Denmark and the Holocaust

Robert F. Kennedy once said that, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal or the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.” Moreover, this fact is seen through Oskar Schindler and the 1,200 Jews he saved or the village of Le Chambon and the 5,000 Jews they took in and rescued. Subsequently, however, though many individuals showed compassion during the Holocaust and showed basic humanity towards their fellow neighbors, no other nation collectively helped the Jews as Denmark did. Thus, the “Danish rescue was unique because it was nationwide” (Rescue).
To understand why the Danes decided to help save their fellow countrymen, one must learn about the life of Jews before the Second World War. Contrary to other European countries, there never were Jewish ghettos. In fact, in 1814, long before Denmark’s neighbors, the King at the time gave full equality to the Jews as citizens. This action allowed the Jews to in...