Savhannah Carpenter

e-Portfolio Signature Assignment

Professor Lolene Blake
HIST 1110
November 30th, 2016

In the journey of tracing back my parents and grandparents lineage, I learned a lot
about my role in history, and also my role within my family. After studying the various
global events and cultural landmarks of my great-great grandmother Else Margrethe
Svendsens lifetime, I decided to additionally study a document published in her home
country during the era in which she would have been approximately my age.
When Else was a young adult, as I am now, the ruler was a king by the name of
King Christian X. King Christian X was a fervent challenger of Nazi Germany, known
widely for his policies of sympathy and protection for Jewish refugees throughout the
period. There is a popular urban legend regarding King Christian X that states the king
wore a yellow Star of David to show his support of the Jewish population. Though there
is no evidence to support that myth, it certainly reflects the general ideology of which
King Christian X was often associated with.
In 1940, World War II was on the brink of breaking out. Denmark found itself in
direct opposition to Hitlers Germany, as is exemplified in a pamphlet written that year by
a young Danish student. The pamphlet is entitled The Ten Commandments for Danes.
This pamphlet was distributed to the Danish public and was intended to rally Denmarks

citizens against Nazi Germany. This pamphlet exemplifies the life of a Dane in Elses
lifespan due to its excellent humanitarian efforts, making this document wonderfully
reflective of Denmarks ruler and political ideology during this era.
The student behind The Ten Commandments for Danes, Arne Sejr, laid out ten
essential rules in his pamphlet for the citizens of Denmark to follow throughout the
crusade against Hitler and his Nazi regime. The first rule stated that You must not go to
work in Germany and Norway. Sejr believed that it was better for some Danes to simply
go without a job rather than to patronize the German economy.
The second rule laid out by Sejr stated that if you do work for a German individual
or company, you must purposely do a bad job on whatever it is you are working on. If a
Dane had no choice but to work for a German, it was better to be an agent of sabotage
than to invest an honest days work. This, in turn, would help to bring down the German
economy by a small amount, as it would hinder a small percentage of the German
workforce. The third rule found in the pamphlet stated that you shall work slowly for the
Germans if you are to work for them at all. This ties into the second rule of the pamphlet,
but helped to further demonstrate the necessity for action against the Nazy empire.
The fourth rule Sejr dictated in his writings was that Danes had an obligation to
destroy German tools and machinery. This is where I began to view this particular
document as less peaceful and more confrontational towards Hitler and his sympathizers,
an important standpoint for the Danes to take in this tumultuous period. This leads into
rule number five, which states a Danish obligation to destroy anything at all that could
potentially benefit the Germans. Sejr is essentially suggesting vandalism and destruction

of public property, reiterating his active aggression toward the Nazi community.
In Sejrs sixth rule, You shall delay all transport, it is suggested that Danes
should actively attempt to interfere in German transport. This is again a very
confrontational approach, which was quite necessary for Denmark to take during this era
in order to fight the growing evil that was Hitlers Germany.
Sejr emphasized the need for a complete cut off from German business and trade
in his seventh rule, stating that to be a good Dane one must boycott German films,
papers, literature and all other forms of art or media. This rule was designed to hurt the
German economy by taking down the German media, therefore hurting the government
and its budget. That sentiment was compounded by rule number eight, no shopping at
German stores.
Sejr moves on to suggest a more personal type of violence, You shall treat traitors
for what they are worth. It is unclear what exactly Sejr is suggesting in rule number
nine, but it is worth noting that the tone is anything but friendly towards Nazi Germany.
Though Denmark was generally associated with peaceful neutrality, King Christian X and
Arne Sejr both used their own means to make it quite clear that they had absolutely no
qualms with the use of physical violence against Hitler and the Nazi regime.
Finally, Sejr concludes the list of rules by ending on a more positive note. Sejr
wrote You shall protect anyone chased by the Germans. Denmark played a huge role in
the rescue and protection of Jewish refugees throughout Hitlers reign, acting as a
safehouse for all those undergoing religious or racial persecution.

Sejr concludes the pamphlet, writing Join the Struggle for the freedom of
Denmark! Sejrs writing helped to rally Denmarks citizens in the fight against Nazi
Germany, and in turn helped to strengthen Danish bonds and national pride. The era of
Denmark in which my great-great grandmother Else came from was certainly an era I feel
one should be proud of. King Christian X and the nation of Denmark helped to alleviate
the dark and unfortunate tone of an otherwise tragic period.