For Birgitte Heuschkel

Discussions on the Holocaust and 20th Century War Crimes. Note that Holocaust denial is not allowed. Hosted by David Thompson.
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michael mills
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For Birgitte Heuschkel

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Post by michael mills » 08 Jul 2002, 06:40

On another thread, Birgitte Heuschkel wrote, in relation to Best warning Danish contacts about the impending round-up of Jews in Denmark:
I don't think we'll ever know what motivated Dr. Best to this act, but there is little doubt it saved thousands of lives. Moreover, it is probably the chief reason he received a prison sentence for his acts in Poland, as opposed to the death sentence.
The most likely reason is that he had received secret instructions from Himmler to do so.

At that time (mid-1943), Himmler was trying to establish contacts with the Western Allies for the purpose of negotiating a compromise end to the war. One of signalling his intentions was to allow the departure of a significant group of Jews. The Jews of Denmark were the best bet, since they could easily cross to Sweden.

Himmler therefore proceeded on two fronts. One the one hand, he got Best to give a warning ,via the German shipping representative Duckwitz, that the Jews were to be rounded up. On the other hand, he made some highly visible preparations, such as sending German police units to Denmark, so as to make it appear that action was imminent, and to give force to Best's warning.

Everything indicates that the German attempt to round up the Danish Jews was a complete sham. The German police units did not operate secretly and quietly, but with the maximum publicity and noise. Areas where Jews were known to be hiding were studiously ignored. No orders were issied to the German occupation forces to assist in the roundup, so the German Army just stood back as the Jews headed for the coast. Most significant of all, during the week when the Jews were sailing to Sweden on small boats, the German naval units which normally patrolled the waters between denmark and Sweden were recalled to base, thus ensuring that none of the boats carrying Jews would be intercepted.

Of course, after the end of the war both Best and Duckwitz claimed that the warnings they had given to their Danish contacts had been their own initiative, and that they had acted contrary to orders, at some considerable risk to themselves. But they did that in order to make themselves look better.

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