Marcus Melchior was acting chief rabbi

Chief Rabbi

Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...

 of Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 in 1943 at the time of the rescue of the Danish Jews

Rescue of the Danish Jews

The rescue of the Danish Jews occurred during Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark during World War II. On October 1st 1943 Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ordered Danish Jews to be arrested and deported...

.

Marcus Melchior came from a prominent Jewish family in Denmark. After a few years as rabbi in Germany, 1934 he became rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

 for the Jewish Community in Copenhagen From 1943 to 1945 he was acting rabbi for the Jewish refugees from Denmark in Sweden, and following the death of Max Friediger

Max Friediger

Max Friediger was a Danish chief rabbi and a survivor of the Holocaust.After the occupation of Denmark by the Wehrmacht together with other Danish Jews, he was interned as a hostage by the occupying power in 1943 in the open state prison at Horserød, and later deported to Theresienstadt...

 in 1947, became chief rabbi in Denmark. After World War II he pleaded for reconciliation with the new Germany.

Though his background was orthodox, his rhetorical skills and his culturally open attitudes made him a popular lecturer also outside Jewish circles.

He fathered four sons and two daughters, two of them are: Arne Melchior

Arne Melchior

Arne Melchior son of Marcus Melchior is a retired Danish politician of Jewish descent and supporter of Jewish causes.Melchior was active in the Social Democratic Party but left this party in 1973 to co-found the Centre Democrats....

 (who became a frontbench Danish politician and government minister) and Binyamin (Bent) Melchior. In 1969, the latter succeeded his father as chief rabbi in Copenhagen, and is the father of Michael Melchior

Michael Melchior

A renowned Jewish leader, thinker and activist, Rabbi Michael Melchior is a leading advocate for social justice in Israel, quality education for all, Jewish-Arab reconciliation and co-existence, protection of the environment, Israel-Diaspora relations and the strengthening of Civic Society as a...

, who is chief rabbi in Norway and emigrated to Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 in 1986 where he became a member of the Knesset

Knesset

The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...

 for the Labour-Meimad

Labor (Israel)

The Israeli Labor Party , commonly known as HaAvoda , is a social-democratic and labour Zionist political party in Israel. The party is an observer member of both Socialist International and the Party of European Socialists. The Israeli Labor Party was established in 1968 by a merger of Mapai,...

 faction. He was also the grandfather of Rabbi Ove "Uri" Schwarz who served as the Chief Rabbi of Finland 1982–1987.