Skola i exil - några anteckningar om den danska skolan i Lund 1943-1945

Resumé

Soon after most of the Danish Jews fled to Sweden, at the Jewish New Year in October 1943, a number of Danish schools were organized there. The most important one was set up in the little university town of Lund, and already by mid-November that school was fully operational. The Danish school in Lund was an unusual one. Both teachers and pupils (around 300) were Jews or members of the Danish resistance movement – or both. Many teachers were highly qualified, some well-known scholars and others excitingly progressive within their subjects. Some of them were not much older than the young people they were teaching. The social and economic backgrounds were highly varied, and few pupils knew each other before they had to flee. This was particularly true of the Jews who originated from all layers of society, most of whom would not have met or known each other had it not been because they found themselves in the same situation as refugees. The school was democratic in the sense that all teachers were paid equally, the pupils could influence daily life, and all classes were mixed. Textbooks were smuggled across by boat, 11,000 in all. But life was not without problems. Parents were often living elsewhere and so the school and its staff had to be important replacements. All shared the same fate of being refugees, and this was a difficult situation for many. Contact with local inhabitants was not without its frictions in spite of the warmth and generosity with which the Danes were being welcomed. The article is built on written testimonies, archival documents, and interviews with former teachers and pupils.