This is actually an interesting story and the attitude/reason ee why the Germans lay low during the Jewish escape is strange.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-45919900


Nielsen, what is your take on this story?


Dirk

Dirk,

I mentioned it in addition, while in BBC World it was on the same page as related stories,  to the RIP subforumfrom about Joachim Ronneberg that Triceratops mentioned on 22 oct

I wanted to elaborate it further,  but then busy with other running and new subjects...

But yes this Werner Best seems to be an interesting person, as usual the first line research wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Best
And yes that Hitler person seems to be easely offended...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegram_Crisis
And so came Best in Denmark
But as I read the whole wiki Best for me comes over as a "cold blood" lawyer, who hadn't any moral feelings and just acted as what he saw as good for the case that he wanted to defend and thus it was only to avoid trouble that he easied the escape of the Jews...as I read it and in my humble opinion...
"Best also possibly sabotaged the rounding up of the Jewish population in Denmark in order to avoid agitating the general Danish population. In the Rescue of the Danish Jews, the primary escape route was to cross Øresund to Sweden by boat. At the most critical time, all German patrol boats of the area were ordered into harbor for three weeks for new paint jobs, at the same time. Best also tipped off his Jewish tailor personally.^[18]
And I suppose the deathcamps were just a word in his notebook...

Kind regards from Paul.

Sorry for not responding until now, Dirk and Paul, but I - personally - do think it credible that Dr Best did this.
Not because I know any more or have access to any sources that others do not.
But because of what - little - is known of his nature, as shown in the above references.

He made an appearance in a biography of Erik Scavenius, Danish former Foreign - during the First WW and early part of the Second WW - and later Prime Minister, before the Danish Government were replaced by direct German military rule - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Scavenius - there appeared to have been an affinity, almost friendship between these two - otherwise very cold blooded - men.

Whether he personally told anybody or authorized of what was to be, is hard to tell more than 70 years later, with little if any written evidence in appearance, and very few surviving evidence.

He could have done or authorized it, as at that time - August-September 1943 - it might have been clear to him that the end of Nazi Germany was near, and this might look good on a future CV - but at the same time not to be too near - just in case ...