A boat used by Danish fishermen to transport Jews to safety in
Sweden during the German occupation. Denmark, date uncertain.
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York In 1933, in a
service attended by Danish King Christian X, the Jews of
Copenhagen celebrated the hundredth anniversary of their
synagogue's existence. Over the next seven years, Denmark would
welcome approximately 4,500 German and eastern European Jewish
refugees. Around 3,000 of these new arrivals were known as
chalutzim, the Hebrew word for “pioneers,” who came to Denmark
for agricultural training before emigration Palestine. When
Germany occupied Denmark on April 9, 1940, the Jewish population
was approximately 7,500, accounting for 0.2% of the country's
total population. About 6,000 of these Jews were Danish
citizens. The rest were German and eastern European refugees.
Most Jews lived in the country's capital and largest city,
Copenhagen. Until 1943, the German occupation regime took a
relatively benign approach to Denmark. The Germans we