The Only Way 1970

In October 1943, in German-occupied Denmark, a chilling plan unfolds: the Nazis decide to deport all Danish Jews to extermination camps. Yet the Danish people rise to meet the threat with quiet resolve, aiming to shield their Jewish neighbors from impending doom.

Lillian Stein, Jane Seymour, a Jewish ballet teacher, learns of the plan; the family’s father, Leo Stein, Ebbe Rode, a violin dealer, refuses to abandon them. Ruth Stein, Helle Virkner, Lillian’s mother, acts with steadiness and courage as the danger tightens around them. The Nazi round-up nets very few Jews, because most have gone into hiding, protected by the Danish resistance.

Soldiers break into the Steins’ apartment, only to find the family missing, having hidden upstairs in the apartment of their friend, Mr. Petersen, Ove Sprogøe. The Resistance plots a risky route to safety: smuggling the Jews out of the country by hiring fishing boats to carry them to neutral Sweden. Petersen works tirelessly, meeting with various allies to orchestrate the escape and keep the plan alive.

Leo Stein leaves the shop to try to sell a valuable violin in order to raise the funds needed for their flight, while Ruth refuses to depart without her husband but sends Lillian ahead to safety. Dr. Kjær, Bjørn Watt-Boolsen, arrives to pick up the family, yet Ruth anchors the family’s resolve, choosing not to flee without Leo.

The Nazis return to Stein’s shop, but Leo once again eludes capture. The next day, as the couple are leaving Petersen’s apartment, Lars, Stein’s assistant, Benny Hansen, sacrifices himself to buy precious time for the family’s escape. After a series of narrow moments and brave decisions, Lillian and her parents reach the evacuation point, board a small boat, and soon reach Sweden, where safety awaits.