Georg+F.+Duckwitz

 Georg F Duckwitz was born September 29, 1904 in Bremen, Germany.He was born into a more “prominent patrician family” (“Yad Vashem”). Not much is known about his early life, the earliest records starting after he graduated from college. After college he began a career at an international coffee shop. He also spend some time in Scandinavia as a result of his work.

 In 1932 he joined the Nazi party and was assigned as a maritime attache during the Nazi occupation of Denmark. A maritime attache is is a "military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission."(Wikipedia") “When Germany attacked Denmark, the government – realizing armed resistance would be futile – surrendered”(“Citizen”). In return for providing food and industrial equipment for the Nazi’s, the Danish government stayed in power and continued to function. Duckwitz traveled to Denmark in the early 1940’s and began his work.

The German’s initially treated the people of Denmark with moderation in order to insure cooperation. However, as the occupation continued, resistance among Denmark’s citizens grew. In 1942, in response to the unrest, the civilian administrator was replaced with Werner Best. Best was known as a brutal man from his work organizing the Gestapo. He continued the policy of moderation for a few months. “During this time he worked closely with and began to confide information with Georg Duckwitz”(“Citizens”)

In late 1943 the Germans began organizing the deportation of the Jews. There plan was to take them by surprise during Rosh Hashanah. “They would deport 5,000 by boat and the other 2,500 by train”(“Citizens”). On October 1, 1943 Werner Best told Duckwitz of the deportation plans. Duckwitz traveled to Berlin to try to stop the deportation officially. When this failed he then traveled Switzerland to arrange sanctuary for the Jews. He then returned to Denmark and leaked information to the Danish resistance and the Jewish community.

“When the Jews arrived at Rosh Hashanah services that night, they were told by the rabbi not to return home because of the planned deportation”(“Rescue in Denmark”). Word quickly spread through the community, with the Danish Christians eager to help hide their Jewish counterparts. Some people even went through the phone book and called everybody with a Jewish sounding name to warn them. Over the next few weeks the Jews were smuggled out of Denmark by boat and other transportation. At first the boat captains charged for their services but the Danish resistance became more organized and prevented anyone from taking money. When the Germans started using dogs to inspect the bats, scientist in the resistance gave the captains handkerchiefs covered in powdered rabbits blood and cocaine. “The rabbit’s blood attracted the dogs, and the cocaine temporarily disrupted their sense of smell, preventing them from locating the Jews hidden on the boats”(“Citizens”). Of the 7,000 Jews living in Denmark, only 500 were deported and sent to concentration camps. However, only 51 died. The government of Denmark made sure that proper care was given to their jews in the camps. the 51 that died were of disease, not mistreatment.The government also pressured the Nazis into allowing the Red Cross to regularly inspect the conditions. At the end of the war the jews from the concentration camps were bused back to their homes in Denmark. At the same time, many of those who had escaped to Sweden also returned. Unlike the Jews in other countries who returned to find looted homes, the Danish Jews returned to find their plants watered, their pets fed, and their homes cared for by their friends and neighbors.

G. F. Duckwitz served as West Germany’s ambassador to Denmark after the war. Both he and the Danish Resistance have been honored at Yad Vashem as “Righteous Among the Nations”(“Citizens”) I learned much about the holocaust and Georg F. Duckwitz. Before I wrote this paper I had never even heard of Georg F. Duckwitz. I also thought that people really didn't do anything to stop the holocaust from happening. This paper taught me that there were actually quite a few people who did something about it. Duckwitz defied his country and orders to save the lives of thousands of people. He was a brave man and stood up for what he believed in.





Works Cited Page: "G.F. Duckwitz and the Citizens of Denmark” Gratefulness.org 2008. Web. 5 Dec. 2014

"Rescue in Denmark." Ushmm.org 2009. Web. 5 Dec. 2014

"Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz” Yad Vashem 2013. Web. 6 Dec. 2014

"Georg F Duckwitz." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 July 2004. Web. 10 Dec. 2014

Back to the Heroes of the Holocaust
//This page has been revised {$pagerevisions} times. //

//The last revision was {$revisiondate} by {$revisioneditor}. //