by clergymen in France who found housing for them and even smuggled some into Switzerland and Spain. About 20,000 Polish Jews were able to survive in hiding outside the ghetto in Warsaw with the assistance of non-Jewish Poles. Some Jews were even hidden in the Warsaw Zoo by the zoo's director, Jan Zabinski.

Key Dates

August 29, 1943
Danish government resigns
The Germans occupied Denmark on April 9, 1940. The Danes and the Germans reached an agreement in which the Danish government and army remained in existence. Despite the occupation, the Germans did not initiate deportations from Denmark. In the summer of 1943, with Allied military advances, resistance activity in Denmark increases in the form of sabotage and strikes. These actions cause tension between the occupying German forces and the Danish government. In August 1943, the Germans present the Danish government with new demands to end resistance activities. The Danish government refuses to meet the new demands and resigns. The Germans take over the administration of Denmark and attempt to implement the "Final Solution" by arresting and deporting Jews. The Danes respond with a nationwide rescue operation.

October 1, 1943
German deportation action begins in Denmark
German police authorities seek to round up Jews in Denmark at the close of Rosh Hashanah , when Jews are expected to be in their homes. The German plans were leaked three days earlier, however, and most Jews are in hiding. The next day, Sweden announces it will admit Jewish refugees from Denmark. The Danish underground and general population spontaneously organize a nationwide effort to smuggle Jews to the coast, where Danish fisherman ferry them to Sweden. In little more than three weeks, the Danes ferry more than 7,000 Jews and close to 700 of their non-Jewish relatives to Sweden. Despite the Danish efforts, some 500 Jews are arrested by the Germans and deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto.

June 23, 1944
Danish delegation visits Theresienstadt
A Danish delegation joins representatives of the International Red Cross on a visit to the Theresienstadt ghetto in Bohemia. To deceive both these visitors and world opinion about Nazi treatment of the Jews, the SS beautifies the ghetto and creates the impression that Theresienstadt is a self-governing Jewish settlement. Unlike most of the other prisoners in Theresienstadt, the 500 Danish prisoners there are not deported to concentration camps and are permitted to receive parcels from the Red Cross. On April 15, 1945, the Danish prisoners are released from the ghetto into the hands of the Swedish Red Cross. This is a result of negotiations between Swedish government representatives and Nazi officials in which Scandinavian prisoners in camps, including Jews, are transferred to a holding camp in northern Germany. These prisoners are eventually sent to Sweden, where they stay until the end of the war. Out of the some 500 Danish Jews deported, about 450 survive.

Last Edited: Sep 23, 2019

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Rescue in Denmark Most individuals in occupied Europe did not actively collaborate in the Nazi genocide. Nor did they do anything to help Jews and other victims of Nazi policies. Throughout the Holocaust, millions of people silently stood by while they saw Jews, Roma (Gypsies), and other "enemies of the Reich" being rounded up and deported.

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Resistance in Denmark - Holocaust Historical Society

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Much is known about the actions of the major powers in World War II, yet some of the
most effective events took place on a smaller scale by smaller countries. Denmark was such a
country, playing a significant role against Germany despite its size. When WWII broke out in
September 1939, Denmark declared its neutrality, hoping to spare the country from yet another
fatal war as it was still recovering from the devastating effects of World War I (WW I) (Ziemke
1960, 50).

Acknowledging their inability to engage in traditional warfare against the Germans,
Denmark entered into a treaty of non-aggression with Germany to ensure they would not be
swept up into war (National Archives, 1944). It was particularly important for Denmark to remain
neutral as King Christian shared an uneasy relationship with the Germans due to their differing
political views: where the Danes believed in democracy, the Germans supported a totalitarian
government.

Germany broke the treaty of non-aggression within a year, needing to establish and
preserve the military supply line running through Denmark from Norway to Germany. The
Germans feared that the British were making significant diplomatic in-roads with Denmark, thus
threatening those supply lines. After having invaded Norway only hours earlier, Nazi soldiers
swarmed into Denmark on April 9, 1940 (Ziemke 1960, 61-63).
German ships invaded docks while German planes dropped "OPROP" leaflets, a form of
Nazi propaganda meaning "proclamation" in broken Danish ("Opraab" is the correct spelling).
The leaflets implored Danes not to resist the German forces because they had come to protect
their neutrality from Britain and France (Search Engine). Despite their claims, German forces
faced resistance from the Royal Guard in Copenhagen and soldiers from South Jutland. While
the Danish soldiers fought hard, it did little to curb the German invasion as they were
outnumbered and poorly equipped. Within hours, the Danish government surrendered (Schlüter,
2007).

During the first two years of occupation, the Danes did little to resist the Germans due to
the Germans' leniency to allow the Danish democratic government to remain in power so long
as their factories continued to feed the German war machine. However, to remind them of their
dominance, the Germans placed a curfew from 9pm - 6am and arrested any who did not follow
accordingly. Additionally, as stated by Alan Milward, an economist at Berkeley, Denmark sent
more food to Germany than either Italy or France, making Germany less dependent on
domestic agriculture and enabling them to send more soldiers to the front line (Milward 1979,
259). With the Jewish population at risk, Danes were willing to collaborate with the Nazis, thus
sending meat, dairy, and other foods to Germany (Lois Lowry, 1989). Hermann Goering, a
German military leader, said, "if anyone has to go hungry, it shall not be the Germans but other
peoples." (Collingham 2012, 156)

Resistance up to 1942 mostly consisted of the printing and spreading of the illegal
underground Newspaper, " De Frie Danske" , meaning "The Free Dane", detailing the Nazi
occupation and acts of Danish sabotage (Lois Lowry, 1989). Despite this, their resistance was
minimal, which did not go unnoticed by the Allies, prompting Winston Churchill to nickname
them, "Hitler's Pet Canary", highlighting Denmark's preference to avoid confrontation and
aggression (Schlüter, 2007).

Meanwhile, in June of 1940, the UK established a new volunteer force called Special
Operations Executive (SOE) to "fan smoldering local resentment against the Germans into
flames of active resistance." (Scov 2003, 591). SOE was founded to encourage resistance in
other occupied countries by parachuting weapons and explosives to occupied countries. SOE
was determined to pressure the Danes into more violent methods of resistance as the Germans
depended on the Danish armory factories for weapons (Schlüter, 2007). From 1942-1945,
several groups successfully contacted SOE requesting airdrops of supplies (Schlüter, 2007).
In 1942, resistance in Denmark began to increase as news spread of German cruelties
in other occupied countries. Danes damaged industrial railroad lines transporting German goods
and exploded factories that produced war supplies. As the war progressed, Danish sabotage
weakened the Germans' ability to successfully combat the allied forces (Schlüter, 2007). By
autumn of 1942, the increasing amount of sabotage and resistance caused Germany to declare
Denmark as "enemy territory." As punishment, Danish stores were burnt down as well as a part
of the Tivoli gardens, a site of fireworks and treats (Schlüter, 2007). Despite the threat of further
destruction, these events only strengthened the Danish resolve to free Denmark from the
Germans' grasp.

By 1943, Danish resistance and sabotage had climaxed. Having been inspired by the
battle of Stalingrad as a show of resistance against the Germans, as well as having been
heavily pressured by SOE, the Danes eventually implemented organized resistance programs.
They continued their acts of sabotage, including sinking their own navy in the Copenhagen
harbor to prevent the Germans from abducting them for their own use, demonstrating their
willingness to undermine the Germans even at their own expense (Lois Lowry 1989). In
September of 1943, the "Danish Freedom Council" was founded as a way of unifying the
various independent Danish resistance organizations. The movement gained over 20,000
members.

Prior to 1943, the Danish government had successfully placated Nazi attempts to deport
Jews by collaborating; however, due to Danish sabotage, the "Jewish Question" resurfaced.
Germans shut down all Jewish-owned stores while SS-General Werner Best began his plans for
the imprisonment and deportation of Jews (Schlüter, 2007). On September 8th, 1943 Best sent
a telegram to Berlin relaying, "The time has come to turn our attention to the solution of the
Jewish question." On September 28th, final orders were given to gather all the Jews in Denmark
over the next two days (Schlüter, 2007). Hours later, the Germans stole a list containing the
names and addresses of each and every Jew in Denmark with the intention of ambushing them
in their homes later that night and placing them on trains headed for concentration camps. The
Germans may have succeeded if it weren't for the German official, G.F Duckwitz, who not only
disagreed with Jewish deportations but took action against it by tipping off the Danish
government about the raid who, in turn, warned the Rabbis (Lois Lowry 1989).
On the day of the Jewish New Year, Jews were advised by their Rabbis to leave
immediately and seek shelter. News of the Germans' plans spread rapidly and soon Danes from
all over the country offered their Jewish neighbors refuge. Jews were cared for and hidden well
by medics in hospitals, neighbors, friends, and even strangers on the street who offered them
shelter in their homes, so much so that when the Nazis searched for them throughout the next
two nights, only 284 Jews were found out of the 8,000 in Denmark (Schlüter, 2007).
The following day, Sweden announced that they would accept Jewish refugees from
Denmark. The Danish Freedom Council organized a nationwide effort to transport the Jews to
Sweden. Denmark was unique in that its government, having been independent until August 29,
1943, had refused to implement antisemitic measures such as marking the Jews (Holocaust
Encyclopedia, 2019), demonstrating the Danish government's disdain towards German
influence as well as their refusal to place Danes in jeopardy. In less than three weeks, 7,000
Jews were smuggled to Sweden, and of the 500 Jews that were caught and deported to
Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia, 449 were later rescued and released on April 15,
1945 by the Swedish Red Cross (holocaust encyclopedia, 2019).

Denmark used its limited ability to disrupt the Germans wisely, and on D-Day, one of the
most important days of the war, Danes attacked German soldiers. Reinforcements were being
sent from Denmark to Normandy, France, but the Danes derailed the trains, preventing supplies
from reaching Nazi forces. This solidified Denmark as an ally to the Allied forces. It also
disrupted the Nazi's ability to defend themselves (Voorhis 1972, 174).
By 1945, Denmark became less willing to collaborate with Germany once the vast
majority of Jews had escaped to Sweden, causing regulations to become stricter. The curfew
requiring citizens to be at home by nine dropped to eight. As it was part of their culture to take
walks in the evening, many Danes defied orders and were shot and killed on the streets.
Furious, Danes went on a strike and remained home. These spontaneous strikes were
extremely effective, again weakening the German war machine. Without anyone manning the
weapon factories, the Germans would not have supplies for war (National Archives, 1944).
The Germans increased troop patrols and cut off water and electricity to lure the Danes
out from their homes. However, the Danish Freedom Council encouraged the strikes and issued
a proclamation demanding that the German withdraw immediately. When the Germans refused,
the strikes continued. To keep sustained, Danes created a strict, self-imposed rationing system
of food and water. Additionally, at the risk of their own lives, several volunteers gathered water
from the Copenhagen harbor and delivered it to the medics working tirelessly in hospitals
attending to victims of German brutality (National Archives, 1944).
In the final months of WWII, Germany was especially vulnerable as the Allies began
closing in on Berlin. At this time, they were most in need of supplies and reinforcement.
Germany depended on Denmark to provide them with many resources and to link the supply
line from Norway to Germany. When the Danes went on strike, this caused the resources for
Berlin to drop, further complicating Germany's ability to defend themselves. Denmark was
starving them of military supplies just when they needed them the most, contributing to the fall
of Berlin. Five days later, the Germans withdrew from Denmark as the Allied forces advanced
onto Berlin. (National Archives, 1944).

The Danish resistance against the Nazi, Germany was unorthodox and clever. Danes
acknowledged their inability to overpower the Germans head-on by force as their numbers were
small in comparison. Instead, they turned to alternative tactics to weaken the German forces,
primarily acts of sabotage and strikes. By destroying and striking against the very factories that
fed the very German war machine, Denmark was partly responsible for weakening the Germans
enough to allow the Allies forces to gain the upper hand. It should be recognized that the Danes
strikes against the factories at the risk of their own lives, preferring to face punishment for their
inaction rather than to continue aiding the Nazis. The Danes' bloodless ways even inspired
SOE, an organization that had called for violence over many years, to implement peaceful
transfers of power through strikes rather than violent uprisings that caused more problems than
it solved.

It is a great feat that the unarmed Danes were not only able to prevail against massive
Germany, but successfully undermined their efforts as well. When the Germans called for the
"relocation" of Jews, Danes resisted and disrupted their plans of deportations by sheltering and
smuggling Jews to safety, so much so that as a result of their courage, the vast majority of
Danish Jews survived the war. Denmark's love, loyalty, and compassion for their neighbor
supersede that of other countries who sat passively during the holocaust as Jewish
communities were targeted and subjected to inhumane treatments. While the major Allies were
the ones to ultimately defeat Nazi, Germany, Denmark should also be remembered and
admired for their unorthodox style of resistance and their unwavering courage.The Danes used
the power of solidarity over violence to outmaneuver the Germans, demonstrating that not all
battles are fought through bloodshed and, with enough time, even a small country like Denmark
can win against a massive and destructive enemy like Germany.
Copyright: Sofia Warfield and Holocaust Historical Society -July 2020

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Holocaust Historical Society - Resistance in Denmark

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Prominent Figures and Groups in the Danish Resistance Movements

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Prominent Figures and Groups in the Danish Resistance Movements

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King Christian X of Denmark

Georg Duckwitz

BOPA (Bourgeois Partisans)

Holger Danske (Resistance Group Named for a Danish Folk Hero)

Christer Lyst Hansen

Mogens Fog

Flemming Muus

Monica Wichfeld

Ove Kampman

Poul Brandt Rehberg

Poul Bruun

Marius Fiil

Niels Fiil

Jørgen Kieler

Danish Hospital Staff

Danish Fishermen

Danish Government Officials

Danish Freedom Council (Unification of All Danish Resistance Groups and the British SOE)

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Portrait of King Christian X of Denmark, who became a prominent symbol of Danish resistance for his refusal to back down to the Nazis and for his encouragement of Danish resistance.

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Did King Christian X of Denmark Wear a Yellow Star in Support of the Danish Jews?

No, he did not. According to popular legend, King Christian X of Denmark chose to wear a yellow star in support of the Danish Jews during the German occupation of Denmark. In another version, the Danish people decided to wear yellow stars. Both of these particular stories are fictional. In fact, unlike Jews in other countries under German occupation, Jews in Denmark never wore an identification mark such as a yellow star.

The legend conveys an important historical truth, however: both the King and the majority of the Danish people stood by their Jewish citizens and were instrumental in saving almost all of them from Nazi persecution and death.

Occupation

Soon after they occupied Denmark on April 9, 1940, the Germans imposed unusually mild terms on the country. While they would control Denmark's foreign policy and set delivery quotas of Danish raw materials and foodstuffs, the Germans would not interfere with Denmark's internal affairs. The Danish government continued to govern with consent of the Danish Parliament and the Danes were permitted to maintain an active army and navy. Considering the relatively small Jewish population and the steadfast support most Danes gave to their fellow Jewish citizens, Germany did not push the Danes on the so-called Jewish question.

The ability of the Danish government to run the internal affairs of the country was decisive for the absence of anti-Jewish legislation, which lacked the public support and votes to pass the Danish parliament. The Danish government did not require Jews to register their property and assets, or to give up apartments, homes, and businesses. The Danish authorities did not require Jews to identify themselves, with a yellow star or any other form of identification.

For a number of years, the Danish Jews lived in relative tranquility. The Jewish community continued to function, including holding services regularly, throughout the occupation. The status-quo changed dramatically in August 1943. Danish resistance operations, to which some Danish Jews contributed, had gathered momentum during the spring and summer of that year. Rather than yield to a German demand to prosecute suspected saboteurs in German military courts, the Danish government resigned on August 28, 1943. The following night, the German military commander, General Hermann von Hanneken, declared martial law. German authorities arrested Danish civilians, Jews and non-Jews alike, and Danish military personnel.

Under the state of emergency German authorities took direct control over the Danish police and armed forces. Responding to a suggestion from German occupation officials that martial law might be a good opportunity to "solve" the Jewish "question" in Denmark, the German Security Police sent a deportation coordinator to Copenhagen in September to make arrangements.

Rescue

The German plans, were betrayed by German diplomatic officials to Social Democratic delegates in the Danish parliament. Unlike in the rest of western Europe and Norway, the plans foundered on Danish autonomy and the resulting absence of legislation segregating Jews from Danish society.

With encouragement and support from King Christian and the Danish government, Danish resistance groups and thousands of sympathetic citizens launched a national rescue effort, hiding the Danish Jews for several days, smuggling them onto boats of all sizes, and ferrying them across the narrow straits, known as the Øresund, at the southern end of the Kattegat Sound to safety in neutral Sweden.

The Germans were concerned about sparking general revolt in Denmark. They were also short on military and police resources due to the occupation of northern Italy in mid-September, an operation made necessary by the Italian surrender to the Allies on September 8. For these reasons, the Germans did not act decisively to stop the rescue operation.

King Christian X

All the while, King Christian X expressed firm objections to German deportation plans, lending visible moral support and encouragement to his countrymen. Universities closed down to allow students to participate in the rescue efforts. From the pulpits, Danish clergy urged their congregations to help the Jews. By and large, the Danish police refused to cooperate with the German deportation experts.

In the end, the Germans arrested and deported 476 Jews to Theresienstadt, a ghetto and concentration camp in German-occupied Bohemia (now a part of the Czech Republic), where 52 of them died. Even then, the Danish people sent parcels of food and provisions to their Jewish countrymen. The intense public focus generated by constant demands from the Danish Red Cross to visit the Danish Jews in Theresienstadt may well have prevented the Germans from deporting them to the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center.

The refusal of the Danish authorities to discriminate against the Danish Jews and King Christian's outspoken support of the Jewish community in Denmark has given rise to the apocryphal story that when the Germans required the Jews in Denmark to wear the yellow star, King Christian himself wore a yellow star. Though untrue, the story accurately reflects Christian's opposition to persecuting or removing Denmark's Jewish citizens and residents.

Author(s): United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

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Did King Christian X of Denmark wear a yellow star in support of the Danish Jews? Read more about the historical truth behind the legend.

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Denmark, Sweden, and Norway declared neutrality at the beginning of WW2 because they didn’t want a repeat of WW1. When it invaded, Germany claimed to occupy Denmark to protect it from Britain and France. While Denmark surrendered to Germany in six hours, it remained lightly occupied by Germany and protested Nazism so vehemently that Germany couldn’t do much to get the Danes to comply with Nazi antisemitism. Early on, Danish resistance was few and far in between until Germany’s invasion of the USSR. Churchill called Denmark Hitler’s “pet canary” due to their lack of resistance before the Soviet Union's invasion.

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Denmark's first resistance group was BOPA. BOPA was originally made up exclusively of communists because of Germany's hatred towards communists, but it expanded to include others later. BOPA largely targeted warehouses and supply depots in Copenhagen, Denmark's capital.

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Where did the most Danish resistance and sabotage take place?

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Where did the most Danish resistance and sabotage take place?

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Most factories, warehouses, supplies, riots, and strikes took place in Copenhagen, Denmark's capital. This was because most Danish resistance groups, Danish government activity, and Nazi activities were based in Copenhagen.

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Because Denmark surrendered quickly, Germany didn't initially consider Denmark as enemy territory. However, this changed in 1942 because Denmark's resistance took a more violent turn. Arson, bombings, and strikes were becoming more common. So, to save face, the SS decided to begin planning the deportation fo Danish Jews. Fortunately, Georg Duckwitz, a German official, tipped Denmark's government off to the deportation plans.

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Germany's Failed Deportation Efforts in Denmark

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Germany's Failed Deportation Efforts in Denmark

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Because their deportation plans were leaked, most of Denmark's 8,000 Jews were either hidden or smuggled to Sweden by October 1, which was the night of the round-up. On October 1, 1943, Germany only found 284 of Denmark's 8,000 Jews. In total, only around 500 Danish Jews were ever deported by the Nazis.

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Danish Resistance Towards the End of the War

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Danish Resistance Towards the End of the War

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Towards the end of the war, the Danish Freedom Council and the British Special Operations Executive ramped up resistance efforts in Denmark. They hoped that greater turmoil in Denmark, which was one of Germany's main suppliers of weapons and food, would distract Germany from France. This was because the Allies were planning the Normandy invasions of D-Day.

By 1945, there were 45,000 Danes formally enrolled in resistance groups. The true number of people who performed individual acts of resistance is unknown.

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Out of all 8,000 Jews in Denmark, Germany only ever deported about 500. Germany deported these 500 to the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia. However, because Denmark's government kept pestering Germany about what happened to their citizens, Germany never sent these Jews to the camps. Denmark even sent a delegation with the Red Cross to check on its citizens in the ghetto. Although Germany tried to beautify the ghetto, Denmark did not buy their lies and arranged for care packages to be sent to their Jewish citizens.

Only around 50 Danish Jews perished in the Holocaust, meaning Denmark's Jews had a survival rate of about 99% overall.

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The Danish government and King Christian X of Denmark both refused to even consider Nazi Germany's "Jewish Question". They declared that all Jews were Danish countrymen and would be treated as such. Because of the government's harsh resistance towards Germany's antisemitism, Jews never had to wear the identifying yellow star in Denmark.