George F. Duckwitz

Authors

Object ID

2015.2.77

Object Name

Print, Photographic

Files

Content Warning

The Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection consists of images, documents, and artifacts related to the Holocaust. The collection contains materials that depict a number of topics that may be difficult for viewers to engage with, including: antisemitic descriptions, caricatures, and representation of Jewish people; Nazi imagery and ideology; descriptions and images of German ghettos; graphic images of the violence of the Holocaust; and the creation of the State of Israel. For more information, see our policy page.

Description

Black and white photograph of a dower-looking man in glasses, with his dark hair slicked back, wearing a three-piece suit and tie. The tie has a pearl pin in it, and is askew. Back: Pasted sticker naming Duckwitz a West German personality. Beneath a black handstamp giving copyright to Camera Press.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Press photograph of George F. Duckwitz (1904-1973). Duckwitz had been a German businessman who joined the Nazi Party in 1932. He was eventually assigned to the German embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, as an attaché. After 1942 Duckwitz worked with Werner Best, the Gestapo leader in Copenhagen. The latter informed Duckwitz about an intended roundup of Danish Jews to occur on October 1, 1943. After a failed attempt to stop the deportations through official channels in Berlin, Duckwitz flew to Sweden and prevailed upon the Prime Minister in Stockholm to receive Danish Jewish refugees. Back in Denmark Duckwitz was able to inform - through an intermediary - the chief Rabbi of the Danish Jewish community about the intended deportations. Word spread and resulted in sympathetic Danes organizing the escape of over 7000 Jews in boats to Sweden under the nose of the Nazis. At great personal risk to himself, in giving advance warning to the Jewish community of Denmark about the planned deportations of Jews, Duckwitz enabled the people of Denmark to help most of its Jews escape in boats to Sweden. He was named Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1971 for his efforts on behalf of Jews.

Dimensions

6 1/2 x 4 3/4"

Keywords

Duckwitz, Werner Best, Stamp, Camera Press, German embassy, Copenhagen, Denmark, Gestapo, Berlin, Sweden, Stockholm, Chief Rabbi, Danish Jewish community, Righteous Among Nations

Subcollection

Denmark, Diplomats

Recommended Citation

"George F. Duckwitz" (2015). Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection. 2015.2.77.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/bulmash/310