Danish Rescue Boat Rededicated
After Four-Year Refurbishment
NEWS
Holocaust Museum Houston Executive Director Kelly J. Zúñiga,
Ed.D., joined Anna Thomsen Holliday, consul general of the Kingdom
of Denmark; Ole Philipson, former ambassador of the Kingdom of
Denmark; and Gail Klein, chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees;
for the afternoon ceremonies.
After nearly four years and thousands of man hours of restoration
work, Holocaust Museum Houston’s Danish rescue boat of the
same type used to save thousands of Jews during the Holocaust
was rededicated in inspirational ceremonies this October in front
of a crowd of more than 200 dignitaries and guests.
Hosted by The Honorable Anna Thomsen Holliday, consul
general of the Kingdom of Denmark in Houston, the event was
a day of celebration and remembrance. Rabbi David A. Lyon of
Congregation Beth Israel performed a traditional blessing of the
boat to close the ceremonies.
Highlighting the day was special guest and speaker Ole Philipson,
former ambassador from Denmark. On Oct. 6, 1943, Philipson
and his family fled Denmark to Sweden on a fishing boat just like
the Museum’s rescue boat. It was his 12th birthday. He and his
family were saved that day because in Denmark, there was no
difference between Jews and Christians. Everyone was a Dane.
“I am very happy and somewhat surprised that an event from so
long ago in a faraway place can arouse such a sensation today,”
Philipson said. “The rededication was a beautiful afternoon
around a sad era, but I was encouraged to see the spontaneous
reaction of Houstonians. People get the positive side of this
tragic situation and recognize this boat as a symbol of great
humanity. For me, it is the only positive symbol from all those
years.”
The rare Holocaust-era artifact tells the heroic story of a three-
week period in 1943 when Danes risked their own lives to save
more than 7,200 Jews from almost certain execution at the
hands of Nazi Germany.
The story began in the first few days of October 1943 when
Nazi Germany began a nationwide action to round up all Danish
Jews for deportation to Nazi concentration camps. An estimated
460 Danish Jews were captured, but Denmark’s citizens ferried
7,200 safely to Sweden along with 700 non-Jewish relatives in
boats just like the Museum’s vessel.
When the boat was located and brought to the Museum in late
2007, the harsh Houston climate began to take its toll. The
Museum wanted to renovate this vessel with its heroic heritage
to its original condition, but funds were limited. In 2012, the
Museum sought assistance from conservator Brian Howard. In the
course of his efforts, Howard’s son received horrific anonymous
antisemitic voicemails concerning the boat’s renovation that he
shared on a YouTube video. Conservative political commentator
Glenn Beck was so incensed by the remarks, he encouraged his
vast audience to support the Museum’s renovation efforts. Beck’s
appeal helped the Museum generate more than $200,000 in
donations from around the world. The project eventually raised
almost $500,000 to complete the restoration.
The fishing boat – 37.1 feet long, 13.9 feet wide and 5.7 feet
deep – was located and donated to the Museum by broker
Jan Ferdinandsen of the firm N.B. Ferdinandsen & Sønner –
the largest boat brokerage in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, in
memory of his father and father-in-law, who both were honored
by the Yad Vashem museum in Israel for their own part in the
Danish rescue of Jews in 1943. It was transported from Gilleleje,
Denmark, in late 2007 and officially opened for viewing on Jan.
20, 2008.
Built in Denmark and carrying the signal letters XP 2853, the
boat originally was called Kirstine, but the name was changed
to Jørn Finne in 1959. It was officially renamed the Hanne Frank