On this day in 1943, Hitler sought to advance his reign across Europe by ordering the arrest and deportation of all Danish Jews. But the Danes united to save their Jewish neighbors and defy Nazi orders. This followed the Nazi invasion of Norway and Denmark on April 9, 1940, and three years of occupation. Despite the occupation, the government of Denmark consistently challenged attacks on its Jews. However, after further incursions on Danish sovereignty, motivated by growing efforts by the Danish Resistance, the Danish government dissolved and German authorities took over direct control of the country.Among the Nazi Party’s first orders was to arrest Denmark’s 7,800 Jews, and ship them to the concentration camps that awaited them. However, in resistance to the Nazi plans, the Danes moved immediately to have all Jews transported to Sweden by fishing boats, row boats, and train cars set atop ferries. On October 2, the Swedish government announced on radio that it would accept all of Denmark’s Jews. Of the approximately 600 Danish Jews who did not make it out, almost all were sent to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in the Czech Republic.