Defiance and tragedy

On research into antisemitism through the lens of biography – the case of Olga Eggers

Lecture by Associate Professor of History at the University of Copenhagen Sofie Lene Bak

Olga Eggers (1875-1945) was one of the most notorious Nazis of the occupation period. But she was also a feminist, peace activist and popular writer. In 1934 she became a Nazi and an advocate of extreme anti-Semitism as editor of Kamptegnet and later a leading figure in the Danish Anti-Jewish League. 

How could someone who had written empathetically and passionately about the persecution and discrimination of Jews become anti-Semitic? What can Olga Eggers' life tell us about anti-Semitism and radicalization to extreme views? And how does one even write a biography of someone everyone is ashamed of?

The lecture is in collaboration with the Danish Jewish Museum, the Society for Danish Jewish History and Østerbro Library.

Sophie Lene Bak

Sofie Lene Bak is an associate professor of History at the University of Copenhagen and has spent most of her research life researching the history of anti-Semitism. She is the author of a number of books about the lives and fates of Danish Jews, and has recently published the book “Defiance and Tragedy. A Biography of Olga Eggers” (Gyldendal 2025).

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