Amid the horrors of World War II, the people of Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Bulgaria stand out as heroes. In each of these countries, ordinary people performed extraordinary acts of bravery at great personal risk to rescue thousands of their Jewish countrymen.
Rescues By Country
Risking Nazi retaliation, neutral Sweden provided sanctuary for Jews escaping from Denmark, Norway, and other European countries.
“The police brought in a big case of bananas, chocolate, and toys for the children, taking good care of them.” ~Ruth Naomi Vivian Marling Margolis Balle Hansen, speaking about her arrival in Sweden
Brave Danish countrymen rescued nearly 7,000 Jewish Danes.
“These courageous people deserve as important a place in Holocaust remembrance as the unspeakable barbarism they dared to defy at the risk of their own lives.” ~Esther. R. Winkler, rescued by the Danes
Norway’s resistance movement defied the German occupation and saved half of its Jewish population.
“On a cold night in November 1942, a group of 11 people, nearly all of them Jews, were guided towards the Swedish border by a cross border courier named Iver Skogstad from Rødenes.” ~Mona Levin, rescued from Norway
Although Finland was a co-belligerent — although not an ally — of Germany during WWII, Finland adamantly refused to deliver the 2,000 Finnish Jews for Hitler’s “Final Solution” and thereby saved virtually all of the country’s Jews.
“The Finnish Jews were citizens of a democracy; citizens who have equal rights with all others of that country; equal rights and equal freedoms. There never was a meeting of the Finnish government to decide what to do about the Jews; the question simply did not arise.” ~Ambassador Max Jakobson of Finland
Protests by the Bulgarian intellectual elite, Church officials, peasants, and city dwellers prevented the deportation of nearly all of Bulgaria’s 50,000 Jews. However, Jews in Bulgarian-occupied territories did not share the same fate.
“Individuals made a difference! This unique victory of courage can inspire people everywhere to stand up for what is right.” ~Jack Comforty, director of the 2001 documentary “The Optimists” on Bulgaria’s resistance to Nazi Germany