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Herbert Pundiks bok: Det er ikke nok at overleve, Gyldendal

Herbert Pundik er født i København. I 1943 flygtede han med sin familie til Sverige pga. jødeforfølgelserne under 2. verdenskrig. Han er dansk journalist og forfatter.

Herbert Pundik kalder den hjælp, danskerne gav jøderne dengang i 1943, en spontan menneskekærlig handling. Denne form for menneskekærlige handling har vi også set for nyligt overfor en gruppe muslimer i Danmark - nemlig i forbindelse med irakerne i Brorsons Kirke, siger han.

Boken Truet minoritet søger beskyttelse skildrer hvordan jøderne overalt i Europa har måttet søge beskyttelse hos ikke-jødiske fyrster og dermed mistede muligheden for at tage deres skæbne i egne hænder.

Fra begyndelsen af det 19. århundrede har det store og ubesvarede spørgsmål for det dansk-jødiske samfund været, hvor langt man kunne gå i bestræbelserne på at blive integreret i det danske samfund uden at måtte opgive sin jødisk identitet.

Arthur Arnheim (f. 1929), cand.mag. (Historie og jødisk litteratur) fra Københavns Universitet 1960. Kontorchef, senere direktør i Dansk Magisterforening 1960-82, direktør i Magistrenes Pensionskasse 1982-88. Har skrevet talrige artikler i danske og udenlandske tidsskrifter om almen jødisk historie, jødernes historie i Danmark og Nordtyskland, hebraisk bogtryk, antisemitisme m.m. Har sammen med Dov Levitan skrevet Politik, Diplomati og den hjælpende hånd. Danmark og oprettelsen af staten Israel (2011). Fra 1989 bosat i Jerusalem.

BO LIDEGAARD

Bo Lidegaard Countrymen

In the entire ghastly history of the Holocaust, only two "good" stories stand out, and this is one of them. Denmark, under German Occupation, but with its King and government intact, did something no other country in Western Europe even tried to do. Knowing that German command was coming in 1943 to round up their Jews (there were 7,000 of them) for deportation to the camps, they said no.

The King, his ministers, and parliament were all in agreement--those 7,000 people were theirs, they were Danes who happened to be Jewish, and nobody was going to assist in their round-up and certain death. While the government used its limited but formidable powers to maneuver and to impede matters in Berlin, the warning went out to the Jewish community that crisis was at hand.

This is a story of ordinary glory, of simple courage and moral fortitude that shines out in the terrible history of the 20th century.

Bo Lidegaard- see link here

by Marion Novack

In 2007, the cousin of my dear friend Renee, introduced me, via e-mail, to Gerda, a friend of hers who is a retired historian in Denmark. Gerda generously offered her help to identify the farmers so I could contact them or their families to let them know their kindness was still remembered and appreciated. Her research provided the names plus a wealth of information

I never knew regarding the years my parents were in Denmark. Hedegaard Peterson was identified as the owner of Volbrogaard, the farm where my parents worked in 1943.

Like my parents, the Petersons had died many years ago. However, using the Internet, I located their eldest daughter, Britta. I also found Den Gamle Skole, (the old school house), which was my first home.

Please click here for full story.

PROFESSOR CAROL RITTNER

Prof. Carol Rittner has authored a number of books that explore the Holocaust, its causes and how people responded to the tragedy. She has also examined the relationship between the Holocaust and the Christian world. Her film, The Courage to Care, was nominated for a 1986 Academy Award in the Short Documentary category.

Her interest in the Danish story really resulted from her own growing interest in the rescue of the Danes that she learned about in her own study dating back to the late 1970s.

Given all the "bad news" about the failures of the Christian churches in so many parts of Europe, to learn that there in Denmark the Lutheran Church leaders spoke out for the Jews and against the Nazis gave her renewed hope in the goodness of people"

See full article on Denmark and the Holocaust here

The extraordinary story of a few non-Jews who risked their lives to rescue and protect Jews from Nazi persecution in Europe during World War II is told in The Courage to Care. It features the first person accounts of rescuers and of survivors whose stories address the basic issue of individual responsibility: the notion that one person can act and that those actions can make a difference.

These rescuers are true heroes, but modest ones. They did a thousand ordinary things opening doors, hiding and feeding strangers, keeping secrets in an extraordinary time. For this, they are known as "Righteous Among the Nations of the World" The rescuers and survivors are from many countries in Europe Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, France, Bulgaria, Poland, Germany and they tell their stories with simplicity and dignity. Each story is interwoven with old snapshots of rescuers and survivors, their homes, their hiding places, and the communities in which they lived.

Noted author, teacher, and human rights activist, Elie Wiesel, helps us to ask: "what made these people different" He points out how those who helped Jews during the Holocaust "changed history" by their actions. The Courage to Care reminds readers of the power of individual action. This compelling book is the companion volume to the award-winning film, The Courage to Care, and includes the personal narratives of the same persons in the film and many others.

A SHOFAR IN SOUTH DAKOTA

"For the first time, I saw what had happened in Denmark, something I had never heard about before. Returning home to the United States, I did some research and learned of the rescue – that special Rosh Hashana in Denmark."

Please click here for full story.

Carol Rittner, Distinguished Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, R.S.M, is an academic, an activist, a liaison to the United Nations, an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, and a nun.

Rittner, a Distinguished Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, has dedicated her life to understanding the circumstances that allowed the Holocaust to occur.

DET ER IKKE NOK AT OVERLEVE

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DENMARK

by Sen. Stanley Adelstein

The first time I became aware of the Danish rescue was while visiting Israel in 1965. I was listening to a lecture on some subject or other (unrelated to the Shoah) in a classroom at Hebrew University. Around the room, there were charts indicating the destruction rate of Jews of the Jewish communities of Europe.

”Umenneskelig vil man ikke være, og menneskelig tør man ikke være af hensyn til konsekvenserne”. Justitsminister K.K. Steinckes udtalelse fra 1937 illustrerer det dilemma, som den danske regering og dens embedsværk så sig konfronteret med, da Danmark efter Hitlers magtovertagelse i 1933 blev et mål for nogle få tusinde tyske flygtninge.

På den ene side stod de humanitære forpligtelser til at yde asyl til forfulgte medmennesker og på den anden side de nationale interesser i at undgå en fremmedinvasion, der kunne skabe politisk og social uro og bringe antisemitisme med sig i sit kølvand.

Af hensyn til konsekvenserne undersøger på baggrund af et meget stort kildemateriale Rigspolitiets og Justitsministeriets sagsbehandling, som den udviklede sig inden for de rammer, som politikerne og lovgivningen afstak. Bogen følger udviklingen frem til slutningen af 1930’erne, hvor grænserne endegyldigt blev lukket for de jødiske flygtninge.

Regeringens målsætning var at værne danskerne mod den umenneskelighed, som kendetegnede tidens totalitære regimer, men i forsøget på at forhindre, at Danmark blev løbet over ende, trængte den samme umenneskelighed alligevel ind over grænserne i form af en defensiv og ubarmhjertig flygtningepolitik. Her, som i andre lande, var det statsegoismen og ansvaret over for det nationale fællesskab der vandt over hensynet til ulykkelige og forfulgte mennesker.

Lone Rünitz (f. 1944) er historiker og ansat ved Dansk Institut for Internationale Studier, Afdelingen for Holocaust- og Folkedrabsstudier. Hun er forfatter til Danmark og de jødiske flygtninge 1933-1940 (2000) og bidragyder til Hans Sode-Madsen (red.): I Hitler-Tysklands Skygge – Dramaet om de danske jøder 1933-1945."

Syddansk Universitetsforlag

TRUET MINORITET

HILDEGARD OG HANS