Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz

Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz (; 29 September 1904, Bremen – 16 February 1973) was a German diplomat. During World War II, he served as an attaché for Nazi Germany in occupied Denmark. He tipped off the Danes about the Germans' intended deportation of the Jewish population in 1943 and arranged for their reception in Sweden. Danish resistance groups subsequently rescued 95% of Denmark's Jewish population. Israel has designated Duckwitz as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.

Early life

Duckwitz was born on 29 September 1904 in Bremen, Germany, to an old patrician family in the Hanseatic City. After college, he began a career in the international coffee trade.

Career From 1928 to 1932 Duckwitz lived in Copenhagen, Denmark. In November 1932, he met Gregor Strasser, the leader of the leftist branch of the German nationalistic Nazi Party, in Bremen. Throughout their conversation, Duckwitz found that "elements of Scandinavian socialism [were] connected with nationalistic feelings" and decided to enroll in the party.

He eventually left the Office of Foreign Affairs to work for the Hamburg America Line shipping company. In 1939, he was assigned to the German embassy in Copenhagen as a maritime attaché.

Rescue of Jews in Denmark

After 1942, Duckwitz worked with the Nazi Reich representative Werner Best, who organised the Gestapo. On 11 September 1943, Best told Duckwitz that all Danish Jews were to be arrested on 1 October. In response, Duckwitz travelled to Berlin to try to prevent the operation by appealing to the authorities.

Duckwitz lived in Frieboeshvile Lyngby Hovedgade 2, Kongens Lyngby. Afterward, Duckwitz went back to his official duties.

Later life After the war, Duckwitz remained in the German foreign service. In 1955 to 1958, he served as West German ambassador to Denmark and later as the ambassador to India. When Willy Brandt became Foreign Minister in 1966, he made Duckwitz Secretary of State in West Germany's Foreign Office. After Brandt became Chancellor, he ordered Duckwitz to negotiate an agreement with the Polish government. Brandt's work culminated in the 1970 Treaty of Warsaw. Duckwitz worked as Secretary of State until his retirement in 1970. On 21 March 1971, the Israeli government named him Righteous Among the Nations and included him in the Yad Vashem memorial. He died two years later, at age 68.

Legacy Duckwitz was portrayed by Patrick Malahide in the film Miracle at Midnight.

He is depicted in the 2026 movie The Swedish Connection, played by Frantisek Oliver Cziky, during the events leading up to the Rescue of the Danish Jews.