We Were All Danes – A Celebration of the 1943 WWII Rescue

On May 16th, I had the honor to participate in a meaningful program hosted by the Danish American Center commemorating the 1943 rescue of Jews living in Nazi-occupied Denmark by smuggling them across the Oresund Channel to neutral Sweden. The Minnesota Jewish community joined with the Minnesota Danish community to show gratitude for the bravery of the Danes in rescuing the Danish Jews from the Germans.

The program featured testimonials praising the Danish people from Judith Meisel and Gustav Goldberger. Meisel found refuge in Denmark after WWII and Goldberger was rescued by the Danes during the War. Goldberger's story was featured in the Star Tribune on April 2, 2010, and Meisel's story is captured in the 1999 documentary, Tak for Alt: Survival of a Human Spirit.

Attendees at the commemoration had the privilege to hear from two heroic Danes (via Skype from Copenhagen and New York City) who risked their lives in 1943 to smuggle Jews from Denmark to Sweden on fishing boats. It was an extremely moving moment to hear the applause from the roughly 350 people in attendance on the afternoon of May 16th for the courageous Danes who saved approximately 7,500 Jews during the Holocaust. Betty Salomonsen who was present with her daughter Hannah Brandt was also acknowledged. Betty's late husband, Frede Salomonsen, literally carried dozens of elderly and incapacitated Jews to safety by lifting them above the water and into boats.

The Minnesota House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the Danish rescue of Jews during the Holocaust and recognizing the ceremony in Minneapolis.

The event was cosponsored by the Danish American Center, Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, St. Paul JCC, and United Jewish Fund and Council of St. Paul. Rikke Dierssen-Morice and Mark Savin of the Faegre & Benson law firm created the idea of the program and were its primary life force in conjunction with the cosponsors.