A Light in the Northern Sea: Denmark's Incredible Rescue of Their Jewish Citizens During WWII

by Tim Brady Narrated by David de Vries

Overview

August 25, 1943. A lone bicyclist transports a cache of explosives, hidden in a beer crate, to a Copenhagen hall being readied to house German troops. In a violent blast, the would-be barracks is reduced to rubble. It's the boldest act yet of Holger Danske and the growing Danish resistance combating the oppressiveness of Hitler's Reich.



In 1940, on its way to conquering Western Europe, Germany coerced the Danish government into a "cooperative" agreement that lasted three long years until the increasing brazenness of the Resistance movement prompted a crackdown. Denmark's nearly 8000 Jews, who had so far been spared Hitler's wrath, now became the focus of his rage. A roundup was ordered to begin on October 1st, 1943, the first day of the Jewish New Year.



The only passage to safety was across the Oresund to Sweden. But no group existed to organize an escape. Until the last moment, Sweden didn't agree to allow the refugees into the country; and the strait between the two nations was swarming with Gestapo. What happened next was a miracle. 95% of Denmark's Jews survived the Holocaust, the highest percentage in Europe. Here are the riveting true accounts of ordinary Danes who, using their modest resources, wiles, remarkable courage, and camaraderie, quietly orchestrated their escape.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for Three Ordinary Girls by Tim Brady

“A book like this makes you wonder what choices you would make in the same situation… The stories of these three brave young women is a powerful example of counterfactual history.” —Medium

“Books that read like thrillers do not often turn out to be illu­mi­nat­ing his­tor­i­cal trea­tis­es, but A Light in the North­ern Sea is an excep­tion Tim Brady’s sto­ry of Denmark’s res­cue of their Jew­ish cit­i­zens dur­ing World War II is exact­ly the type of book that edu­cates, enlight­ens, and great­ly expands our under­stand­ing, as we are giv­en a deep look at a slice of his­to­ry and a wide view of a crit­i­cal event in the end­less saga of the Jew­ish fight for survival. … In riv­et­ing prose, Brady describes how every­day Danes became overnight heroes in the midst of the strife and chaos of the Holo­caust when they devised a dar­ing, civil­ian-led mar­itime oper­a­tion to vir­tu­al­ly steal the Jews out from under the noses of the Nazis and fer­ry them across the Ore­sund Strait to safe haven in Swe­den. Thou­sands of ordi­nary Danes per­formed this dar­ing res­cue of mas­sive scale, and suc­ceed­ed in help­ing nine­ty-five per­cent of Denmark’s 8,000 Jews sur­vive the Holo­caust, the high­est per­cent­age in Europe. The result of this research and expo­si­tion is a book that inspires us by the exam­ples we grow to admire and, per­haps, might some­day even emu­late, show­ing us a path through a suc­cess­ful grass­roots effort to stand up to tyranny.” —Jewish Book Council

“A dramatic group portrait of three teenage girls who fought in the Dutch resistance movement during WWII. Brady conveys the inhumanity of the period with precision…. This moving story spotlights the extraordinary heroism of everyday people during the war and the Holocaust.” —Publishers Weekly

“This book will please Brady’s fans as well as those who are interested in new and different stories of WWII.” —Booklist

"Exhaustively researched and written with both authority and style, Tim Brady's Three Ordinary Girls is history that reads like a novel. A vivid and unforgettable portrait of three young women who put their lives on the line in a very personal fight against Naziism, this book is a page-turner and is highly recommended." —Stephen Harding, New York Times best-selling author of The Last Battle.

"James Bond on bicycles, Brady’s Three Ordinary Girls are NOT so Ordinary. These three teenage girls: Truus, her little sister Freddie, and the redheaded Hannie are courage personified and key members of the legendary Dutch resistance. Sometimes reckless, often naïve, always patriotic, our heroines wield guns like cowgirls, while risking their lives to fight the German occupation. Following these three not-so ordinary girls is a nail-biting experience, an exciting book that you won’t be able to put down until the last page." —Heather Dune Macadam, author of 999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to Auschwitz

"An important, untold story from WWII that needed to be told. A brave tale about an incredibly brave sisterhood who fought for all that was good and right and just in the world. The word 'hero' tends to be over-used these days, but not here - not with these utterly extraordinary heroines." —Damien Lewis, #1 International Bestselling author of Churchill's Hellraisers and Churchill's Band of Brothers

“Tim Brady writes captivatingly of under-recognized heroes and self-sacrifice in a chapter of the war’s history that will now be better known.” —Jack El-Hai, author of The Nazi and the Psychiatrist and The Lost Brothers, and winner of the 2020 Book Award in Biography/History from the American Society of Journalists and Authors

Kirkus Reviews

2025-05-02
When ordinary people united against Nazis.

Brady, author ofThree Ordinary Girls: The Remarkable Story of Three Dutch Teenagers Who Became Spies, Saboteurs, Nazi Assassins—and WWII Heroes, writes that Denmark, conquered in April 1940, enjoyed advantages. Hitler viewed the Nordic Danes as cousins to the master race. The occupation was extraordinarily benign. Denmark’s government remained in place, Germany paid for its imports, mostly agricultural products, and occupation authorities dealt with disturbances and even strikes without violence. Jews were left largely undisturbed. Matters changed in early 1943, when it was no secret that Germany was preparing to round up Denmark’s Jews. Brady reminds readers that the Nazis found it difficult to locate Jews from conquered nations without cooperation from local governments, police, and citizens; most cooperated, often enthusiastically. Denmark was a rare exception. No organized movement was in place, but as soon as the Nazis made their moves and Jews began to flee, attempting to reach Sweden across the few miles of the Oresund strait, they received a great deal of help. Activists, Jews, and non-Jews knocked on doors to alert those who had not gotten the news. Others organized transportation to the coast and recruited ships for the passage. Heroism wasn’t universal; many boat owners charged passengers, some a great deal, but in the end, about 95% of Denmark’s 8,000 Jews survived the war. Even those caught were relatively fortunate, being shipped to concentration camps where survivors were returned to Denmark a few months before war’s end. Brady devotes most of the final 100 pages to the Danish resistance over the following years—an anticlimax but a good read.

A satisfying account of wartime heroism.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940194473762
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	07/29/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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