The rescue of the Danish Jews from Nazi persecution in October 1943 is a unique exception to the tragic history of the Holocaust. Over fourteen harrowing days, as they were helped, hidden, and protected by ordinary people who spontaneously rushed to save their fellow citizens, an incredible 7,742 out of 8,200 Jewish refugees were smuggled out all along the coast-on ships, schooners, fishing boats, anything that floated-to Sweden. Now, for the first time, Bo Lidegaard brings together decades of research and new evidence, including unpublished diaries and documents of families forced to run for safety and of those who courageously came to their aid, to tell this story of ordinary glory, of simple courage and moral fortitude that shines out in the midst of the terrible history of the twentieth century and demonstrates how it was possible for a small and fragile democracy to stand against the Third Reich.
"The rescue of the Danish Jews is surely one of the most extraordinary - and genuinely moving - stories of the last century... A tremendously stirring book"
Sunday Times
"Magisterial... The story Lidegaard tells of how Danes, from the top bureaucrats, Church leaders and police officials down to the humblest fishermen, helped the Jews escape when the Germans tried to deport them to concentration camps in October 1943, is indeed astonishing and heart-warming."
Guardian
"Based on contemporary diaries written by a number of Danish Jews, Lidegaard has written of exactly how the escape of two families was planned and carried out, hour by tense hour. It is as exciting as any spy thriller"
