Guide Components

Suggested Grade Levels:
5^th-12^th

Subject Areas:
Social Studies, US and World History, Language Arts, and Character Education

Pre-Teaching Material
People
Places
Vocabulary

Timeline: Important Events of World War II
(opens in separate window)

Historical Background

Maps

Video Synopsis

Classroom Activities
Participatory Lessons
Classroom Discussion

Selected Resources
Bibliography
Videos
Web Sites

The film "Rescue in Scandinavia" offers recollections and interpretations of ordinary people who provided extraordinary assistance to others in desperate need. The film centers on the comments of people who, in their own words, acted as individuals to help other individuals, for no reason other than it was the right thing to do. "Rescue in Scandinavia" portrays—in the words of some of the participants in this effort, and in archival footage—the urgency of the rescue activities and the selfless manner in which they were undertaken in spite of the risks to the rescuers. The moral courage of the rescuers is clearly distinguished from the inhumanity of the persecutors and the indifference of the bystanders. This, in turn, enables the viewer to establish the moving importance of communal responsibility for individuals in need.

People
(In order of viewing and/or mention)

Vidkun Quisling: Headed the puppet government in Norway after the Nazi invasion.

Erik Bye and Herman Saether: Norwegian border pilots who helped Jews escape.

Arvid Faye Bisgaard: Member of the Resistance; manned the final "station" 15 kilometers from the Swedish border.

Per Grusd: Gives an account of being 12 years old when his family's escape was aided by Christian friends.

Reverend Hans Christian Mamen: Priest who helped Jews escape.

Ingrid Segerstedt Wiberg: Recounts call by Pastor Ole Neusted at the Gothenburg Cathedral in Sweden to speak up and offer sanctuary to the Jews.

Georg Duckwitz: German diplomat who warned the Danes of the Nazi plan to deport Danish Jews.

Rabbi Bent Melchior: Tells of the warning to Jewish families to leave their homes and hide before the Nazis came to take them away.

Borge Ronne: One of the founders of the Elsinore Sewing Club, a secret organization to transport Jews to Sweden.

Herbert Pundik: A rescued Danish Jew who speaks to the power of decency and the improvisation of the Danish people.

Mrs. Henny Sundo: Intervened with her father to aid Jews by allowing them to be smuggled by boat to Sweden.

Preben Munch-Nielsen: Guided escaping Jews from the train station in Espergaerde to the coast.

Pastor Hans Jensen: Died after the 80 Jews he had hidden in his church were betrayed and taken to the Theresianstadt concentration camp.

Franz Eling Thomsen: Assisted his father in helping Jews escape by boat.

Marshal Mannerheim: President and military leader in Finland.

Ambassador Max Jakobson: Remembers Finland's refusal to turn over to the Germans its Jews and those who had escaped to Finland.

Ambassador Per Anger: Tells about Raoul Wallenberg's experience at the Swedish embassy in Hungary.

Raoul Wallenberg: Designed the "protective passport" to help Jews escape from Hungary.

Count Folke Bernadotte: Organized the Swedish Red Cross to rescue Danish and Norwegian prisoners of war and Jews from German concentration camps.

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Places
(in the order viewed and/or mentioned)

Scandinavia

Denmark

Norway

Oslo

Germany

Auschwitz

Sweden

Basnes, Norway

Lake Mjermen at Basnes

Goteborg (Gothenburg)

Copenhagen

Elsinore, Denmark (Helsingor)

Helsingborg, Sweden

Espergaerde, Denmark

Gilleleje, Denmark

Theresianstadt

Czechoslovakia

Helsinki, Finland

Soviet Union

Budapest

Yad Vashem

Puppet government

Gestapo

German Transport Donau

German Transport Gotenland

Border pilot

Rosh Hashanah

Elsinore Sewing Club

Politiken

Winter War

Continuation War

Swedish Red Cross

White Bus missions

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Historical Background

German invasions of Denmark and Norway on April 9, 1940, had separate military objectives, but ultimately included the same strategy of capturing, deporting, and killing all of the Jewish citizens of both countries. The reactions of many of the Norwegian and Danish people to this strategy were essentially the same—to save as many of their Jewish countrymen as they could.

In October 1942, the surprise capture of more than 800 Norwegian Jews by local police under Nazi order alarmed Norwegian church leaders, the Norwegian Resistance, and ordinary citizens. They responded to the crisis by hiding the 1,000 remaining Jews until they could be safely guided across the border to Sweden. This was accomplished during the next 18 months through the combined efforts of the Resistance Movement, members of the clergy, and individual citizens.

Denmark's Jewish population lived largely without incident for three years after the German invasion. However, in August 1943, this changed dramatically. The Germans responded at that time to increasingly effective acts of sabotage by the Danish Resistance and forced the Danish government to resign. The Nazis then quickly developed plans to capture and deport Denmark's 7,600 Jews. Efforts of a sympathetic German diplomat alerted the Jewish community to this danger, and concerned Danes then made it possible for 7,100 Jews to escape by boat to Sweden. Of the 475 Danish Jews who were unable to escape and were captured, most were subsequently interned by the Germans in the Theresianstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. They were then, however, protected by the Danish government, which placed pressure on German authorities in Denmark. The Danish Red Cross also provided food and medicine to them until they were rescued in the final days of the war, 18 months later.

Although officially neutral, Sweden had strong pre-war religious, cultural, and commercial ties with Germany, which influenced its initial policies of restricting aid to European Jewish refugees. In fact, during the early years of the war, Sweden's refugee immigration policies were so strict that some Jewish refugees who reached Sweden were turned back and ultimately fell victim to the Nazis. In September 1943, following serious German military defeats, Swedish government officials surmised that Germany was certain to lose the war. One result of this realization was its public offer on October 1, 1943, to provide safe haven to Danish, Norwegian, and other Jewish refugees. The Swedish Red Cross rescue missions, sometimes referred to as the "White Bus" missions, were credited with saving the Danish Jews who had been imprisoned by the Nazis in the Theresianstadt prison camp, as well as most of the imprisoned Norwegian and Danish resistance fighters.

Cooperation between Swedish and U.S. government agencies and humanitarian aid societies in both countries subsequently resulted in the assignment in July 1944 of Raoul Wallenberg to the Swedish consulate in Budapest. Wallenberg's initiatives resulted in saving many thousands of Hungarian and Jewish refugees. Mr. Wallenberg himself became a victim of the Soviets on January 17, 1945, and presumably died some time later while in captivity.

One result of the Napoleonic Wars during the early 1800s was Sweden's loss of Finland to Russia. Jews who were forced to serve in the Russian army, and who found themselves in Finland at the time their 25-year conscription ended, were permitted to retire there with their families. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Finnish political leaders took advantage of the disarray in St. Petersburg, Russia's capital at the time, to declare the independence of their country. One of the first official acts of its parliament was to convey full citizenship upon the Jewish community of the country.

Patriotism within Finland's Jewish community was demonstrated by the high percentage of its volunteers for military service and disproportionately high numbers of casualties suffered in both the 1939 Winter War and the 1941 Continuation War against the Soviets, during which Finland was allied with Germany.

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Maps

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Video Synopsis

"Rescue in Scandinavia" begins with narrator Liv Ullmann's introduction of Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. It then refers to the Garden of the Righteous within Yad Vashem, which honors many thousands of individuals, non-Jewish, who reached out to rescue Jewish victims where and when they could. The film then recounts the history of wartime experiences in Scandinavia, particularly as they involved the Jewish communities in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.

Herman Saether and Erik Bye describe the role of Norwegian "border pilots," who guided refugees overland to Sweden. Reverend Hans Christian Mamen details the assistance extended by the Norwegian church and speaks of his own participation. Mr. Arvid Faye Bisgaard recalls his efforts as a refugee courier working for the Norwegian Resistance. And, Mr. Per Grusd hails the efforts of the Christian family and others who helped his own family reach safety in Sweden.

Rabbi Bent Melchior describes how the Jewish community learned of the German plans through the Danish underground, and subsequently found safety with Christian families. Mrs. Henny Sundo recalls her role in arranging ship passage for many Jewish refugees. Preben Munch-Nielsen takes the viewer on a walk from the Espergaerde train station on the eastern coast of Zealand to a beach that served as a point of departure for the refugees on their way to Sweden. Mr. Borge Ronne tells of his role as a member of the Elsinore Sewing Club, which was active in transporting Jewish escapees to Sweden. And, finally, Mr. Herbert Pundik, one of the rescued, reflects upon the Danish character in its commitment to help.

Sweden's role in assuring safety to Norwegian and Danish Jewish refugees seeking asylum behind its borders is highlighted. Mrs. Ingrid Segerstedt Wiberg also describes the involvement of the Swedish church and Swedish citizens in assisting Jewish refugees from Norway. Ambassador Per Anger describes how Raoul Wallenberg's initiatives at the Swedish Embassy in Hungary resulted in saving many thousands of lives.

The leadership role of Count Folke Bernadotte in the early 1945 Swedish Red Cross rescue missions is also highlighted. The "White Bus" missions are credited with saving the 450 surviving Danish Jews in the Theresianstadt prison camp, as well as Norwegian and Danish resistance fighters. In total, nearly 25,000 people were brought back from German prison camps to safety in Sweden through the White Bus missions—while the war was still being waged.

Ambassador Max Jakobson comments on Finland's experience in assuring safety to Jewish refugees who had arrived in the country. This came in response to the German demand that they all be deported to Germany for eventual killing. He acknowledges a regrettable maneuver in which the Finnish secret police transferred eight Jewish refugees to the gestapo in Finland. They were subsequently sent to Auschwitz, where all but one man died. The role of Marshal Mannerheim, wartime leader of Finland, and his relationship with Finland's Jewish community are also referenced in the program.

Finally, in addition to the reminders in Yad Vashem of the death and destruction associated with the Holocaust, the film finds symbols in the Garden of the Righteous that commemorate acts by non-Jews who risked their lives to save the lives of periled Jews. Here we find a Swedish Red Cross bus, a Danish boat, and, among thousands of dedicated trees, those bearing plaques honoring the Norwegian underground, the Danish people, and individual Swedes, including Raoul Wallenberg and Per Anger.

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Classroom Activities

Participatory Lessons

• Before viewing, use the map handout to locate the sites mentioned in the video, review the vocabulary words, and give students the names mentioned in the program. Use the timeline and historical background to set the stage for the video. This preparation will broaden students' viewing experience.
• The Web site The Holocaust—A Guide for Teachers (http://remember.org/guide/index.html#Facts), created by Gary Grobman, contains an excellent section on various countries and their immigration policies during WWII. Have students research these policies here and elsewhere and create a chart of these policies. How did "legislatively created barriers aid the Nazi Final Solution?
• What has been in the news lately on immigration to the U.S.? Today, do we always welcome immigrants with "open arms"? What are the issues surrounding immigration policy? Does persecution in a country ease our immigration policies for that country? Have we seen that happen lately?
• Have various groups read information about, or works of persons advocating, civil disobedience. For each advocate, create different areas to study and assign one area to each student in a group. Use the Jigsaw method of collaborative learning to instruct the students in the other groups about each student's particular investigation. Students may expand this to posters or electronic presentations.
• Reverend Hans Christian Mamen said, "I am no hero, I was scared." Does being "scared" disqualify someone from being a hero? Do you believe other heroes were also scared? Should one be ashamed of being scared? What "scares" you? How might we overcome
  fright to move into responsible action?
• Herbert Pundik, the retired newspaper reporter, said, "Individuals count. If you want to become active, you can make a major contribution to the life and destiny of other people." Have you seen evidence of this in history, in your community, in your life? How might students become "active"? What does Pundik mean by "Individuals count"? Establish a Pundik award and nominate recipients from within your school. On a poster outside the classroom, record the Pundik recipients.

Classroom Discussion

• When rescuers are asked why they risked their lives to help intended Jewish victims of Nazi genocidal policies, they often say, "It was the right thing to do." We might ask, was it the right response at the time, considering the dangers inherent in such acts?
• Consider the relatively small size of the Jewish communities in the Scandinavian countries. Consider, too, the absence of overt pre-war anti-Semitism in them to contrast to pre-war anti-Jewish events in European countries. Was the high degree of assimilation and integration of Jewish communities a factor in the decision of non-Jewish citizens of these countries to be of assistance?
• Were assimilation and integration factors that helped Jews in other countries, e.g., Holland, Belgium, and France?
• What do you think motivates people to save the lives of other people in spite of personal danger to themselves?
• Can courage be taught? Can morality be taught? If so, where does such teaching take
  place?
• Is it appropriate to give public recognition to individuals who saved the lives of individual Jews when the total number of those saved was so small in relation to the 6 million Jews who were killed?
• Have we any right to expect people to risk their lives to save others? What about to save you or me?

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Bibliography
(specific to the Scandinavian experience)

Abrahamsen, Samuel. Norway's Response to the Holocaust. Holocaust Library.

Anger, Per. With Raoul Wallenberg in Budapest. Holocaust Library, 1981.

Goldberger, Leo. The Rescue of the Danish Jews: Moral Courage Under Stress. NYU Press, 1987.

Hellman, Peter. When Courage Was Stronger Than Fear: Stories of Christians and the Jews They Saved from the Holocaust. Atheneum, 1999.

Norway`s Response to the Holocaust: A Historical Perspective. Holocaust Library, 1991.

Rautkallio, Hannu. Finland and the Holocaust: The Rescue of Finland's Jews. Holocaust Library, 1987.

Rittner, Carol, and Sandra Myers, ed. The Courage to Care. New York University Press, 1986.

Rosenfeld, Harvey. Raoul Wallenberg: Angel of Rescue. Holmes & Meier, 1995.

Stein, André. Quiet Heroes: True Stories of the Rescue of Jews by Christians in Nazi- Occupied Holland. NYU Press.

The Stones Cry Out: Sweden's Response to the Persecution of the Jews, 1933_1945. Holocaust Library, 1988.

Yahil, Leni. The Rescue of Danish Jewry. Jewish Publishing Society, 1990.

Videos

The Avenue of the Just

Assignment: Rescue, The Story of Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee

The Courage to Care

The Danish Resistance

Raoul Wallenberg: Buried Alive

Web Sites
(pertaining to Scandinavia)

Norway In WWII
http://www.nuav.net/ndWW2.html 

Norway 1940
http://hem.fyristorg.com/robertm/norge/      

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