Darkness over Denmark

"There were 'good people' in countries throughout Europe who helped Jews during the Nazi period. But many more, when faced with the arrest and murder of their Jewish neighbors, said, 'What could we do?' For Danes, one additional word made all the difference: 'What else could we do?' "

I became interested in the Danish resistance during WWII sometime during the past year (true to form, it was a children's book--Number the Stars by Lois Lowry--that sparked my interest). After all my reading about Bonhoeffer and the resistance in Germany, I decided to research a bit more about the Danes. Fortunately, I was able to find a good introduction of the subject on our library shelves.

Darkness Over Denmark: the Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews by Ellen Levine gave me a good and concise picture of the happenings in Denmark during WWII. Not terribly long--under 200 pages--and with many personal stories included (the author interviewed a number of Danes, both Resistance workers and Jews, for the book), this book gives the amazing story of a little country that refused to surrender their Jewish population to Nazi Germany. It's an incredible true tale that you ought to read. For all lovers of hero stories, I highly recommend this book.