Adolf Hitler stated that after occupation Denmark would turn into a 'model protectorate'. Winston Churchill meanwhile maintained that the small country of (then) four million people would become 'the sadistic murderer's canary'. In the end, neither was right. With no help initially from the Allies, the Danes set up a resistance movement that proved to be a constant irritation to the occupation forces - not a meek canary, but a dangerous and courageous bird of prey that refused to be caged.The scale of the resistance to the ...
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Adolf Hitler stated that after occupation Denmark would turn into a 'model protectorate'. Winston Churchill meanwhile maintained that the small country of (then) four million people would become 'the sadistic murderer's canary'. In the end, neither was right. With no help initially from the Allies, the Danes set up a resistance movement that proved to be a constant irritation to the occupation forces - not a meek canary, but a dangerous and courageous bird of prey that refused to be caged.The scale of the resistance to the Nazis in Denmark is without equal: twenty-six million issues of illegal newspapers had been published by 1945; radio guides for Allied aircraft had been set up on the coasts; boat services ran between Sweden, Denmark and Britain; a news bureau provided a stream of inside information to the Allies; German ships were unable to move out of the ports; and troops were frustrated by the sabotage of railways and air bases. Incredibly, almost the entire Jewish population - some 7,000 people - was shipped to safety in Sweden. The selfless courage shown by the Danes, when collaboration would have been an easy option, is astonishing. This story of foolhardy heroism and daring by a small country is a thrilling read, and provides a real insight to the mindset of a people under occupation.David Lampe was born in Maryland, USA in 1923. He served with the USAF in Europe during the Second World War until being discharged in 1952. After the war he lived in Britain, working as a freelance writer. His first book, The Savage Canary, was first published in 1957. In 2003 Lampe died after suffering from a long-term illness.
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