Plot
Set in Denmark during September 27 – October 3, 1943, Miracle at Midnight is a dramatization of the true story of the Danish rescue of Jews from deportation to Nazi concentration camps. Doctor Karl (Sam Waterston) and Doris (Mia Farrow) Koster are a Christian couple living in Copenhagen with their children, 18-year-old Henrik (Justin Whalin) and preteen Else (Nicola Mycroft).
As Chief Surgeon of Christiana Hospital, Doctor Karl Koster initially uses his position to protect a young resistance fighter shot by the Nazis. Meanwhile, Henrik is secretly working for the same group, commandeering weapons sent to the Nazis.
On Wednesday, September 29, 1943 (three years into the occupation), Doctor Koster learns of the imminent arrest of the Danish Jews on midnight Friday (the beginning of Rosh Hashanah) from a former government minister, who had been alerted by German maritime attache Georg Duckwitz. The Kosters start by hiding Rabbi Ben Abrams and his family but soon realize they can become an integral part of an effort to transport over 7,000 Jews to neutral Sweden.
Doctor Koster, his family, the hospital staff, and the majority of residents work with the resistance to save the Danish Jews from deportation to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, from hiding them in their homes to admitting them as patients under Christian names to hiding them in the morgue.
Henrik and his friend load up a truckload of Jews, planning to drive them to the coast, where they'll be taken to safety in Sweden. En route, they are stopped by German Nazi officials who tell Henrik to open the back of the truck. When the Nazis find Jews, Henrik's friend runs and gets help from Dr. Koster, who springs Henrik, but Henrik's friend is killed while distracting the Germans.
First they find hiding places for the Jews to survive the initial raids, and then they work with the Swedish government and local fishermen to transport them to safety. Meanwhile, Henrik secures transport to get people to the coast. They discover that one of the fishermen that was helping them transport Jews is a traitor and tried to turn them in to the Germans. This results in them almost getting caught by the descending SS, but the resistance fighters show up and provide cover for the remaining boat to get away.
Finally, the Kosters themselves flee when the Nazis discover their activity. Doris Koster is captured by the Nazis, but the rest escape to Sweden. Doris is questioned by the Nazis and released two years later, and the family reunited offscreen.
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
