Germany occupied Denmark on April 9, 1940. The position of Denmark under the German occupation was unique in many respects: the King had remained; the Danish Government continued to function until August, 1943; the Germans were interested in keeping things as quiet as possible and granted to Denmark a certain independence in internal affairs, and the attempt to deport and exterminate the Jews of Denmark started relatively late: September, 1943. A total of 7,700 Jews were living in Denmark, a number of them refugees from Germany and elsewhere. <162> In December 1941, participants in a conference of Danish pastors [373] considered the possibility of presenting a petition to Parliament demanding that all members of Parliament should vote against any racial legislation. But the proposal was withdrawn as it was considered undesirable to focus to much public attention on the question. [374] The same question was discussed at another conference of pastors which met in the provincial town of Askov. One of the participants wrote to Rabbi Friediger: "... For us it is not just a question of the Jews and their rights; for the Danes this first of all must be the question of the right of a small nation to exist, particularly as this is also a question of our whole national attitude and the basis of democracy: equality and human dignity." [375] Frederik Torm, a professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen, brought about a common decision of the theological faculty and of the students, declaring that, should persecution of the Jews begin, they would voice their opposition vigorously and publicly. This internal decision was put into practice, in October, 1943. [376] The Church Press in Denmark could publicly denounce anti-Semitism at a time when the Press in other countries had long since been completely silenced. The Rev. Johannes Nordentoft, in one of his articles, called for an active war against the anti-Semitic propaganda of the Nazi press. He pointed out that "those who remain silent or disapprove by merely shrugging their shoulders become accomplices". [377] An article in the Church gazette of Sonderbourg, edited by Dean Halfdan Hoegsbro, stated: <163> "Hatred of the Jews is prompted by the demand for a scapegoat... We will not lend our support to the introduction of anti-Jewish laws; Jew hatred is an infectious disease, to which the innate sense of justice of the Danish people will not permit them to succumb. It is a disease that we shall cast out from our midst. Shame upon us if we ever allow ourselves to fall victim to it." [378] The Skydebjerg-Aavup Church Gazette, comparing the anti-Jewish drive to that of medieval times, wrote: