Danes' assistance to Jews recalled

Harvard University Professor Daniel Goldhagen spoke on campus Friday about the heroism of Danish Christians who saved virtually the entire Jewish population in Denmark – roughly 8,000 people – by helping them flee to Sweden during World War II. Not only did the Danes save Jewish citizens, but stateless Jews as well, he said. The central theme of Goldhagen's speech was the "goodness" of those Danes. In his final sentence, he said the goal of his lecture was to show "our deep appreciation for the Danish people." The Danes constantly risked their own lives to save Jewish people, he explained. In fact when the Nazis came to take the Jews, uniformed police officers refused to carry out Hitler's demands. Goldhagen's lecture also concentrated on what lessons can be derived from the rescue of Danish Jewry 50 years ago. He was concerned with the moral response of the Danish people and how it differed from the German people, whom he described as racist. "Anti-Semitism was like mother's milk to the Germans," Goldhagen said. He also spoke of the alleged indifference of other countries in helping the Jews. The Danish treated Jewish people as neighbors and they became indistinguishable from one another, he said. On the other hand, Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf that the Jews create a "progressive sickness" in Germany. Goldhagen noted that some of what he was saying has been disputed by other scholars. Even before the Danes performed their heroic feat, it was predicted that the Danes would give the Germans trouble with the Jews, Goldhagen said. At the Wannsee Conference, where the Nazis were said to have planned the mass extermination of the Jews, a leader said there would be "difficulties in certain countries." The fact that the Danes had an independent army and government proved to be one such "difficulty," Goldhagen said. Another was the availability of escape to Sweden and the willingness of the Danish people to "act," he said. It was rumored that King Christian the 10th of Denmark put a yellow star on his clothing to show his solidarity with the Jews. According to an audience member at the lecture, even though the rumor was false, Christian the 10th refused to deny it. After the speech, Goldhagen took questions from the audience. Some of the approximately 50 people in attendance, comprised mainly of community members, told of personal anecdotes concerning the rescue. The lecture was sponsored by a foundation called Thanks to Scandinavia, a group set up 30 years ago to honor the Scandinavians who aided Jews. The group's executive director, Judith Goldstein, said the final speech was "very touching, especially from an academic." She added that Goldhagen's discussion on racism was "illuminating."

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