About this tour
Why did Denmark, almost alone in Europe, succeed in rescuing 99% of its Jewish population in October 1943? This remarkable fact stands at the center of Holocaust studies, raising one of the most enduring questions of the period: why Denmark, and nowhere else? Over the course of three days, we will walk the streets of Copenhagen and cross the strait to Malmö in search of answers.
On the tour, we’ll explore the history of Jewish life in Denmark through its synagogues and a walking tour of Copenhagen, learning about the Jewish historic footprint and the two waves of Jewish immigration in the 17th and 19th centuries. We’ll head to the fishing village of Dragør to analyze how Denmark’s geography, civil society, and resistance networks made rescue possible, contrasting with other European countries. At the end of the tour we’ll go to Malmö, tracing the return of Danish and Norwegian concentration camp survivors in 1945.
By retracing these paths, we ask not only how Denmark made the impossible possible, but also what became of those who could not escape.
Learning outcomes
- Explain why Denmark, unlike other European countries, managed to rescue 99% of its Jewish population
- Identify what happened to the 1% who were deported, using both individual stories and commemorative sites
- Analyze how rescue, survival, and memory are presented in Copenhagen and Malmö today, connecting local history to European Holocaust narratives
Possible activities
- Go on a guided visit to the Great Synagogue in Copenhagen
- Visit the Danish Jewish Museum and Danish Resistance Museum
- Visit Dragør, one of the coastal escape points used to ferry Jews across to Sweden
- Participate in a Stumbling Stone walking tour in Copenhagen, highlighting victims who were not rescued and the fate of the 1%
- Visit the White Bus exhibition at Malmö Castle, tracing the return of Danish and Norwegian concentration camp survivors in 1945