The historical record for war-time Denmark, a substantial amount of which is in English, was crucial for the novel. The literature on strategic nonviolence was equally important. This section provides the main references used in preparation of Denmark Rising.
Strategic Nonviolence
The literature on nonviolence is large and is conveniently divided into two groups:
1. Religious, moral, or philosophical works. These authors include Jesus, theologians such as Walter Wink, and practitioners such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King. This literature provided a general context for the novel.
2. The theory and practice of strategic nonviolence. This literature includes a great many case studies of actual use of nonviolence against dictators (e.g., Marcos in the Philippines and Pinochet in Chile) and totalitarian regimes (e.g., the Czech and Hungarian uprisings against the USSR) and a growing literature on the theory, the dynamics of strategic nonviolence, and “people power”. This literature provides the social dynamics for the novel.
The books of Gene Sharp and Peter Ackerman provide an excellent introduction to strategic nonviolence. A partial list of books by these two authors is given below.
Ackerman, Peter and Jack Duvall, A Force More Powerful: A Century of Non-Violent Conflict (New York: Palgrave, 2000). Most of this volume consists of 12 detailed case studies of nonviolent campaigns covering every part of the world. Final three chapters discuss theory. It is a companion volume to Ackerman and Kreugler’s book (see below).
Ackerman, Peter and Christopher Kruegler, Strategic Non-Violent Conflict: The Dynamics of People Power in the Twentieth Century (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 1994). There is some overlap in the case studies with the book by Ackerman and Duvall, but there is more emphasis on theory in this book.
Sharp, Gene, Civilian Based Defense: A Post-Military Weapons System (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1990)
Sharp, Gene, From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation ( Boston: The Albert Einstein Institution 2002)
Sharp, Gene, The Politics of Nonviolent Action: Part One – Power and Struggle (Boston: Porter Sargent Publishers, 1973)
Sharp, Gene, The politics of nonviolent action: Part two – the methods of nonviolent action (Boston, MA: Porter Sargent Publishers, 1973)
Sharp, Gene, Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential (Boston: Porter Sargent Publishers 2005)
References on Denmark and the resistance to the Nazis
Bertelsen, Aage. October ‘43. (London. Museum Press, 1955). Bertelsen tells the story of the rescue of the Jews primarily from the point of view of a group of sixty or so Danes who spontaneously organized themselves for this purpose.
Levine, Ellen. Darkness Over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews ( New York: Holiday House 2000).
Toffler, Martha. Boats in the Night: Knud Denby’s Story of Resistance and Rescue. (Blair, Nebraska. Lurk Publications, 2000)
Pundik, Herbert. In Denmark It Could Not Happen: The Flight of the Jews to Sweden in 1943. (Jerusalem. Geffen Publishing House, 1998)
Tveskov, Peter H. Conquered, Not Defeated: Growing up in Denmark during the German Occupation of World War II (Central Point, OR: Hellgate Press 2003).
Werner, Emily E. A Conspiracy of Decency: The Rescue of the Danish Jews During World War II (Boulder, Colorado. Westview Press, 2002)
The books above all focus upon the rescue of the Jews. Fleming Muus tells the story of the active resistance in Denmark that engaged in sabotage against the Germans.
Muus, Flemming B. the Spark and the Flame: the Saga of Wartime Sabotage in Denmark. (London. Museum Press, 1956)
There is a vast amount of information on war-time Denmark that can be found by searching Amazon.com or Googling on “Danish Resistance”, “Rescue of the Jews”, or similar search terms.