Polish-Jewish Relations: 1,300 Keyword-Phrase-Indexed Book Reviews (by Jan Peczkis)

Denmark and the Holocaust, by Mette Bastholm Jensen and Steven L. B. Jensen. 2003. Institute for International Studies, Kobenhavn

Danish SS. Seldom-Mentioned Factors in the Fabled Danish Rescue of Jews. Double Standards Against Poles Exposed

I have reviewed several books on this subject, and focus on mostly new material:

DANISH NAZIS ACTIVELY COLLABORATED IN THE ATTEMPTED NAZI GERMAN SEIZURE OF DANISH JEWS

Michael Mogenson describes the attempted October 1, 1943 German roundup of Danish Jews, “The operation was well prepared. Careful planning and systematic registration of the Jews and their residences preceded the distribution of the approximately 1,800 German policemen in groups all over Copenhagen, the city where the majority of the Jews lived. Danish Nazis with local knowledge led the many units to their prey.” (p. 38. Emphasis added.)

Many Jews leave no stone unturned to find and publicize “Polish complicity in the Holocaust.” But they are deafeningly silent about “Danish complicity in the Holocaust.” Then again, Danes, in popular Holocaust lore, are the good guys.

THE DANISH WAFFEN SS WAS DIRECTLY COMPLICIT IN THE HOLOCAUST

It is commonly supposed that the Waffen SS “was only a battlefield unit”. This is far from the truth. Claus Bundgard Christenson et al. discuss the aforementioned October 1 attempted roundup of Jews as follows, “A group of Danish volunteers from the Waffen SS Regiment Danemark, just arrived in Copenhagen on leave, were among those who took part. (pp. 84-85. Emphasis in original).

This was not an isolated instance, Christenson writes, “The incidents above show that there was no clear distinction between regular military service and policing in the Waffen SS. The volunteers were serving in a criminal organization where the step to participate in various crimes could be a short one.” (p. 89. Emphasis in original.)

For more on the role of the Danish Waffen SS in crimes against Jews, this time on the Russian front, see:

https://www.jewsandpolesdatabase.org/2019/11/04/complicity-in-holocaust-by-danes-indicated-bjerregaard/

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THE STAR-WEARING MYTH PERSISTS BECAUSE OF THE HOLD THAT THE JEWS’ HOLOCAUST HAS ON THE WESTERN POPULAR IMAGINATION

Jensen and Jensen continue, “Today most Danes are aware of the mythical nature of one of the most popular stories–that of King Christian X wearing the yellow Star of David on his daily horseback rides through the streets of Copenhagen–but abroad the myth persists. Expressions of doubt frequently meet with disappointment if not outright disbelief when the validity of the story is challenged.” (p. 8).

Why so? Why especially the emotional reaction to the refutation of this myth? Note that myths persist when they serve a purpose. But what purpose? The hagiography of the Holocaust, and the West’s over-attention to the Holocaust, of course.

THE STAR-WEARING MYTH WAS NOT HATCHED FOR THE SAKE OF THE DANISH JEWS!

Vilhjalmsson writes, “The above-mentioned myths and fabricated stories about King Christian X and the Danish Jews during World War II were originally introduced for the sole purpose of improving the reputation of occupied Denmark abroad. The tales certainly did not and most likely were not intended to improve the situation of the Jewish population in Denmark.” (p. 115).

Ironically, the star-wearing myth did not even originate with the famous October 1943 rescue. It started at least a year earlier (Vilhalmsson, p. 105), long before Nazi Germany had made any sort of move against the Danish Jews. The star-wearing myth was invented to repair Denmark’s reputation in the face of her rapid surrender to the Third Reich in April 1940. (Vilhalmsson, pp. 106-108).

HOLOCAUST SUPREMACISM PUT DENMARK ON THE MAP

Jensen and Jensen acknowledge that, “The rescue of the Jews is one of the few events in Danish history that has attracted significant international attention. It is surrounded by a wealth of myths and half-truths, both in Denmark and abroad.” (p. 8).

The star-wearing tale, as intended, captures the imagination. Clearly, the star-wearing tale was and is less about honoring the Danes than it is about promoting the mystification of the Holocaust, enhancing public interest in the Holocaust, and maintaining the hold of the Holocaust on the public imagination.

Denmark, in accordance with world opinion, is known because of the Holocaust. Then again, all nations, to a large extent, are nowadays defined by the Holocaust.

Had the Danes, and especially the Danish king, factually or mythically worn the Letter “P” in solidarity with the German-conquered Poles, would Denmark be internationally famous today for it? I rather doubt it.

Both the real and imagined heroism of the Danes is exploited, by some Jews, as a foil to put down the Poles and their “terrible” treatment of the Jews. If Poles are the designated bad guys, another peoples (the Danes) need to play the role of the designated good guys. This, in turn, is part of the customary Jewish ingratitude to the Polish rescuers of Jews.

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HEFTY-PAID DANISH RESCUERS OF JEWS

Mogenson comments, “However, it should also be said that many of the testimonies mention very considerable amounts of money in connection with the rescue. Far from all refugees were of the opinion that the payment was reasonable. People in the resistance movement shared this view.” (p. 47).

Now Jan Grabowski has gone on and on about how “greedy” and (what else?) anti-Semitic the Poles were for sometimes requiring payment from the fugitive Jews. There is zero indignation about all the paid Danish rescuers. A little bit of a double standard is evident here.

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THE HOLOCAUST OF DANISH JEWS WAS ALMOST A FARCE

Approximately 7,000 Danish Jews were transported to Sweden. (Ruenitz, p. 33). The casualties from the transport across the sea were minimal, and even most of these were unrelated to German intervention. She writes, “More than 30 people died in the course of the attempt to escape–some drowned in the Oresund, the Sound between Denmark and Sweden, others committed suicide, and in one tragic case a Jewish woman was killed by a lethal shot fired when the Germans were making an arrest.” (p. 33). So it was little more than 30 out of 7,000 fleeing Danish Jews dead–a tiny number. Moreover, the transports began on September 28, 1943, and did not conclude until December of that year (Mogenson, pp. 39-40), giving the Germans plenty of time to realize what was going on, and take action to stop it. Considering all this, are we supposed to seriously believe that the Germans were earnest in trying to prevent the transports of Danish Jews, across the Oresund, to Sweden?

In fact, the Germans did react, but it was a closing of the barn door after the horses had left. Mogenson writes, “The fact remains that it was not until after the Jews’ successful flight to Sweden that Dr. [Werner] Best really took action to close the Sound. With the required will and with relatively limited means it clearly would have been possible to seize a large number of the well over 7,000 Jews whose October escape to freedom in Sweden went unimpeded.” (p. 59). Was this long delay on purpose? That way, the Germans could save face by saying that they “tried to do something” about the Jews, when they had really intentionally let the Jews go.

Pointedly, the Nazis did not do so well with even those Danish Jews that they had caught still in Denmark! Ruenitz writes, “Of the 474 deported Jews, 53 died. Most of these were either old or ill.” (p. 33). Clearly, the Germans were not serious about killing Denmark’s Jews, even those that had fallen into German hands.

THE EUROPEAN-WIDE GERMAN-MADE HOLOCAUST WAS FAR FROM UNIVERSAL

The Danish Jews were not an isolated instance. Lone Ruenitz writes, “Considering the Nazi extermination of 6 million of the total 8-9 million Jews within their reach…” (p. 33). If the Third Reich had sought the death of every single possible Jew, in accordance with the standard talking point of Holocaust supremacism, used to elevate the Holocaust above all other genocides, then shouldn’t Hitler have done better than that?