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                Scandinavia during the Second World War was an example of almost every side someone could take during the war.  Denmark and Norway were both occupied by Germany and in Norway’s case had a functioning government in exile in addition to resistance fighters in country.  Sweden was officially neutral during the conflict, but its official stance belayed more allied centric policies as well as in increased unofficial aid to not only its Scandinavian neighbors but to Victims of the Holocaust as well.  Finland was an ally of Germany for much of the war, but switched sides to the Allied powers near the end of the conflict.  Despite their different stances members of Scandinavian countries were not ignorant to the massive violation of human rights that was the holocaust.  Examples of this can be seen in individuals such as Count Folke Bernadotte, a member of Swedish nobility and a political ambassador who towards the end of the war used his political influence to mount a rescue operation that saved 15000 people from concentration camps using buses that were painted completely white and emblazoned with the Red Cross emblem in order to ensure that the prisoners would be safe.[1]  Another example of how Scandinavians stepped up to the plate to help the victims of the holocaust can be seen in the escape of almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark to neutral Sweden.  Demark had up until 1943 resisted German attempts to deport it’s Jewish population, however in 1943 it was leaked to Danish resistance by a German diplomat that Germany was going to forcefully remove its Jewish population and send them to concentration camps.  Upon hearing this the Danes franticly organized a nationwide make shift evacuation program in order to transport its Jewish population to Sweden.[2]  Danish fisherman volunteered to help, and aided in transporting 7200 of the 8000 of Denmark’s Jews to Sweden as well as near 700 non-Jewish family before the Germans could deport them.[3]  While these acts of humanitarianism and others like them did take place it should be noted that not even under German occupation or threat of German invasion were these acts of bravery halted, and goes to show that people of outstanding character live everywhere and every time, even in the face of great evil.