The Backward Glance

In the dark autumn of 1943, Nazi occupation weighed heavily on Denmark. Young Logstrup, only 19, worked at his family’s bakery by day, but by night, he joined the Danish Resistance. He carried coded messages, guided Jewish families through the narrow alleys, and ferried them to fishing boats waiting to cross the Oresund Strait to neutral Sweden.

One stormy night, as bombs echoed in the distance, Logstrup sat with his childhood friend Anna in the cellar, both wondering if their efforts would ever matter.

“I don’t understand, Logstrup” Anna whispered, clutching her coat tightly. “All this fear, all this risk does it really change anything?”

Logstrup looked at her, equally uncertain. “I don’t know. Maybe we’ll only understand all this when it’s long over.”

Years passed. The war ended. Freedom returned.

Now an old man, Logstrup stood at the Danish Jewish Museum, his name listed among the quiet heroes who helped save over 7,200 Jews from deportation. His heart was heavy and proud at same time, realizing how much those nights had are part of todays history.

Turning to his grandson, he softly said:

“Life can only be understood backwards... but it must be lived forwards.

I didn’t know back then if what I did mattered. But I did it anyway.”