Israeli president praises Denmark's 'courage and bravery' on 75th anniversary of wartime Jewish rescue

FULL STORY: How Denmark defied Hitler 75 years ago to rescue its Jewish population

He was joined by Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen for a ceremony at the church in Gilleleje, where 86 Jews were hidden in the attic for 11 hours while local people brought them food and blankets.

But their fate was sealed when their hiding place was given away and they were sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.

“The rescue of the Jews of Denmark is a remarkable event in the history of the Holocaust. A bright light in the darkest time in human history,” Mr Rivlin said during the ceremony.

“The courage, the bravery, the humanity and the solidarity of so many Danish people and the Danish resistance stood as a firm wall between the Jews of Denmark and the Nazi death machine.”

After the ceremony, the President and the Prime Minister went up to the attic to pay their respects.

Mr Rasmussen said: “As a Dane, it is heartwarming to visit Israel, to experience the gratitude for the rescue of the Danish Jews. I felt this very strongly when I was in Israel two years ago.”