Denmark and the Holocaust- Hope for Humanity or Damining Evidence?

[Spiny_Norman]

*Originally posted by clairobscur *
**

It was a bit of a sad footnote to an otherwise heartening tale that many of those left behind were the poor, who could not afford the cost of passage to Sweden (the rest were the elderly & infirm). **

Paying their passage??? That’s odd! Their flight was organized, and they were asked to pay for the ticket??? **

I hesitated to reopen this thread, but this exact subject has just been debated in a Danish newspaper (“Weekend-avisen”).

Apparently, smuggling people across Oeresund was an established practice before October 1943, and payment was involved way more often than not. Before drastically condemning the fishermen etc. who wanted payment, one should remember that they did indeed risk life and limb - and their boats, often the sole source of income for several families.

The flight of the Jews increased demand and apparently market economy took over - according to the interrogation reports from the Swedish police, prices jumped from 850 Kroner to up to 1500 Kroner. When most refugees had been transferred, there were suddenly more boats available and the price fell to about 500 Kroner. These are not insignificant amounts, but AFAIK, the money was raised.
The first Jewish refugees to make it across were of course those who could pay for themselves, while those with no funds had to “go underground” and wait for the necessary funds to be collected - two Danish historians have estimated that about half the funds needed were collected among wealthy Danish non-Jews. About 90% of those who made it crossed in the first two weeks, while the rest “trickled” across in the following months.

I’ve never read anything about Jews not making it solely because they lacked funds, but I’m not about to say that it didn’t happen.

S. Norman

[clairobscur]

Thanks for your answers, spiny and curwin.
I always had a great appreciation for the concept of honoring the “righteous amongst the nations”.

[bonzer]

But weren’t they deported only after Italy surrendered, and therefore became (for its part still under german control) occupied by the nazis?

Yes. In The Holocaust (Collins, 1986), Gilbert states that the first deportation was on 16th September 1943; 24 Jews sent from Merano to Birkenau. The Italian government had surrendered secretly on the 3rd, this becoming generally known once the Allies landed at Salerno on the 8th/9th. At this point, the Germans moved to take control of what they could. The majority of the deportations then occur in October and November.

[Incidentally, I suspect the caption on p173 of his Atlas gets the significance of the 16th wrong.]