Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark
Introducing the Holocaust to children through a story of hope, not horror.
Overview
Holocaust education usually begins in the 8th grade. But in a world where antisemitism and bullying start much earlier, the Museum of Jewish Heritage realized they needed to reach children sooner. They asked us to create their first-ever exhibition for kids ages nine and up. The challenge was immense: how do you teach this dark chapter of human history to a fourth grader without traumatizing them? Our answer was to focus on a story of collective action and hope. Courage to Act immerses young audiences in the true story of the Danish Rescue, when ordinary citizens banded together to save their Jewish neighbors. This framed the Holocaust not just as a tragedy, but as a call to courage.
"The exhibition’s target audience may be young minds, but the techniques Local Projects employed certainly struck a chord with my adult brain, too. That’s because Courage to Act doesn’t just convey the facts through a succession of artifacts encased in glass. It tells a story, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. And like every good story, it gives us characters to root for.”
The Details
We structured the exhibition as a narrative journey rather than a traditional gallery. To make the history relatable, we created composite characters played by child actors. Projected as holograms, these guides allow young visitors to see themselves in the events of 1943. The environment itself is an active participant; visitors walk through a recreated Copenhagen fish market, listen to whispers of the resistance on vintage rotary phones, and stand before a large scale model of the Gerda III rescue boat to witness a theatrical projection of the escape to Sweden. The experience concludes with a timeless lesson: to save a life is to save the world.
