Nordsjælland

Gilleleje harbour-front

When a friend invited me for the weekend to her family's summer house on the North coast of Zealand (as opposed to the North island of New Zealand), I jumped at the opportunity. It wasn't quite summer weather - if anything, the weather was typical of Perth in the winter - however, that wasn't to deter me.

Danes (and I think Scandinavians in general) have a 'thing' about summer houses. Most family's have one somewhere or other, and there are many towns scattered all over the place (mainly beachside) which are specific summer house towns. In other words, they are zoned for houses which aren't permanent residences. In winter they are all but dead, and on beautiful summer weekends they come alive. The town we went to was Smidstrup, not far West of the more popular town of Hornbæk, As it wasn't really summer yet, the town was still quiet and we got to enjoy the area without the crowds.

Memorial to the Jews who escaped, those who were captured, and the Danes who supported their right to live.

The local church where dozens of Jews hid in the attic while awaiting
boats to take them to Sweden. Many were captured as a result of
betrayal by a local.

Whilst the weekend consisted of eating, sleeping and watching episodes of In Betweeners, I also got shown around the nearby town of Gilleleje. A pretty little fishing village in itself, but of interest was the fact that this town was an important stop-over point of a couple of thousand Jews on their escape from Denmark to Sweden. The locals weren't particularly happy with the Nazi occupation and many played a key role in helping the Jews escape to Sweden with the aid of local fisherman who took them across in their boats. The Swedish coast is clearly visible from Gilleleje Harbour, yet when patrolled by Nazis one can imagine it wasn't a particularly easy crossing. An interesting little bit of history that I can imagine, one would normally never hear about.

One of the fishing boats that transported Jews to Sweden. Later donated by the captain as a memorial.