Righteous Gentiles

Earlier this week the countries of Denmark and Israel celebrated the 70th anniversary of a remarkable collective act of courage, justice and generosity. During the Second World War Danish citizens refused to betray their neighbours and friends who happened to be Jewish. First they hid Jewish countrymen and women. Often it was in plain sight, with Christian households bringing Jewish children to live with their families as their own.

Then, in September and early October 1943, Danes helped their Jewish compatriots escape the country to neutral Sweden as the Nazis began to search them out in earnest. This three-week operation had the strong support of Danish church leaders, who used their pulpits to urge aid to the Jews, as well as Danish universities, which shut down so that students could assist the smugglers. I remember reading the children's book Number The Stars with one of our kids, a book which tells the story.

This week Danish Ambassador Jesper Vahr spoke at a ceremony at the Denmark School in Israel:

“What is unique about this story is that it was not the act of one or two or three people – it was an act by all the people of Denmark who came together to rescue the Jewish community because Jews were an integral part of their society. No Jew was forced to wear a Star of David in Denmark because the Danes thought it would be an assault on the cohesion and values of their society. The people of Denmark said: ‘No! We will not accept any measures that infringe on the rights of any group – be they Jews or any other.’”

On October 1, 1943 7,000 Jews were ferried to safety, while 400 were deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Shortly following Kristallnacht in November of 1938 in Germany, Denmark responded by enacting an anti-racism law supporting the civil liberties of Jews and all other minorities in the country.

As always we need to remember theses stories of courage and compassion. As Christians we need to be aware that people were motivated by their faith to act humanely and took personal risks in doing so.