Danish Rescue: Compassion in Action is a digitization of the story of the Danish Rescue, using assets from the Museum of Jewish Heritage’s exhibition Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark.
About Danish Rescue: Compassion in Action
This online experience chronicles how the majority of Denmark’s Jewish population was helped by their Danish neighbors to escape to neutral Sweden during the Holocaust. The resource is suitable for students in grade 4 and above and is based on the Museum of Jewish Heritage’s exhibition Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark. Those familiar with Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars will recognize elements of this story. We hope this site will be useful in classrooms where the Holocaust is being studied. The Danish rescue also represents a powerful story of resistance, and community, and the experience showcases art and innovative mapping techniques, making it valuable for various educational settings.
Compassion in Action is organized into nine concise, chronological chapters that can be viewed in any order. We’ve placed the Holocaust overview at the end, but those wanting context can begin there. A Teachers Guide with lesson plans can be downloaded from this page, and we’ve included links to additional resources. Compassion in Action is built using ArcGIS StoryMaps, making it accessible in most classroom environments.
Explore the Story Through Different Chapters
Compassion in Action is divided into nine chapters – they are listed at the top of the website; you can either scroll down and you will be taken automatically from one chapter to the next, or you can click the different chapter title buttons at the top of the page to jump between chapters.
The chapters include: Introduction, Occupation, Resistance, Decoration, Rescue, Sweden, Theresienstadt, Return, and Holocaust Overview.
Follow Along with the Experiences of Real People
Danish Rescue: Compassion in Action encourages users to actively engage with the story of the Danish Rescue by incorporating the strong storytelling techniques of our exhibition Courage to Act. Users can follow five different people who really lived through the Danish Rescue. At the end of the story, recorded testimony of these individuals is available to watch.
How to Use
To use Danish Rescue: Compassion in Action, simply scroll down; the experience is accessible and easily navigable, while serving the linear narrative of the Courage to Act exhibition. As one scrolls, the story of the Danish Rescue unfolds in nine chapters.
More
If you would like to jump between chapters, click the chapter title buttons at the header of the page.
Certain elements are animated so you can interact with them; for example the illustration of the house in the Underground Newspapers section. Certain rooms are highlighted; click into these for more information about various resistance activities.
Built on ArcGIS Story Maps, users can interact with maps of Denmark, Sweden, and the Øresund. You can zoom in and out, and click on these icons for more information and images. On certain maps, locations important to the Danish Rescue are indicated by number; click these numbers to learn more information about these spots and see photos.
For certain documents, such as the Danish Church’s response to Nazi plans to deport the Danish Jews, there are buttons where you can view the whole letter, in either Danish or English. Click the appropriate buttons to be directed to the route you want to view.
When videos and audio clips appear, press the play button to watch and/or listen. For certain videos, transcripts are available; you can click the transcript button to be directed to the appropriate PDF.
Icons with names & headshots indicate the stories of real people who lived through the Danish Rescue. Look out for these so you can follow along with their journeys. At certain points, you can click on their photo icons or their buttons of their names for more information & videos about them.
Circle buttons with an “i” can be clicked to see credit information.
Lesson Plans
We have lesson plans designed specifically to accompany this material. Students will analyze and apply information from various sources, including texts, maps, images, and videos, to demonstrate an understanding of the history of the Jewish community in Denmark during Nazi occupation. Students will explore the escape, rescue efforts, and the role of resistance and key connections that contributed to the survival and return of the Jewish population of Denmark.
Additional Resources
Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark
The Museum’s first exhibition for visitors aged 9+.
Plan a Group Tour
Bring your group to Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark.
Further Reading
Learn more about the Danish Rescue through these books.
Speakers Bureau
Our Speakers Bureau is includes Holocaust survivors, World War II veterans, and descendants of survivors.
Timeline
For a better understanding of the Holocaust, see this timeline that lays out significant events over time.
Vocabulary
Familiarize yourself with the vocabulary and terminology that’s relevant for understanding this story.