This monument is located near the harbor in Dragør, Denmark. It commemorates the rescue of 7,000 Jewish people who were helped to freedom in Sweden.
The monument says:
“In memory of the many Danish Jews who came to safety in Sweden from Dragør Harbor in October 1943. He who saves the life of a single human being saves all mankind.”
The accompanying sign (translated with Google Translate) says:
"When the German occupying forces in October 1943 began the action against the Danish Jews, the Port of Dragør became one of the places from which a large number of refugees were rescued to safety in Sweden. This happened thanks to the fishermen who put their lives and livelihoods at risk, but also because a large part of Dragør's other citizens took an active part in rescue work.
Dragør became a shipping point for refugees because the town was at an affordable distance from the Swedish coast, because there was a relatively large fishing fleet and many Jewish families had acquaintances in the town from summer stays as villagers - often with the fishing families in the old town. Jews therefore arrived on their own initiative. But, of course, there was also an immediate increase in traffic.
Many of the anonymous helpers as well as the fishermen suddenly became co-responsible actors in this illegal work, they got involved without considering the consequences or taking into account the safety of their families or meadows. Several came to pay a high price for their commitment, with the Gestapo arresting a number of local citizens in the summer of 1944. Most escaped internment in the Frøslev camp, a few came to experience the horrors of the German concentration camps.
60 years after the events, Mayor Asger Larsen, on behalf of Dragør Municipality, took the initiative - and with financial support from a circle of private individuals - to raise this stone in 2003, so that the memory of many of the refugees would have had a tragic fate. The rescue effort stands as a small light in the dark - the darkness that prevailed in the rest of Europe, where 6 million Jews lost their lives in German concentration camps.
Facts about the stone
The approx. 9-tonne memorial stones have been found locally in connection with the construction of a new industrial area. The memorial stone is provided with a bronze plate and a relief made by the artist Ole Bunten. The memorial stone was made and erected with the support of:
Amagerbanken A/S
Dansk Bank A/S
Murermester & entreprenør Kim Siestø A/S
Nykredit Realkredit A/S
Københavns Lufthavne A/S
Det Mosaiske Troessamfund
Dragør Fort v/Torben Bødtker
Dragør Kommune"
More information on building the monument (in Danish) can be found here:
(
visit link)