Rescue of Danish Jews from Holocaust Commemorated in Philippines
Jerusalem, 5 October, 2023 (TPS) -- MANILA, Oct. 4, 2023 (PNA)
The Danish Embassy in Manila marked in the Philippines on Wednesday the 80th anniversary of a daring rescue that saved more than 7,000 Danish Jews from Holocaust during World War II.
Danish Ambassador Franz-Michael Mellbin and Israel Ambassador Ilan Fluss led the wreath-laying ceremony at the Philippine-Israel Friendship Park in Quezon City and were joined by Vice Mayor Gian Sotto and Councilor Dorothy Delarmente.
Denmark was occupied by the Nazi Germany in 1940 but daily life continued and no anti-Jewish legislation was enacted on the condition that they cooperate with the German occupiers.
It was in 1943, following a sharp increase in strikes, when the German policy changed and preparations started for the capture of some 8,200 Danish Jews into concentration camps.
In a show of solidarity, ordinary Danes pulled off a massive rescue operation that transported 7,800 Danish Jews to safety in Sweden.
The operation carried out from September to October 1943 made Denmark the only European nation where about 90 percent of Jewish population survived the Holocaust.
Drawing a connection between the Danish rescue and the Philippines’ own open door policy that welcomed 1,300 Jewish refugees fleeing from Nazi persecution, Mellbin said the value these acts imparted during that time remains relevant today— “You should never be passive”.
Fluss echoed the Danish envoy and encouraged future leaders and the youth to understand and remember this dark history— that the atrocities committed back then must never return.
“If we see evil acts, we shouldn’t be afraid to take a stand and do the right thing. We shouldn’t just keep quiet, even if we belong to the minority,” he said.
“We all hope and pray that such evil acts will never happen again. But unfortunately, we hear today the growing voices and violent acts of antisemitism, holocaust denial, and racism,” he said, noting that Israel will do its part in combating these acts.
