The exhibition was chosen as part of the program by which Helsingør Municipality commemorates the International Holocaust Remembrance Day this year. The town of Helsingør was one of the places from where during one October night in 1943 Danish Jews fled to safety together with the Czech chidren who are depicted in the exhibition.

Marianne Hoff Andersen, Director of Children´s Affairs and Culture in Helsingør Municipality welcomed the guests and then passed the word to Jiří Brodský, the Czech ambassador in Denmark. At the beginning of his speech he talked about the importance of this commemorative day for the Czech Republic where the Jewish community has played an important role in the society, history and culture of the country. At that time Czechoslovakia also became one of the first victims of Hitler’s Germany. “It is our obligation to make sure that it is not forgotten. The current and future generations need to be reminded of how the Second World War started, what its causes and devastating effects were.” Ambassador Brodský pointed out that Sophie´s Choice in the Czech Way pictures the lasting personal ties between the two countries and the values they share. At the end he gave thanks to Denmark for help in hard times. “I wish to tell you that the Czech people will not forget that it was the Danes who saved the lives of the children depicted on these pictures and that it was in Denmark and Sweden where a number of these children found their second home.”

The musical performance by duo Channe Nussbaum and Bjarke Kolerus ended the exhibition evening.

The exhibition will be shown in Helsingør until 2 March 2014, afterwards it will be presented in other Danish towns.