Light in the Northern Sea by Tim Brady is a historical nonfiction account of Denmark’s resistance to Nazi Germany during World War II, with a particular focus on the dramatic and coordinated rescue of the country’s Jewish population in 1943. Structured in short, tightly written chapters, the book moves between political maneuverings at the highest levels and the actions of individuals working quietly on the ground. Brady draws from diplomatic records, memoirs, and historical research to explore how a combination of moral courage, strategic timing, and civil cooperation allowed Denmark to carry out one of the most successful rescue efforts of the Holocaust.

The narrative features key figures such as German diplomat Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz, whose decision to warn Denmark of the impending deportations was pivotal, as well as members of the Danish shipping industry and ordinary citizens who risked their lives ferrying Jews to Sweden. Brady’s writing is restrained and focused—he avoids embellishment and lets the weight of the events speak for themselves.

As a reader, I appreciated how Brady struck a balance between the dramatic historical turning points and the smaller, quieter moments that made the overall rescue effort possible. I found the structure effective—it gave the story momentum while still allowing time to reflect on the individuals involved. The book doesn’t rely on emotional storytelling, yet it still carries a strong emotional impact because of the choices people made under pressure. It also left me thinking about how these kinds of moral decisions still matter. The story isn’t just about what happened in 1943—it’s a reminder that standing up for others, even in small ways, can make a difference. That idea feels just as important now as it was then.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

We still have relatives in Norway and even had one who was relegated to a Camp in Denmark during WW2 after a foiled resistance effort. Yes, this well written/researched nonfiction is centered on Denmark, but Scandinavians are closely related.
When faced with overwhelming odds, the Danes did whatever they had to by apparently surrendering to the occupation but forming a civilian resistance in cooperation with the British SOE while using sabotage and counterintelligence whenever they could. There are many specifics related here with the ease of a novelist, but they are all true. That includes the fact that whether individuals had a particular attitude about the Jews, the public and private stance was to defend them because they were Danes! Hence the group effort to evacuate all possible Jewry to a safer country. Excellent.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from Kensington Publishing | Citadel via NetGalley. Pub Date Jul 29, 2025 I preordered a copy sent to our #5 kid who is an archivist in Indy.
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Great historical read. Really fascinating history. Amazing to read what people are capable of when helping out their fellow man.

What happens when your country is overrun almost overnight by German soldiers, the government and royalty held hostage while your neighbors and friends are persecuted? The tiny country of Denmark found a way to fight back using ordinary citizens that fueled a grassroots underground movement to bomb, sabotage and defy under the nose of the Nazi regime. Under great danger to themselves and loved ones these students, housewives, fishermen and more became bomb experts, spies and orchestrated the transport by boat of almost all of Denmark's jewish citizens to safety in Sweden. Many perished in prison camps or firing squad but this book highlights page after page of amazing acts of heroism by civilians. The author does an excellent job of storytelling so we get a glimpse into the lives of the people involved and not just dates and events. This will appeal to readers of war stories and acts of bravery by unsung heroes. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Denmark quickly capitulated to the invading Germans. Some Danes felt guilty for not taking a stand, even though doing so would have led to much destruction and death. They can stand proud for their defense of their Jewish compatriots. Interspersed with factual entries are stories that described a country on the brink of collective insanity as the Nazis gradually tightened their took control.

This was such an insightful look into why the German occupation largely failed in Denmark. I understood vaguely that the Danes had some of the strongest resistance efforts on the European continent during WWII, but I had never learned of its history sheltering Jewish citizens or the legacy of Holger Danske (shoutout to the US school system). I was especially interested in the story of "John" Svend Otto Nielsen and all the members of HD2. The chapters on Bohr and his family were so cool to learn about as well - as an engineer I love seeing STEM figures pop up in history. Anyone curious about a little-talked about part of history (at least, it's not well-known in America) should check this out. Perhaps reading about successful resistance against a fascist regime will spark something in Americans. Perhaps some of the things happening in the book will even seem familiar to American readers. Maybe some of us should take a page out of HD2's book. But I digress. This was well-researched and had excellent pacing. Anyone who enjoys WWII history should check it out.

I have read a lot of World War II books, but this is the first non-fiction World War II book that addresses Denmark that I have read.
It’s not often that Denmark is a country that is focused on when reading about World War II, I really liked this book because of that, it is really obvious how much research has gone into this book.
It is very well written, none of it was boring or dry either, which is common for nonfiction books.
I will be recommending this to anyone who enjoys reading about World War II

A true story during WWII in Denmark. It was fascinating to read how the people were rescued. It is a great read and well researched.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book! I couldn’t put it down - what an absolutely gripping tale. It’s non-fiction but the writing is so engaging and never once dry. I haven’t read anything set in Denmark during WWII before so it was interesting to read about their occupation- though even having finished the book I’m still left with the feeling of “how did they get away with so much?!” And how on earth did Sweden manage to stay “neutral” (though also clearly not on the side of Germany!) - you read about so many countries invaded by the Nazis and completely taken over that it beggars belief that Sweden could just be like “yeah nah” and Denmark were all “ok we’ll pretend to cooperate but you have to be nice to us”. Up until mid 1944 it felt as though Denmark was just playing at being at war. I know that them supplying a lot of food to Germany helped their cause but they still managed to get off so lightly compared to other countries! Especially when it came to the small privileges that the Danes who ended up in concentration camps managed to get, and their early evacuation back to Sweden.

Lots of resistance characters with very similar names mentioned here and sometimes it was difficult to keep track of who was who, but that didn’t end up mattering too much.

This non fiction book is extremely interesting! I have not read much about Denmark during WWII. This is a great shame. Indeed, I don't know many countries whose majority actively helped Jewish people flee and succeded in most part! Very impressive indeed. Definitely a great country known for its democratic values which the Germans were aware of. This helped the Danes's situation a great deal. Knowing that Denmark has so few inhabitants and that such a great percentage resisted, helped the resistants one way or the other is frankly impressive and should be more often told! An important and necessary read!
I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

In A LIGHT IN THE NORTHERN SEA, TIM BRADY has given us an incredibly interesting and well researched account of the war years in Denmark and the rescue of nearly all the country’s Jewish citizens, but also the bravery of the resistance movements. This true story, with in depth descriptions, brings alive both the courage of those who put their lives on the line for the Jews, but also the wickedness of the Nazis and their ccollaborators. This is definitely not a dry historical treatise, but is so well written that the book keeps one’s interest until the last page.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Kensington Publishing. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

A thrilling little-known story of how Denmark saved its Jews during WWII. Will have you up all night, leaving you incredibly inspired and deeply moved. I will definitely buy a copy for myself and give as gifts to my history-loving friends!