A winning blend of inspiring history, page-turning action, and awesome comics!
Hour of Need
The Daring Escape of the Danish Jews during World War II: A Graphic Novel
Description
Hour of Need is a graphic novel telling the true story of the resistance to Nazi rule in Denmark during World War II and the heroes that saved the Danish Jews by helping them evacuate to Sweden.
In the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, legend had it that should danger ever come to Denmark, the mighty warrior Holger Danske promised to wake from his centuries-long slumber to protect its citizens.
When the Nazis move to round up young Mette and her fellow Danish Jews in a surprise raid in 1943 after years of letting Denmark rule its people, her father must make life and death decisions to save his family. Overnight, they have become refugees at the mercy of the complete strangers they meet during their escape. The mythical Holger Danske's promise to the Danish people manifests in the compassion and bravery of a school teacher turned resistance leader and other ordinary citizens who bravely defy the Nazi regime to come to her rescue in her hour of need.
Told from the point of view of Mette returning to Denmark years later with her grandchildren, Hour of Need tells the story of how the people of an occupied nation--from king to fisherman--risked their lives to evacuate their Jewish countrymen to Sweden in small fishing boats. Hour of Need is a tribute to the heroes that saved the Danish Jews and how humanity triumphs in the darkest hours.
Developed in partnership with the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Find out more at ilholocaustmuseum.org.
Reviews
Absolutely amazing! A brilliant, beautifully-written tale of hope and heroism that must be read. To never forget means to tell stories afresh which remind all future generations of the power of courage, kindness, and resolute determination - especially in the face of evil. Hour of Need is an outright triumph!
80 years have passed since the action against the Jews in Denmark and we are now at a crossroads where it is becoming even more important to hear and preserve the testimonies and remember what happened. Ralph Shayne has turned his mother's experiences into a well told graphic novel (aided by the beautiful artwork of Tatiana Goldberg) that opens the story up for a younger audience and helps us all to remember, in a nuanced way. Hour of Need is recommended reading.
Rather than focusing exclusively on their rescuers, Shayne depicts Jews in a way that gives them agency. Hour of Need is a story about how the Danish people enabled the survival of Jews like Mette. It is also about a family who nearly lost their Jewish identity-but didn't.
