When the Germans approached the Danes about introducing the yellow badge. a means of identifying Jews. King Christian said: "If the Jews are forced to wear the yellow star. I and my whole family shall wear it as a badge of honor." In spite of expected Danish resistance. the Nazis scheduled Jewish deportations for the night of October 1. the day before Rosh Hashanah. the Jewish New Year. However. the Danes discovered the plan and alerted the Jewish community before the Nazis could act. The Danes quickly established an underground network to shuttle the Jews to neutral Sweden. At tremendous personal risk. residents in the coastal towns of Snekkersten and Elsinore harbored the refugees in private homes. farms. inns. hotels. and garages while fishermen were organized to deliver them to safety. In hundreds of crossings over a period of a few days. the small boats delivered almost all of the Jews to the Swedish coast. The rescue operation proved so successful that no Danish Jews were sent to death camps.
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refugees deportations