SCANDINAVIAN
J E W I S H F O R U M
DET UFORSONLIGE FINNES"
"DET UFORSONLIGE FINNES"
Hanna (Posner) Skop. FOTO: Hanna Skop ©
LIVET I SVERIGE
Min familie d.v.s. min mor og mine to brødre og jeg ankom til Sverige midt i oktober 1943.
Min far var kommet over sundet én af de første dage i oktober. Ved ankomsten til Sverige var jeg 11år gammel, min ældre bror 15 år og min yngre bror 8 år gammel. Mange af de danske flygtninge blev anbragt i såkaldte forlægninger, d.v.s. de blev samlet på pensionater, nedlagte skoler o.s.v.
Min far, der havde et ophold i koncentrationslejren Buchenwald bag sig, havde fået nok af lejrlivets ”lyksaligheder” så for ham gjaldt det på alle måder at undgå at blive anbragt i en forlægning.
Les hele historien her
Bo Lidegaard, a historian, former diplomat and current editor-in-chief of the leading Danish newspaper,Politiken, has carefully sifted through the work of numerous German and Danish archivists, who worked for decades to nail down the details of the events and grasp the roles of major players.
This compelling, important book offers the reader a comprehensive and judiciously balanced account of what actually took place back in my old country in the late summer of 1943 during the worst months of the rescue crisis.
The centerpiece of the work is the rich lode of diary entries from Jewish families, who recorded their traumatic experiences as they anxiously cast about for places to hide, made lists of what to pack for the children and worried about their homes, belongings and money as they suddenly became fugitives, desperately seeking a way to get to neutral Sweden (which was to welcome us with open arms!).
Lidegaard’s compassionate comments on the diary entries and his cogent day-by-day reportage of the political situation on the ground over the critical two-week period of the pursuit further provide the riveting narrative with a sense of immediacy and suspense.
Read full review by Leo Goldberger here
After Hitler’s seizure of power, it became clear that this would lead to violent measures against German Jews. The “Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland” a union of a number of larger German Jewish organizations was created. Included in this umbrella organization was Hechalutz. Hechalutz had set up a number of training centers in various places in Germany and in other countries in Europe, where young Jews could gather in preparation for possible immigration to Palestine.
“Reichsvertretung” was a voluntary union of a number of larger German Jewish organizations that was established in 1933 as the umbrella organization. For the first time ever all the Jewish organizations and religious bodies were united and represented Jewish interests at a national level. The Berlin Rabbi Leo Baeck was elected president of the Reichsvertretung.
Please read full article here.
ARTICLES
DENMARK
Min familie og jeg er ikke oprindelige danske jøder. Min far ankom til Danmark i februar 1939 efter at han blev taget i forbindelse med Krystalnatten og sendt til Buchenwald, og min mor og mine søskende og jeg ankom midt november 1939, altså efter at krigen var begyndt.
- Little cat, little cat, walking so alone, Tell me, whose cat are you? -I am damned well my own. (Piet Hein)
"Hvem jeg er? Er jeg østriger, dansker, jøde? Georg Brandes blev engang spurgt om han var dansker eller jøde. Han svarede dertil: Jeg er Georg Brandes. Tilsvarende må jeg sige, at jeg er Erik Somer. Det er det, jeg har villet udtrykke med det lille gruk af Piet Hein, der står som motiv for disse erindringer på første side.
Jeg føler lige så meget loyalitet over for Danmark, som nogen dansker, jeg vedkender mig også mit tilhørsforhold til det jødiske folk, selv om jeg ikke dyrker jødisk religion og jeg har stadigvæk en vis veneration over for Østrig.
Jeg har rejst over en stor del af verden og har opholdt mig og arbejdet i mange forskellige lande, og overalt følt mig godt tilpas og prøvet at være loyal over for det land, jeg arbejdede i. Måske kan jeg bedst beskrives som verdensborger'"
HeChalutz , from Hebrew means “The Pioneer", was an association of Jewish youth whose aim was to prepare its members to settle in the Land of Israel. It became an umbrella organization of the Zionist pioneer youth movements.
Vi maa alle gøre os klart, at hvad enten vi billiger det eller ej, ruller Krigen mod Nazisterne videre her i landet, og havde det legale Danmark end bøjet sig for Tyskernes Trusler, saa havde det illegale aldrig gjort det. Ingen Regering vilde ha kunnet hindre, at Sabotagen fortsat havde svækket og plaget Besættelsesmagten, der formentlig atter havde fremsat Trusler, som skulde tvinge os til nye Ydmygelser.
Kampen raser og Kampen kræver sine Ofre. Side om Side med Jøderne ble 143 danske Kommunister deporteret til Konsentrasjonsleiren Stutthof ved Danzig. Og ingen ved, hvem der bliver de næste.
Læs hele artikkelen her.
HeChalutzim in Denmark - "Passage to Palestine"
HANNA (POSNER) SKOP
"I was born on August 21, 1926 at a maternity clinic at Allgemeines Krankenhaus, Pelikan Gasse 15, Vienna IX, and was circumcised some days later.
On January 1, 1926, my father had opened his clinic THERMIA, next to our apartment on Franz Josefs Kai 1. I lived there until we fled to Denmark in 1938.
We frequently visited Denmark, usually staying at Uncle Mario's apartment at Vendersgade 33, the last house on Søtorvet with two towers. Mario had an office on ground floor and lived on the second floor. Viewed from the street, it was the flat towards the lakes with two balconies.
During summer visits we spent most of the time in Hornbæk, often with my mother's best friend Leonie Rosenfeld Plaut, called Lonemor, and Lonemor's mother, whom we either called “Mamá” (with a long vowel at the end) or else “Grandma.” Uncle Mario was similarly never called anything but “Uncle Grandpa,” as he was several years older than my mother."
Leo Goldberger - from his book Rescue of the Danish Jews: Moral Courage Under Stress
HECHALUTZIM
THE DEFIANT DANES - BO LIDEGAARD
ERIK SOMER
ET FRIT DANMARK