Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research in Denmark
All States are obliged to keep alive the memory of the Holocaust. We must learn from the past. The atrocities committed during the Second World War against innocent civilians - children, women, men - stand forever as the underlying rationale for the need for international cooperation among States in promoting a safer and more peaceful world. Denmark believes that keeping alive the memory of the Holocaust through education, research and commemorative activities is an important way to teach future generations about fundamental human rights, and the necessity to observe and protect them everywhere.
Ambassador, Head of the Danish delegation
| The Danish delegation Denmark became a member of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research in June 2004. The Danish delegation consists of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Members of the delegation are:
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Commemoration
Since 2003 Denmark has commemorated the victims of the Holocaust on 27th January - the annual Auschwitz Day. Various remembrance activities aimed at the public are organised by local municipalities. Alongside these activities the Ministry of Education - in cooperation with DIIS - is hosting a series of seminars for high school students about the Holocaust and other genocides. Every year, the Minister of Education approves the plans for coming activities. By giving his consent to the activities of the annual remembrance day Mr. Bertel Haarder, the Minister of Education, wishes to improve the awareness of the Holocaust among Danish students and the principle that never to forget what the past can teach the future. Thus, Auschwitz Day is dedicated to commemorate the victims and support the survivors, to promote education and public awareness about the Holocaust and other genocides in schools, high schools and universities and in the public at large.
We should promote Holocaust education in a comparative way in schools and other educational institutions in order to motivate students to assume a personal responsibility driven by the spirit of democracy, human rights and tolerance. And we should work for democratic and tolerant societies without prejudices and racism. Thus, being united with other European countries and with the international community, Denmark's commemoration of the Holocaust is an important element in our work for peace, justice and unity among nations, as well in our support for the International Criminal Court as a fundamental institution in the development of international law and the promotion of the rule of law in international relations.
| The Danish Rescue In October 1943 around 7000 Jews from Denmark managed to escape the Holocaust and flee to Sweden. With the help of fishermen, local people, the Jewish congregation, friends, neighbours, colleagues - as well as the resistance movement at large - most of the Jewish population in Denmark avoided the upcoming deportation by the Nazi occupiers. In the history of the Holocaust, the Danish rescue is considered an extraordinary example of a national community that stood up against the Nazi oppressors. Instead of collaborating with the Nazis and handing over the Jews, Danes organized a quick, and very efficient, escape for the Jews in Denmark. This rescue operation was, and still is, considered to be a unique achievement and a light in the horrors of the Holocaust. In a national perspective, the rescue operation is largely seen as an integrated part of occupational history during the Second World War. The rescue was an act demonstrating Danish autonomy and resistance towards the Nazi occupation. |
Education
Various educational activities are related to the marking of Auschwitz Day in Denmark. Under the auspicies of the Ministry of Education, seminars are offered to high school students around the country alongside educational websites available for secondary and high schools. Other educational materials are produced and teacher-training seminars are offered to Danish teachers. Teaching about the Holocaust is not mandatory, but the Holocaust is a vital part of the general curriculum on World War Two. 
The educational activities related to Auschwitz Day further contribute to the effort of bringing the subject into the classrooms. Since 2003, when Auschwitz Day was marked for the first time in Denmark, high school students have had the opportunity to participate in seminars and learn more about the Holocaust and other genocides. In the weeks leading up to 27th January, seminars are arranged in the larger cities of Denmark. Each year 2000 high school students participate in workshops where the Holocaust and other genocides are discussed.
The overall idea is to familiarise the students with the ethical and political challenges in the field and to provide them with insight into the dynamics of genocide. In order to illustrate the complexity of genocide with impacts on many aspects of society, Auschwitz Day has each year a new thematic focus. In past years, themes such as "Rescuers and Bystanders" and "Perpetrators" have defined the discussions. Also the processes leading to genocide and the aftermath of genocide have been themes for discussion. In 2008, the theme for Auschwitz Day was "Sites of Persecution", and in January 2009 the "Rescue" was the focus.
DIIS, Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Remembrance
In Denmark, Holocaust remembrance has largely been part of the general commemoration of the years of occupation. The national commemoration has focused on the fallen freedom fighters of the Danish resistance movement. The remembrance culture surrounding these victims includes numerous monuments, memorial stones as well as other sites of memory. As for the fate of the Jewish population in Denmark, commemoration has been focused on the rescue operation in October 1943, carried out with the help of the resistance movement and ordinary Danes, in which the majority of Danish Jews managed to flee to safety in Sweden. The rescue operation has been portrayed as a symbol of resistance and humanity and has been marked as part of the commemoration of liberation. In October 2003, 60 years after the rescue, the Jewish community initiated a major commemorative event where, among others, members of the royal family as well as high ranking politicians participated.
Much less focus has been given to the approximately 500 Jews who were arrested by the Nazis and deported, mainly to Theresienstadt. The primary day of commemoration is 4th May. On the eve of 4th May 1945 the message of liberation was announced throughout Denmark. After the war, this date has been marked in different ways across the country both at the official and private level. The main event is a memorial ceremony in Mindelunden where members of the resistance were executed.
At the event in 2005, the Prime Minister, Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, on behalf of the government and the Danish State, gave an official apology for having handed over Jewish refugees to the German occupational power. Most of these refugees perished in Nazi camps. Following the Stockholm Conference in 2000, the Danish government established a national Day of Holocaust and Genocide Remembrance - Auschwitz Day.
Auschwitz Day focuses on different genocides to obtain a better insight into why they are committed and how they can be prevented. On the naming of the day, the former Chief Rabbi, Mr. Bent Melchior, stated the following: "The term "Auschwitz" has gained universal meaning. Really, it encompasses all forms of mass murder, ethnic cleansing and atrocities against people, whose only crime is to be born into or having joined the 'wrong' group."
DIIS, Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Research
In the history of the Holocaust, Denmark has a special standing because of the unique rescue operation in October 1943. Yet, the favourable image of Denmark as a kind of safe haven for Jews has gone through changes during the past decades. New research focusing on a less flattering side of Denmark's history during the occupation has addressed the previously pristine image and has fuelled renewed controversy about the hitherto widely accepted ‘policy of cooperation' with the occupational forces.
The myth of the inherent democratic Danish spirit as the primary factor for saving the Jews has long been rebuffed and today we have a more nuanced picture of what happened in October 1943.
The Danish rescue was, and still is, unique. But we know more about what made it possible, as shown by among others Hans Kirchhoff, Sofie Lene Bak, Vilhelm Topsøe and Isi Foighel. We also know more about how it was to be a Jewish refugee, both in Denmark as a fleeing German Jew, and in Sweden as a refugee coming from Denmark (See Hans Kirchhoff & Lone Rünitz 2007/2005; Cecilie Felicia Stokholm Banke 2005 and Vilhjalmur Örn Vilhjálmsson 2005).
Added to this more nuanced picture is new research about the Danish deportees in Theresienstadt, which is now becoming more integrated into Danish historiography (Silvia Goldbaum Tarabini Fracapane 2006; Hans Sode-Madsen 2003). Finally, over the last 10-15 years, the history and public conception of Denmark's role during the Second World War has been revisited by a new generation of historians and journalists. New publications on the role of the Danish industries' business relations with Nazi Germany, the use of slave-labourers and the role of the agrarian sector during the war have contributed to an understanding of how complex and sometimes also contradictory history is (See Claus Bundgaard Christensen, Niels Bo Poulsen & Peter Scharff Schmidt 1999; Steen Andersen 2003; Joachim Lund 2005).
