Christiansen Knud & Karen

Marstrand Christiansen, Knud Marstrand Christiansen, Karen Knud Marstrand, some 30 years old, was living with his wife Karen in central Copenhagen. He had a successful business manufacturing leather goods. When in late September 1943 with rumors that German steamers in the port were there to deport the Jews from Denmark, Max Rawitscher, a German Jewish refugee, was put in touch with Knud Marstrand through business relations. Both Knud and Karen immediately opened their home to him. From there, Knud took him to the home of his father-in-law, Dr. Holgar Rasmussen, who was the personal physician of the King. After having made sure that the coast was clear, a job Knud’s brother Jorgen did, Knud took Max Rawitscher in a little boat from the shores of Denmark to Sweden, where he met up with about 600 Jews who were being taken across by the Danish Resistance*. The Marstrands repeated this sequence a number of times for various groups of Jews. Knud also warned the Philipson brothers and family, blacksmiths he knew, not to go home, but instead to come to his place. Not believing him, they stayed home and were subsequently picked up that night and taken to a detention center. Knud managed to free them from there by bribing the officials. The Marstrands also helped whisk them out of Denmark. Another Jewish family thus helped by the Marstrands was the Litman family, refugees from Germany. On July 18, 2005, Yad Vashem recognized Knud Christiansen Marstrand and Karen Christiansen Marstrand as Righteous Among the Nations.