“Hour of Need: The Daring Escape of the Danish Jews during World War II” with Ralph Shayne 

Seating is first come, first served and requires advanced registration.

In the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale Holger Danske, legend had it that should danger ever come to Denmark, the mighty warrior Holger Danske promised to wake from his centuries-long slumber to protect its citizens. When the Nazis move to round up young Mette and her fellow Danish Jews in a surprise raid in 1943 after years of letting Denmark rule its people, her father must make life and death decisions to save his family. Overnight, they have become refugees at the mercy of the strangers they meet during their escape. The mythical Holger Danske’s promise to the Danish people manifests in the compassion and bravery of a school teacher turned resistance leader and other ordinary citizens who bravely defy the Nazi regime to come to her rescue in her hour of need.

Told from the point of view of Mette returning to Denmark years later with her grandchildren, Hour of Needis a graphic novel that tells the story of how the people of an occupied nation—from king to fisherman—risked their lives to evacuate their Jewish countrymen to Sweden in small boats. Hour of Need is a tribute to the heroes who worked with Denmark’s Jews to ensure the escape of over seven thousand people, and to the concrete and mythical ways by which humanity triumphs in the darkest hours.

Developed in partnership with the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, a book signing with Ralph Shayne, author of Hour of Need: The Daring Escape of the Danish Jews During World War IIwill follow, with books available for purchase.  Moderated by Marc Aaronson.

This program is a part of the Museum’s series of programming around our exhibition Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark, the Museum’s first exhibition for visitors 9 and up about the incredible story of the Danish Rescue.
Co-presented by Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center

This program is made possible in part by support from the Battery Park City Authority.