DANISH RESCUERS
HISTORY 214
THIS ASSIGNMENT IS DUE BY THE END OF THE DAY OR BEFORE APRIL 28, 2024 AND IT IS WORTH UP TO 50 POINTS. PLEASE HAND IT IN THROUGH BLACKBOARD ON A MICROSOFT WORD FORMAT OR GIVE ME A HARDCOPY IN CLASS ON OR BEFORE APRIL 29. LOOK AT THE HANDOUTS I GAVE IN CLASS ALSO THAT WILL PROVIDE BACKGROUND INFORMATION AS YOU CRAFT THIS ASSIGNMENT. FEEL FREE TO USE QUOTES FROM THESE HANDOUTS TO ACCENT YOUR ANSWER, WHICH CAN TAKE THE FORM OF A LETTER OR DESCRIPTIVE JOURNAL OF YOUR PLAN.
All of the Danish couples below (made-up names to protect the virtuous) helped Jewish families escape Nazi-occupied Denmark and flee to nearby neutral Sweden. Many German troops in Demark willingly took bribes of much needed food, blankets, rope, and other supplies in return for allowing Jews to escape to Sweden. Fake papers were even printed for Jewish families to take with them to Sweden. After the war, these families returned to their homes in Denmark.
Your assignment is to create an escape plan for your next door neighbors, the Steinheitz family. You are a wealthy jeweler who lives next door to the Steinheitz family and while you have taken their dog and cat into your home, you are also assisting them to escape to Sweden. They have given you some money and the Danish police have informed you of the Nazi plans to round up the Jewish citizens of Copenhagen, so you have to work fast. Why do you feel any sympathy for them and how can you utilize the people below to help you in assisting the Steinheitz family to make it safely to Sweden? Please construct a great plan that you used with at least three of the couples below and show how you and they successfully helped this family, saving their lives. Why are you, as a Danish citizen, inclined to be more sympathetic to your Jewish neighbors? How was Denmark different with the unique circumstances of geographic location as well as historical and political circumstance that created an opportunity to save its Jewish population? Discuss the unique historical situation of Denmark in your answer.
Some Danish families who assisted the Jewish Danish population:
FROTHO AND FREJE SORENSEN—DAIRY FARMER
ERIK AND DAGMAR HEJLSBERG—-COOPER AND CASKET MAKER
SNORRI AND CHRISTINE VESTERGAARD—CAPTAIN AND OWNER OF FIVE FISHING VESSELS
RAGNAR AND ANNA RASMUSSEN—-PRINTING PRESS AND NEWSPAPER
AXEL AND HANNAH CHRISTENSEN——-ROPE MAKER
CANUTE AND INGER GUNNERSEN—–CLOTHING MERCHANT AND BLANKET MAKER
BJORN AND BRUNHILDE INGLESTADT—–INNSKEEPER—RIGHT BY THE DOCKS
