The Changing Len of Danish Holocaust History
Danish Holocaust history has gone through remarkable shifts in how the event has been perceived. Originally, Denmark’s rescue of the majority of their Jews had been a heroic tale of Danish goodwill. More recently this idealistic view of the Danish Holocaust has been reexamined and scrutinized. There reasons surrounding why Danish Holocaust history is different from all of the other occupied European countries is very complex. Denmark was able so successful, not solely because of their character, but because of a multitude of factors which combined in a way that allowed an environment for Jewish rescue from deportation.
At the surface Danish Holocaust history is presented as a light in the darkness …show more content…
Ellen Keith, in Beyond the Legend: Uncovering the Historical Circumstances Behind the Rescue of the Danish Jews, emphasizes that “[t]he morals of the Danes should not be considered the defining factor for the uniqueness of the Danish response to the so-called ‘Jewish Problem.’ ” The Danish were not successful in helping the Jews only for the reason that they were well treated in their country. Having high assimilation and low antisemitism does not mean that Jews will be rescued. She points out that in the Netherlands, relations towards Jews was similar to those in Demark, however, only 25% of Dutch Jews survived the Holocaust. Ellen Keith, ultimately argues that there were many other factors that are part of the rescue mission such as the “autonomy of the Danish government,” the “complicity of German officials,” and the “timeframe for the deportation…” In the Holocaust, having “goodwill” alone did not allow a county to save their Jews. However, it should be noted that Danish goodwill should not be discredited altogether. The way the Danes treated the Jews was still a key part to the reason why so many Danish Jews survived. “The lack of anti-Semitic laws in Denmark (such as the introduction of yellow badges, ghettos, and Judenräte), meant that Jews were not easily identifiable.” Since the Jews could not be recognized, they could not be easily …show more content…
Paulsson offers an even more critical look at the idealist perspective of the Danish Holocaust. Paulsson believes that the Jews were able to escape because the Nazis let them and at some level, even encouraged them. Although this view is radical, Paulsson brings to the surface some important points about the Holocaust in Denmark. Paulsson spends most of his time analyzing the actions of the German occupiers. In the first years of occupation, the German Nazis were hesitant to take action because of they did not want to lose cooperation with the Danish and actually admired their way of life and democracy to some extent. Paulsson comments that the Nazis “preferred to count on stable, relatively moderate local regimes having the ability to maintain order, which they could bend to their will through intimidation; or else, it necessary, to install their own Reichskommissar to command the local administration, as was done in Holland and Norway. The later policy was costly and, in the case of Denmark, unnecessary so long as German objectives remained limited and the Danes adequately compliant.” This argument shows that the Danes had to be remain quiet and non-resistant in order for this to have happen. It was because they didn’t resist that they were able to have less of an oppressive German occupation. Paulsson goes on to argue that only after the Danish started