ABSTRACT
At 04:15 on April 9, 1940, German troops crossed the overland border into Denmark. Simultaneously, a troop carrier passed the silent cannons atop the fortress of Copenhagen. The General Headquarters in the capital were conquered in fifteen minutes. Large numbers of German bombers flew over the entire country. Germany – as the memorandum handed to the Danish government stated – had taken over protection of the Kingdom of Denmark. It declared, nevertheless, that Germany had “no intention of interfering with the territorial integrity or political independence of Denmark.” Denmark was not originally part of the German military campaign. More-
over, the Danish policy of appeasement of the Nazi regime, the country’s formal status of neutrality and, ultimately, the signing of a non-aggression pact in May 1939 ensured that Germany did not need to use force in order to obtain what it could get through diplomatic pressure. However, increased Allied activity in the sea around Norway attracted German attention to the Nordic countries – and to Denmark in particular – as a useful stepping stone in its campaign against Norway, whose strategic position and pro-British orientation made it an important target. Military occupation of Denmark was a means to an end. Political and economic benefits depended on the reactions of the Danes. The Danish government issued a cease-fire order at 06:00. The occupation of
Denmark had become a reality before sunrise. What became known as the “peaceful occupation” of Denmark allowed the government to insist on the formal sovereignty of the kingdom and created a unique and illusory construction in a Europe controlled by Nazi forces. In principle, Denmark was still ruled by king, government and parliament. The Danish courts, administration, and even the army and police, maintained an independent status. The affairs of the two countries were directed through normal diplomatic channels, namely the German embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Auswärtiges Amt, in Berlin. Denmark never came under the control of the Nazi party or the SS. The “promises of April 9” was a standard reference to Denmark’s right to
govern its own internal affairs, which included matters concerning the Jewish
community. The arrangement required a minimum of German soldiers and officials. In return, Denmark supplied Germany with provisions, weapons, machines for the metal industry, cement and ships; it outlawed the Communist Party and interned its members and eventually signed the Antikomintern treaty, which called for combating international Communism. Wealth was attainable in the occupied territories of Eastern Europe and plans for the Danes to do business in the German Grossraum were initiated immediately after the German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941. The Danish foreign minister suggested a monetary and customs union with Germany. Thus Denmark served as a model protectorate, a prototype for the new Europe ruled by the Third Reich. During the summer of 1943 a wave of sabotage, strikes and guerrilla cam-
paigns against German soldiers swept the country. The uprising, which began among industrial workers, spread, and was supported by a growing number of resistance groups. When the Allies won the psychologically crucial victory at El Alamein, and Stalingrad did not fall, the Danes believed the collapse of the German regime was imminent and looked forward to the prospect of an Allied invasion. Since the Danish authorities had lost control of the masses, Berlin issued an ultimatum to the government, demanding martial law, curfew regulations and the death penalty for sabotage against the German Wehrmacht. Presented on August 28, it was promptly rejected by the government and by a united front of political parties. In the early morning of August 29, the Oberbefehlshaber der deutschen Besatzungstruppen in Denmark proclaimed that the Wehrmacht had assumed executive power and declared a state of martial law. The government and parliament resigned, the king was put under house arrest, and the officers and soldiers of the Danish army and navy were interned. A few marines managed to escape to Sweden. Yet the diplomatic break was not absolute. The Danish police and the
courts remained free of German influence. The permanent secretaries of the Ministries stayed in their positions and now represented “official” Denmark – a modus vivendi that served both German and Danish interests in continuing the policy of cooperation.
