[Culturechat] A true story of extraordinary courage & leadership in Denmark in WWII
WesTexas@aol.com
WesTexas@aol.com
Sun, 11 Jul 2004 18:13:10 EDT
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A few months ago, I took my daughter and her friends to seen the Disney movie
about a Danish prince and his American fiance. I commented that the
director should have noted the extraordinary courage that King Christian X--and the
Danish people showed--while under Nazi occupation, but no one else was aware
of the story. So, following is a true story of extraordinary leadership and
courage for those who have forgotten or never knew about it (source: World
War II: 4,139 Strange and Fascinating Facts).
When the Germans ordered the Danish Jews to wear the Star of David, King
Christian (obviously not Jewish) was the first to put one on himself, followed by
the entire population of Denmark. He then began secretly sending the Danish
Jews to Sweden, thus saving most of them.
One day, while riding through Copenhagen, King Christian noticed a swastika
flag flying from a public building in violation of the Danish-German agreement.
When asked to take it down, a German officer said that the flag was there
on orders from Berlin and would remain. King Christian replied that if the
flag were not removed by noon, a soldier would be sent to remove it. The
German officer stated that the soldier would be shot if he removed the flag.
King Christian replied that he, the King of Denmark, would be that soldier.
The flag came down.
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<HTML><FONT FACE=3Darial,helvetica><HTML><FONT COLOR=3D"#000000" FACE=3D"Gen=
eva" FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" SIZE=3D"2">A few months ago, I took my daughter an=
d her friends to seen the Disney movie about a Danish prince and his America=
n fiance. I commented that the director should have noted the e=
xtraordinary courage that King Christian X--and the Danish people showed--wh=
ile under Nazi occupation, but no one else was aware of the story. So=
, following is a true story of extraordinary leadership and courage for thos=
e who have forgotten or never knew about it (source: World War II:&nb=
sp; 4,139 Strange and Fascinating Facts).<BR>
<BR>
When the Germans ordered the Danish Jews to wear the Star of David, King Chr=
istian (obviously not Jewish) was the first to put one on himself, followed=20=
by the entire population of Denmark. He then began secretly sending t=
he Danish Jews to Sweden, thus saving most of them. <BR>
<BR>
One day, while riding through Copenhagen, King Christian noticed a swastika=20=
flag flying from a public building in violation of the Danish-German agreeme=
nt. When asked to take it down, a German officer said that the flag w=
as there on orders from Berlin and would remain. King Christian=
replied that if the flag were not removed by noon, a soldier would be sent=20=
to remove it. The German officer stated that the soldier would be sho=
t if he removed the flag. King Christian replied that he, the K=
ing of Denmark, would be that soldier. The flag came down. <BR=
>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#000000" FACE=3D"Geneva" FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" SIZE=3D"=
2"></FONT></HTML>
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