A Light in the Northern Sea

From the bestselling author of Three Ordinary Girls, the gripping, remarkably little-known true story of how the people of Denmark banded together during WWII to rescue nearly all of their Jewish citizens from Nazi persecution by ferrying them just a few at a time to sanctuary in Sweden.From the bestselling author of Three Ordinary Girls, the gripping, remarkably little-known true story of how the people of Denmark banded together during WWII to rescue nearly all of their Jewish citizens from Nazi persecution by ferrying them just a few at a time to sanctuary in Sweden.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.Among them were Jorgen Kieler and his siblings, student activists galvanized by their sense that their government hadn't done enough to prevent the German takeover. . . . Henny Sinding, the legendary "Girl in the Red Hat". . . . David Sampolinsky, an Orthodox Jew who teamed with a Lutheran school teacher to escort hundreds to safety. . . . Niels Bohr, the world-famous nuclear physicist being rushed to help Oppenheimer build the bomb at Los Alamos, who paused on his way to safety to implore the King of Sweden to allow Danish refugees into his country.A work of World War II history that reads like a thriller, this inspiring chronicle examines why, unlike the rest of Western Europe, these accomplishments were so uniquely managed by the Danish people, even in the face of Nazi occupation and Hitler's growing fixation on the Final Solution.

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

“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

Tim Brady is an award-winning history author whose critically acclaimed books include Three Ordinary Girls, Twelve Desperate Miles, A Death in San Pietro, and His Father's Son. In addition to contributing numerous articles, reviews, essays and short stories for a wide range of magazines, newspapers and journals, he has written and helped develop a number of television documentaries, including the Peabody Award-winning series, Liberty! The American Revolution for PBS. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

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