At the ages of 14 to 16, the youngsters had started a new life. Their escape was planned by the youth division of the Jewish Agency (Aliyat Hanoar, or Jugend Aliyah) in affiliation with Zionist youth groups like Maccabi Hatzair as well as a Danish peace league and several Jewish communities.

In Denmark, life was relatively good for the Lucky Ones: They were spared the fate of so many other Jews during the Holocaust, and they didn’t need to wear a yellow star. Nonetheless, they were refugees, and as the war raged on, the Nazis were ever-present.

But in 1943, the Nazis suddenly announced that the 7,000 Jews in Denmark were no longer free. Until then, Germany had somewhat respected Danish institutions, calling the nation a protectorate. Now the Jews were to be arrested and deported. Many of the youngsters were smuggled out on tiny fishing boats to Sweden, which was neutral — and many Danes risked their lives to get them out. Other Jewish teens were chosen to go to Palestine.

The group was shattered. In an era when mass communication was not yet the norm, the friendships were instantaneously lost. They moved on. Many began over, again, in South Africa, Israel, the US, Canada, or Britain, never knowing what became of their childhood companions. With the years, the memories started to fade. Until last year, when a relentless and meticulous Prague-based journalist, Judita Matyasova, began piecing together the histories of this extraordinary group, setting into motion a reconnection process for many.