A move against the Jews, Christian and others had warned, would be seen as an abuse of Nazi power and stir trouble into this working cooperation. It was an “unparalleled” arrangement, especially regarding the status of the Jews, protected as citizens under Danish law. With King Christian X’s decision not to resist the Nazi assault, Denmark entered a “peaceful occupation,” surrendering the export of its substantial agricultural production to Germany in exchange for upholding its neutrality and regard for constitutional democracy. The author combines fine research with specific examples of Jewish families-e.g., pediatrician Adolph Meyer and his children, as they were affected by the events that played out between April 9, 1940, with the abrupt and total occupation of the country by Nazi Germany, through the action taken against the Jews on October 1, 1943. In this passionately argued study, former Politiken editor in chief Lidegaard ( Defiant Diplomacy, 2003, etc.) takes on the complicated creation of the “model protectorate” and discusses why Denmark was able to resist Nazi actions against their Jews when other occupied countries could not. How a Danish national “we” kept the Nazis at bay-and largely saved its Jewish population.

Countrymen by Bo Lidegaard