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139-514: The purpose of HIPO was to assist the Gestapo as an auxiliary police unit. HIPO was organized under, and along quite similar lines to, the Gestapo. Some men were uniformed in order to be visible while others worked secretly in plain clothes. The uniformed men wore a black uniform with Danish police insignia. HIPO, like the Gestapo, had their own informers. The major difference was that most of the Gestapo were Germans working in an occupied country, while

278-580: A coup d'état in Norway. This move had several far-reaching consequences for Sweden. Sweden was in effect cut off from trade with the western world and therefore more dependent on German goodwill, ultimately leading to permittenttrafik . But it also lessened the immediate risk that Sweden would become a theater of war between the Axis and the Allies. When Germany invaded both Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940,

417-454: A communist movement; and the reformists , a social democratic movement – the latter of which being the larger of the two. In 1917, the rules of democracy were changed in Sweden, the electorate's size grew and in 1921, women were also allowed to vote. But even these reforms were seen as far too radical by some conservatives. Some wanted strong leadership and did not believe in democracy. In

556-516: A democratic and a totalitarian system until 1943 when the Danish government stepped down in protest against German demands that included instituting the death penalty for sabotage. Just over 3,000 Danes died as a direct result of the occupation. A further 2,000 volunteers of Free Corps Denmark and Waffen-SS , most of whom originated from the German minority of southern Denmark, died fighting on

695-467: A neutral country in regard to this escalating situation. An example illustrating this situation may be the failed Allied attempt to release Polish submarines ( ORP Ryś , ORP Żbik , ORP Sęp ) which were interned after they reached Swedish ports (requiring repairs of battle damage, unable to break the German blockade and sail to Britain). On the outbreak of the Winter War between Finland and

834-540: A 20 mm main gun. The Swedish Army had been organized into four divisions since the 1890s, with the regiments of northern Norrland and Gotland standing as separate units. This was outdated, and in 1942, a new military organization was adopted. During World War II, Swedish industry had to supply an increased share of its own domestic goods owing to the British naval blockade of the North Sea , whilst satisfying

973-465: A Cabinet meeting at 2 PM that day, Stauning, Scavenius, Munch and two additional ministers advocated accession; seven ministers opposed. In a meeting the same day in the Nine Man committee, three more ministers caved in, most notably Vilhelm Buhl, stating "Cooperation is the last shred of our defence". Prime Minister Stauning's notes from the day stated: The objective is a political positioning. But this

1112-508: A Danish rejection and demanded this decision be reversed before the end of the day. He assured Scavenius that the pact contained neither "political or other obligations" (i.e., going to war with the USSR). At a cabinet meeting the same day, it was suggested to seek written confirmation of this promise in an addendum to the protocol. Stauning agreed on these terms since it would effectively make the signing meaningless. The Danish foreign office drew up

1251-414: A compromise. He watered down the wording but left the content pretty intact. Nonetheless, for Scavenius it was a strong setback that the four clauses would now only get the status of a unilateral Danish declaration ( Aktennotitz ) with a comment on it by Fink that its content "no doubt" was in compliance with the pact. Furthermore, he was instructed to give a public speech while abstaining from mentioning

1390-494: A currency reform, making all old banknotes void. A small number of employees at the National Bank had clandestinely begun the production of new banknotes in late 1943. The production of new notes happened without the knowledge of the German forces located at the bank, and by the spring of 1945 the bank's stock of notes was sufficient to initiate the exchange. The law required was passed hastily on Friday 20 July and published

1529-428: A fascist ally of Germany at the time; these aircraft were primarily Fiat CR.42 Falcos , Reggiane Re.2000s , and Caproni Ca.313s . Beginning in the autumn of 1938, efforts were made to protect cities and towns from air raids. In order to decrease the risk of large fires breaking out the attics of all buildings were cleared in the larger towns. After the outbreak of war all windows in towns were to be covered quickly in

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1668-742: A few concessions, and sometimes breached the nation's neutrality in favor of both Germany and, later, the Western Allies . During the German invasion of the Soviet Union (June–July 1941), Sweden allowed the Wehrmacht to use Swedish railways to transport the German 163rd Infantry Division along with heavy weapons from Norway to Finland . Until 1943, German soldiers traveling on leave between Norway and Germany were allowed passage through Sweden—the so-called permittenttrafik . Iron ore

1807-611: A full ally. The permanent secretary of the ministry of foreign affairs, Nils Svenningsen, in January 1944 suggested establishing a Danish camp, to avoid deportations to Germany. Werner Best accepted this suggestion, but on condition that this camp was built close to the German border. Frøslev Prison Camp was set up in August 1944, solely to keep Danish Jews and other prisoners within Denmark's borders. The Gestapo had limited trust in

1946-533: A full mobilization when completed. Sweden also started to build fortifications at the Norwegian border and along the coast of Scania . During its invasion of Norway, Germany demanded access to the Swedish telephone and telegraph lines between Germany and Norway. Sweden allowed this, but tapped the lines. In the early summer of 1940, the Swedish mathematician Arne Beurling succeeded in deciphering and discovering

2085-573: A fully independent republic on 17 June 1944. On 9 April 1941, the Danish envoy to the United States, Henrik Kauffmann , signed a treaty with the U.S., authorizing it to defend Greenland and construct military stations there. Kauffmann was supported in this decision by the Danish diplomats in the United States and the local authorities in Greenland. Signing this treaty "in the name of the King"

2224-401: A list of four terms that stated that Denmark only committed itself to "police action" in Denmark and that the nation remained neutral. The German foreign ministry agreed to the terms, provided that the protocol was not made public, which was the intent of the Danish foreign ministry. As Berlin grew tired of waiting, Joachim von Ribbentrop called Copenhagen on 23 November threatening to "cancel

2363-460: A relatively normal manner until 29 August 1943, when Germany placed Denmark under direct military occupation, which lasted until the Allied victory on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish institutions continued to function relatively normally until 1945. Both the Danish government and king remained in the country in an uneasy relationship between

2502-473: A result of the cooperative attitude of the Danish authorities, German officials claimed that they would "respect Danish sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as neutrality." The German authorities were inclined towards lenient terms with Denmark for several reasons: their only strong interest in Denmark, that of surplus agricultural products , could be supplied by price policy on food rather than by control and restriction (some German records indicate that

2641-517: A significant drop in the currency supply, and around 20% of the 3,000 million kroner property declared had not previously been registered by the tax authorities. Estimates vary for the amounts of currency simply destroyed by its owners. All banknotes issued since the changeover date remain valid indefinitely; earlier ones are not valid. Most of Denmark was liberated from German rule in May 1945 by British forces commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery ;

2780-432: A similar warning which was also ignored. As a result of the rapid turn of events, the Danish government did not have enough time to officially declare war on Germany. Denmark was in an untenable position in any event, however. Its territory and population were too small to hold out against Germany for any sustained period. Its flat land would have resulted in it being easily overrun by German panzers ; Jutland, for instance,

2919-577: A state of war had existed between these two countries for 67 out of those 286 years. Russia was seen as the historical hereditary enemy of Sweden. In the peace that followed the Finnish War in 1809, all of Finland had been ceded to Russia and Sweden was reduced to two thirds of its former size. As the end of the 19th century approached, and the beginning of the 20th began, Sweden, like many other nations, became beset by strikes and public disorder. Appalling working conditions were no longer tolerated and

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3058-456: A strict mandate not to change a sentence and stated that he would be unable to return to Copenhagen with a different content from the one agreed upon, but that he was willing to reopen negotiations to clarify the matter further. This reply enraged Ribbentrop (and rumours claim that he was considering ordering the SS to arrest Scavenius). The task fell to German diplomat Ernst von Weizsäcker to patch up

3197-405: A subject of debate. Proponents argue that during the war, Sweden softened its policy against accepting refugees, admitting thousands of Jews and political dissenters from Norway and Denmark. Conversely, opponents such as Winston Churchill suggest that Sweden "ignored the greater moral issues of the war and played both sides for profit." Between 1523 and Sweden's final war with Russia in 1809,

3336-421: A very favourable relationship with Nazi Germany. The government remained somewhat intact, and the parliament continued to function more or less as it had before. They were able to maintain much of their former control over domestic policy. The police and judicial system remained in Danish hands, and unlike most occupied countries, King Christian X remained in the country as Danish head of state. The German Reich

3475-427: Is no place in the thoughts of our people for aggression against any other country, and we note with gratitude, the assurances from others that they have no wish to disturb our peace, our freedom, or our independence. The strengthening of our defense preparations serves merely to underline our fixed determination to keep our country outside the conflicts that may erupt amongst others and, during such conflicts, to safeguard

3614-596: The Eastern Front while 1,072 merchant sailors died in Allied service. Overall, this represents a very low mortality rate compared to other occupied countries and most belligerent countries. Some Danes chose to collaborate during the occupation by joining the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark , Schalburg Corps , HIPO Corps and Peter Group (often with considerable overlap between

3753-490: The Isefjord , but was attacked by Stukas and forced to run aground. By the autumn of 1944, the ships in Sweden officially formed a Danish naval flotilla in exile. In 1943, Swedish authorities allowed 500 Danish soldiers in Sweden to train themselves as "police troops". By the autumn of 1944, Sweden increased this number to 4,800 and recognized the entire unit as a Danish brigade in exile . Danish collaboration continued on

3892-662: The League of Nations and most of Sweden's political energy in the international arena had been directed towards the League's preservation. The Swedish non-aligned policy during this period was founded on the assumption that there were two opposing powers in the Baltic Sea region , Germany and the Soviet Union; because these two powers needed to guard against each other, the hope was that they would only ever be able to deploy minor forces against Sweden or other non-aligned countries. It

4031-787: The Soviets on some cities (e.g. Strängnäs ), which led to problems with the supply of food and fuels . When Germany invaded Denmark and Norway in April 1940, coupled with a German blockade of the North Sea , every shipment had to be negotiated with both British and German authorities, which drastically reduced the volume of trade. Between 1938 and 1944, the Swedish import of petroleum products and coal decreased by 88% and 53% respectively, which led to severe shortages. Other critical items were natural rubber , alloy metals and food. This situation led to extensive rationing of fuels and food in Sweden and substitutes were developed and produced. Wood gas

4170-566: The Swedish Air Force provided logistical support for these operations, with discreet approval from the Swedish government to avoid provoking significant protests from the Soviet Union. On 21 February 1940, seven Soviet bombers accidentally dropped around 150 bombs over Pajala in Norrbotten County. Six buildings caught fire and two people were injured. The event sparked further debate on whether Sweden should send aid to

4309-497: The airfield of Aalborg , would be essential to operations in Norway, and they began planning the occupation of parts of Denmark. However, as late as February 1940 no firm decision to occupy Denmark had been made. The issue was finally settled when Adolf Hitler personally crossed out the words die Nordspitze Jütlands ("the Northern tip of Jutland") and replaced them with Dä , a German abbreviation for Denmark. Although

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4448-575: The 100,000 Swedish soldiers who had been deployed along the Finnish border in northern Sweden were in the process of being demobilized, owing to the end of the Winter War there. Before the outbreak of hostilities, Sweden had had no plans for defending Norway or any defence strategy against a German invasion from the direction of Norway. Moreover, an agreement from the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905 stated that no fortification

4587-463: The 1920s and 1930s, confrontations between employers and employees in Sweden continued. In 1931, this culminated with the Ådalen shootings , an incident where the military opened fire on a protest march. In the same year, a secret right-wing militia, the Munckska kåren , was exposed. It had recruited about 2000 men and had access to heavy weaponry. It was disbanded the next year. At the other end of

4726-465: The Danish ambassador from Germany. The plenipotentiary, Renthe-Fink, was replaced by Werner Best and orders to crack down in Denmark were issued. Hitler also demanded that Erik Scavenius become prime minister, and all remaining Danish troops were ordered out of Jutland. As the war dragged on, the Danish population became increasingly hostile to the Germans. Soldiers stationed in Denmark had found most of

4865-499: The Danish cabinet ultimately decided to bow to the German pressure "under protest". The German forces were technologically sophisticated and numerous; the Danish forces comparatively tiny and using obsolete equipment; partially a result of a pre-war policy of trying to avoid antagonizing Germany by not supplying the army with modern equipment. Even stiff resistance from the Danes would not have lasted long. Questions have been raised around

5004-461: The Danish economy was more and more aligned on meeting German demands, which mainly meant agrarian products. The Danish authorities took an active part in the development and even initiated negotiations on a customs union. Those negotiations failed on the question whether the Danish krone should be abolished. The blockade against Germany affected Denmark too with unfortunate results. Since the country has virtually no natural resources of its own it

5143-647: The Danish government received a German "invitation" to join the Anti-Comintern Pact . Finland accepted reluctantly on 25 November and stated that it presumed that Denmark would also attend the ceremony (effectively conditioning its own attendance). Erik Scavenius argued that Denmark should sign the pact but the Cabinet ministers refused, stating that this would violate the policy of neutrality. Scavenius reported this decision to Renthe-Fink. Fink replied on 21 November that "Germany would be unable to comprehend"

5282-459: The Danish police force, which had a total 10,000 members; 1,960 of them were arrested and deported to Germany on 19 September 1944. Denmark faced some serious economic problems during the war. The Danish economy was fundamentally hurt by the rising cost of raw material imports such as coal and oil . Furthermore, Denmark lost its main trading partner at that point, the UK . During years of occupation

5421-572: The Danish territory of South Jutland was home to a significant German minority, and the province had been regained from Germany as a result of a plebiscite resulting from the Versailles Treaty , Germany was in no apparent hurry to reclaim it. In a much more vague and longer-term way, some Nazis hoped to incorporate Denmark into a greater "Nordic Union" at some stage, but these plans never materialized. Officially, Germany claimed to be protecting Denmark from Anglo-French attacks. At 4:15 on

5560-613: The Faroese population at the time. From 1918 until 1944, Iceland was self-governing, but the Danish king (King Christian X) was the head of state of both Denmark and Iceland. The United Kingdom occupied Iceland on 10 May 1940 to pre-empt German occupation, turning it over to the then-neutral United States in July 1941, before the latter's entry into the war in December 1941. Officially remaining neutral throughout World War II, Iceland became

5699-774: The Finnish government, the Swedish government declined to engage militarily with the Red Army as it advanced during the Winter War . However, Sweden declared itself "non-belligerent" rather than neutral during the conflict and as many as 8,000 Swedes voluntarily went to Finland to fight. The Swedish government and public also sent food, clothing, medicine, weapons and ammunition to aid the Finns during this conflict. This military aid included: Twelve of Sweden's most modern fighter aircraft, British Gloster Gladiators , were flown by volunteer Swedish pilots under Finnish insignia. These aircraft constituted one third of Sweden's fighter force at

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5838-573: The Finns. German industry was heavily dependent on Swedish iron ore . The Allies had intended to use the Soviet attack on Finland in November 1939 as cover for seizing the important Swedish iron ore deposits in the north, in addition to the Norwegian harbours through which this ore was shipped to Germany. The plan was to get Norwegian and Swedish permission to send an expeditionary force to Finland across northern Norway and Sweden, ostensibly to help

5977-438: The Finns. But once in place, they were to proceed to take control of the harbours and the iron ore mines, occupying cities such as Gävle and Luleå and denying German access to the Swedish iron ore. In this way, an unsuspecting Norway and Sweden would be presented with a fait accompli . Realizing this danger, however, and the consequent possibility of Allied or German occupation and of the war being waged on their territory, both

6116-552: The German Army spent a large amount of German military currency in Denmark, most importantly on military installations and troop deployments. Due to the Occupation, the National Bank of Denmark was compelled to exchange German currency for Danish notes, effectively granting the Germans a gigantic unsecured loan with only vague promises that the money would eventually be paid, something which never happened. The Danish government

6255-768: The German administration had not fully realized this potential before the occupation took place, which can be doubted); there was serious concern that the Danish economy was so dependent upon trade with Britain that the occupation would create an economic collapse, and Danish officials capitalized on that fear to get early concessions for a reasonable form of cooperation; they also hoped to score propaganda points by making Denmark, in Hitler 's words, "a model protectorate "; on top of these more practical goals, Nazi race ideology held that Danes were "fellow Nordic Aryans ," and could therefore to some extent be trusted to handle their domestic affairs. These factors combined to allow Denmark

6394-527: The German invasion of the Soviet Union in the early summer of 1941, codenamed Operation Barbarossa , the Germans asked Sweden to allow the transportation of armed German troops, the 163rd Infantry Division , commanded by General Erwin Engelbrecht , along with all its military equipment, through Swedish territory by train from Norway to the eastern front in Finland. Finland also insisted on the transfer of

6533-411: The German occupation forces could draw on a special account there to pay their bills from Danish suppliers. Exports to Germany were also largely settled this way. The arrangement was agreed to for fear of German soldiers helping themselves without paying, and the conflicts that might follow. It also meant that the Danish central bank was picking up a large part of the tab for the German occupation, and that

6672-563: The HIPO Corps consisted entirely of Danes working for the German occupiers . During the last winter of the war a number of HIPO members were tortured and killed by Danish resistance members. In retaliation and as a warning, the corps terrorized the civil population and blew up houses, factories, and even the Tivoli Gardens . The Lorenzen Group , also known as section 9c, was an armed paramilitary group of Danes subordinate to

6811-515: The HIPO Corps. After the war, service in the HIPO corps was one of the crimes of collaborationism that retroactively became capital offenses . Some two to three hundred HIPO members were prosecuted under these laws. About a dozen were executed between 1946 and 1950 . A somewhat larger number received death sentences that were later reduced to long prison terms or parole. Occupation of Denmark Finland Iceland Norway At

6950-466: The Holocaust . The occupation of Denmark was initially not an important objective for the German government. The decision to occupy its small northern neighbour was taken to facilitate a planned invasion of the strategically more important Norway , and as a precaution against the expected Allied response . German military planners believed that a base in the northern part of Jutland , specifically

7089-539: The Jews would be enormously disruptive to the relationship between the two governments and recommended against any action concerning the Jews of Denmark. Christian X remained in Denmark throughout the war, a symbol of courage much appreciated by his subjects. On 29 June 1941, days after the invasion of the USSR , Free Corps Denmark ( Danish : Frikorps Danmark ) was founded as a corps of Danish volunteers to fight against

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7228-495: The Jews. The authorities would not enact special laws concerning Jews, and their civil rights remained equal with those of the rest of the population. German authorities became increasingly exasperated with this position but concluded that any attempt to remove or mistreat Jews would be "politically unacceptable." Even the Gestapo officer Werner Best, plenipotentiary in Denmark from November 1942, believed that any attempt to remove

7367-490: The Liberal, Conservative and Agrarian parties were concerned about a perceived threat from the Soviet Union. The Social Democrats were in the main equally concerned. Leading social democrats like Rickard Sandler and Torsten Nilsson played a prominent role in mustering support for Finland. The Communists were openly loyal to the Soviet Union and supported its Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Germany. However, when Germany invaded

7506-495: The National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark, almost corresponding to the 1.8% the party had received in the 1939 elections . The election, discontent, and a growing feeling of optimism that Germany would be defeated led to widespread strikes and civil disturbances in the summer of 1943. The Danish government refused to deal with the situation to the satisfaction of the Germans, who gave an ultimatum to

7645-515: The Nazi authorities throughout the war. Scavenius was a diplomat , not an elected politician, and had an elitist approach to government. He was afraid that emotional public opinion would destabilize his attempts to build a compromise between Danish sovereignty and the realities of German occupation. Scavenius felt strongly that he was Denmark's most ardent defender. After the war there was much recrimination over his stance, particularly from members of

7784-516: The North Sea blockade, trade with Germany increased, until 37% of Sweden's exports were shipped to Germany. For very important goods such as ball bearings from SKF for the British aircraft industry, delivery was made by blockade runners , using rebuilt Motor Gun Boats , which could use winter darkness and high speed to penetrate the German blockade of the Skagerrak straits between Norway and

7923-494: The Royal Danish Government assumed command over 'Free Corps Denmark'". The Danish text only explicitly said that the government recognized that Kryssing had been given a new command; it did not sanction the creation of the corps, which had already happened without its creators asking the government's consent. In July 1941 Heinrich Himmler complained that Denmark was unofficially trying to stop recruitment since

8062-509: The Soviet Union in June 1941, they swung around to a pro-Allied view. When the Soviet Union attacked Finland in November 1939, many Swedes favored some sort of involvement in the conflict, both on a humanitarian and on a military basis. Sweden's interest in Finland lay in the fact that Finland had been an integrated part of Sweden for more than six hundred years, with Sweden losing control of its eastern provinces in 1809. Despite several pleas from

8201-611: The Soviet Union in November 1939, Sweden declared itself to be " non-belligerent " in regard to this particular conflict, actively siding with Finland. This allowed Sweden to aid Finland economically, and with armaments. Sweden and Finland also jointly laid minefields in the Sea of Åland to deter Soviet submarines from entering the Gulf of Bothnia . Sweden was not directly attacked during World War II. It was, however, subject to British and German naval blockades and accidental bombings from

8340-472: The Soviet Union. Free Corps Denmark was set up at the initiative of the SS and DNSAP who approached Lieutenant-Colonel C.P. Kryssing of the Danish army shortly after the invasion of the USSR had begun. The Nazi paper Fædrelandet  [ da ] proclaimed the creation of the corps on 29 June 1941. According to Danish law, it was not illegal to join a foreign army, but active recruiting on Danish soil

8479-575: The Swedes and the Norwegians refused to allow this proposal. Meanwhile, the Germans, having suspected an Allied threat, were making their own plans for an invasion of Norway in order to protect their strategic supply lines. The Altmark Incident of 16 February 1940 convinced Hitler that the Allies would not respect Norwegian neutrality, so he ordered plans for an invasion. Scandinavian reluctance to allow Allied troops onto their territory had halted

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8618-734: The United Kingdom, which began to participate in fishing production and supplied the islands with important goods. The British fortified positions in strategically important locations in the Faroe Islands. Sounds and fjords were mined, and at the island of Vágar , British engineers built a military aviation base. Up to 8,000 British servicemembers were stationed in the islands, which at that time had 30,000 inhabitants. The Faroe Islands were repeatedly attacked by German aircraft, suffering minimal damage. However, 25 Faroese ships were lost and 132 sailors died, corresponding to approx. 4% of

8757-471: The Winter War on 13 March. The Germans were partly aware of these Allied intentions, as they had intercepted radio traffic showing that Allied transport groups were being readied. A few days later, they also intercepted messages confirming that the Allies had abandoned their plan and were to redeploy their forces. German plans for an invasion of Norway continued, since Hitler feared that the Allies were nonetheless intent upon launching their own invasion. 9 April

8896-468: The active resistance, who felt that he had hindered the cause of resistance and threatened Denmark's national honour. He felt that these people were vain, seeking to build their own reputations or political careers through emotionalism. The Danish authorities were able to use their more cooperative stance to win important concessions for the country. They continually refused to enter a customs and currency union with Germany. Danes were concerned both about

9035-482: The administrative level, with Danish bureaucracy functioning under German command. In September 1943, a variety of resistance groups grouped together into the Danish Freedom Council, which coordinated resistance activities. A high-profile resister was former government minister John Christmas Møller , who had fled to England in 1942 and became a widely popular commentator because of his broadcasts to

9174-474: The apparent fact that the German forces did not seem to expect any resistance, invading with unarmored ships and vehicles. After the occupation of Denmark, British forces from 12 April 1940 made a pre-emptive bloodless invasion of the Faroe Islands to prevent their occupation by German troops. Britain took over the areas where Denmark previously had given support, and the islands now became dependent on

9313-420: The battlefield. It was becoming increasingly apparent to Sweden that Germany was unlikely to win the war. Prior to 1943, Sweden's policy of neutrality had been largely under the close scrutiny of Germany. After August and September 1943, however, Sweden was increasingly able to resist German demands and to soften its stance to Allied pressure. However, despite Germany's new, defensive posture, Sweden's constant fear

9452-433: The battles of Stalingrad and El-Alamein the incidents of resistance, violent and symbolic, increased rapidly. In March 1943 the Germans allowed a general election to be held. The voter turnout was 89.5%, the highest in any Danish parliamentary election, and 94% cast their ballots for one of the democratic parties behind the cooperation policy while 2.2% voted for the anti-cooperation Dansk Samling . 2.1% voted for

9591-609: The division. The Swedish government granted this permission after two days of internal debate. In Sweden, the political deliberations surrounding this are known as the "Midsummer Crisis"; however, according to research by Carl-Gustaf Scott there never was a "crisis", he argues that "the crisis was created in historical hindsight in order to protect the political legacy of the Social Democratic Party and its leader Per Albin Hansson ". Dick Harryson explains that there

9730-529: The easternmost island of Bornholm was liberated by Soviet forces, who remained there for almost a year. On 5 April 1946 the last Soviets left Bornholm. The end of German rule is in Denmark known as Befrielsen (the Liberation). Sweden in World War II Sweden maintained its policy of neutrality during World War II . When the war began on 1 September 1939, the fate of Sweden

9869-467: The economic possibilities of providing the German occupiers with supplies and goods; others eventually formed resistance groups towards the latter part of the war. The majority of Danes, however, were unwillingly compliant towards the Germans. Due to the relative ease of the occupation and copious amount of dairy products, Denmark earned the nickname the Cream Front ( German : Sahnefront ). As

10008-566: The effect of this was close to the creation of a one-party state , it remained a representative government. The Danish government was dominated by Social Democrats , including the pre-war prime minister Thorvald Stauning , who had been strongly opposed to the Nazi party. Stauning himself was deeply depressed by the prospects for Europe under Nazism. Nonetheless, his party pursued a strategy of cooperation, hoping to maintain democracy and Danish control in Denmark for as long as possible. There were many issues that they had to work out with Germany in

10147-548: The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814 and the invasion of Norway. At the outbreak of war in September 1939, twenty European nations were neutral . Sweden was one of only nine of these nations to maintain this stance for the remainder of the war, along with Ireland , Portugal , Spain , Switzerland , and the microstates of Andorra , Liechtenstein , Vatican City , and San Marino . The Swedish Government made

10286-574: The event of an air raid. Historic buildings such as medieval churches were in many cases protected by moving valuable objects or covering external ornaments. The vast sculpture group Saint George and the Dragon, located in Storkyrkan in Stockholm, was disassembled and evacuated to an underground space in April 1940. War broke out between Finland and the Soviet Union in November 1939. In Sweden,

10425-597: The existence of our people. Georg Homin, a captain on the General Staff , stated: Without a defensive force we cannot follow any policy of our own, our declarations become merely empty words and we leave the country's fate to chance, or to the decisions of others. With a defense as strong as Swedish conditions allow, we secure for ourselves the basis of a continued independent Swedish policy. When, in September 1939, Germany attacked Poland and both France and Britain declared war on Nazi Germany, Sweden declared itself

10564-463: The four clauses but only making general statements about Denmark's status as a neutral nation. Scavenius signed the pact. At the following reception, the Italian ambassador described Scavenius as "a fish dragged on land ... a small old gentleman in a suit asking himself how on earth he got to this place". Lidegaard comments that the old man remained defiant: during a conversation with Ribbentrop in which

10703-475: The government remained functioning de jure until the end of the war. In reality—largely due to the initiative of the permanent secretary of foreign affairs Nils Svenningsen —all day-to-day business was handed over to Permanent Secretaries, who each effectively ran his own ministry. The Germans administered the rest of the country, and the Danish Parliament did not convene for the remainder of

10842-400: The government, and hold a relatively free election , with decidedly anti-Nazi results, in the middle of the war. Danish military officials also had access to sensitive German information, which they delivered to the Allies under government cover. The economic consequences of the occupation were also mitigated by German-Danish cooperation. Inflation rose sharply in the first year of the war, as

10981-487: The government, including the following demands, on 28 August 1943: In addition, the city of Odense was ordered to pay a fine of 1 million kroner for the death of a German soldier killed in that city and hostages were to be held as security. The Danish government refused, so on 29 August 1943 the Germans officially dissolved the Danish government and instituted martial law . The Danish cabinet handed in its resignation, but since King Christian never officially accepted it,

11120-493: The larger and 50 of the smaller vessels ( patruljekuttere or "patrol cutters"). The Germans later succeeded in raising and refitting 15 of the sunken ships. During the scuttling of the Danish fleet, a number of vessels were ordered to attempt an escape to Swedish waters, and 13 vessels succeeded in this attempt, including four larger ships; two other larger vessels remained at safe harbour in Greenland. The coastal defence ship HDMS  Niels Juel attempted to break out of

11259-413: The latter complained about the "barbarous cannibalism" of Russian POWs, Scavenius rhetorically asked if that statement meant that Germany didn't feed her prisoners. When news of the signing reached Denmark, it left the population outraged, and rumours immediately spread about what Denmark had now committed itself to. The cabinet sent a car to pick up Scavenius at the ferry, to keep him from needing to ride

11398-474: The money supply rose drastically as a result. The Danish National Bank estimates that the occupation had resulted in the printing press increasing the currency supply from the pre-war figure of 400 million kroner to 1,600 million, much of which ended up in the hands of war profiteers. In July 1945, two months after the liberation of Denmark, the Danish Parliament passed an emergency law initiating

11537-486: The months after the occupation. In an effort to keep the Germans satisfied, they compromised Danish democracy and society in several fundamental ways: In return for these concessions, the Danish cabinet rejected German demands for legislation discriminating against Denmark's Jewish minority. Demands to introduce the death penalty were likewise rebuffed, and so were German demands to allow German military courts jurisdiction over Danish citizens. Denmark also rejected demands for

11676-648: The morning of 9 April 1940, German forces crossed the border into neutral Denmark. In a coordinated operation, German ships began disembarking troops at the docks in Copenhagen . Although outnumbered and poorly equipped, Danish soldiers in several parts of the country put up resistance, most notably the Royal Guard in Copenhagen and units in South Jutland. As the invasion began, German planes dropped

11815-600: The nation on BBC radio. After the fall of the government, Denmark was exposed to the full extent of occupational rule. In October the Germans decided to remove all Jews from Denmark, German diplomat Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz leaked Nazi plans, and swift action by Danish civilians transported the vast majority of Danish Jews to safety in neutral Sweden in fishing vessels and motorboats. The entire evacuation lasted two months and one man helped ferry more than 1,400 Jews to safety. Unencumbered by government opposition, sabotage increased greatly in frequency and severity, though it

11954-488: The negative economic effects of the German proposals, as well as the political ones. German officials did not want to risk their special relationship with Denmark by forcing an agreement on them, as they had done in other countries. The Danish government was also able to stall negotiations over the return of South Jutland to Germany, ban "closed-rank uniformed marches" that would have made nationalist German or Danish Nazi agitation more possible, keep National Socialists out of

12093-607: The northern tip of Denmark. Before the outbreak of the war, the Swedish Ministry of defence ( Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration ) had ordered some 300 combat aircraft from the United States , primarily Seversky P-35s and P-66 Vanguards . In 1940, however, the US administration halted these exports. Only about 60 aircraft had been delivered. Sweden succeeded subsequently in buying 200 aircraft from Italy ,

12232-543: The notorious OPROP! leaflets over Copenhagen calling on Danes to accept the German occupation peacefully, and claiming that Germany had occupied Denmark in order to protect it against Anglo-French attacks. Colonel Lunding from the Royal Danish Army 's intelligence office later confirmed that Danish intelligence knew the attack would be coming on either 8 or 9 April and had warned the government accordingly. The Danish ambassador to Germany, Herluf Zahle , issued

12371-478: The occupation of the Low Countries led to a British troop re-deployment and by 8 June 1940, British troops had been evacuated from Norway. In his book Blodsporet ("The Blood Track"), Espen Eidum detailed how, at the request of Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany sent three trains with 30 to 40 sealed carriages through Sweden to the battle of Narvik. These trains ostensibly transported medical personnel and food for

12510-482: The occupation. As the ministry of foreign affairs responsible for all negotiations with the Germans, Nils Svenningsen had a leading position in the government. In anticipation of Operation Safari , the Royal Danish Navy had instructed its captains to resist any German attempts to assume control over their vessels. The navy managed to scuttle 32 of its larger ships, while Germany succeeded in seizing 14 of

12649-462: The option to buy additional materials such as skis , sweaters and marching boots. The Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization had already been in existence since 1924. While arming itself, Sweden felt that it was necessary to articulate and enforce its policy of neutrality. Per Albin Hansson's statement shortly before World War II began: Friendly with all other nations and strongly linked to our neighbors, we look on no one as our enemy. There

12788-404: The original Allied plan for using aid to Finland as a pretext for moving in troops, but on 12 March 1940, the Allies decided to try a "semi-peaceful" invasion nonetheless. Troops were to be landed in Norway, and proceed into Sweden to capture the Swedish iron ore mines. However, if serious military resistance was encountered, they were not to press the issue. The plan was abandoned with the ending of

12927-569: The outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral , but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from occupying the country almost immediately after the outbreak of war; the occupation lasted until Germany's defeat. The decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 December 1939. On 9 April 1940, Germany occupied Denmark in Operation Weserübung . The Danish government and king functioned in

13066-535: The participants of the different groups). The National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark participated in the 1943 Danish Folketing election , but despite significant support from Germany it only received 2.1% of the votes. In Denmark, the occupation period is known as Besættelsen (Danish for "the Occupation"). A resistance movement developed over the course of the war, and the vast majority of Danish Jews were rescued and sent to neutral Sweden in 1943 when German authorities ordered their internment as part of

13205-497: The peaceful occupation" unless Denmark complied. On 23 November, the Wehrmacht in Denmark was put on alert, and Renthe-Fink met Stauning and Foreign Minister Munch at 10 AM stating that there would be no room for "parliamentary excuses". If the German demands were not met Germany "would no longer be committed by the promises given on 9 April 1940" (the threat of a state of war, a Nazi government, and territorial dismemberment). In

13344-609: The political spectrum, following the Russian Civil War the Russian Empire had become the Soviet Union and many Swedish communists were cooperating with this new Soviet regime, seeking to realize a world revolution . Compromise and a parliamentary system were thought to stand in the way of a more equal and just society. A new cabinet led by the social democrats with Per Albin Hansson as Prime Minister , took control in 1932. A policy of cooperation and consensus

13483-407: The population and the corps was freezing cold, and legionnaires on leave time and again came into fights, with civilians meeting the corps' volunteers with massive contempt." Lidegaard gives the following figures for 1941: 6,000 Danish citizens had signed up to German army duty; 1,500 of these belonged to the German minority in Denmark. On 20 November 1941, five months after the invasion of the USSR,

13622-415: The population cold and distant from the beginning of the occupation, but their willingness to cooperate had made the relationship workable. The government had attempted to discourage sabotage and violent resistance to the occupation, but by the autumn of 1942 the numbers of violent acts of resistance were increasing steadily to the point that Germany declared Denmark "enemy territory" for the first time. After

13761-525: The protection of Norwegian territorial waters and thus become legitimate targets for the Royal Navy . It was hoped that this would provoke a German military reaction. As soon as the Germans reacted, under "Plan R 4", 18,000 Allied troops were to land in Narvik , closing the rail link to Sweden. Other cities that the Allies hoped to capture were Trondheim and Bergen . The first ship carrying Allied troops

13900-441: The purchase of their main piece of military hardware, tanks. Already at an early stage, it was clear to us that if we simply chose the cannon-equipped tanks, we could have at most 15–20 of them.) To make sure training at the battalion level would be possible, machine gun –equipped tanks were purchased as well. By 1939, Sweden had 48 Czechoslovakian -built tanks with machine gun armament and about 20 Stridsvagn L-60 tanks armed with

14039-556: The same day; it also closed all shops for the weekend. By Monday 23 July, all old notes were officially outlawed as legal tender and any note not declared in a bank by 30 July would lose its value. This law allowed any Dane to exchange a total of 100 kroner to new notes, no questions asked. An amount up to 500 kroner could be exchanged, provided the owner signed a written statement explaining its origins. Any amount above this level would be deposited in an escrow account and only released or exchanged following scrutiny by tax officials examining

14178-554: The source codes of the Geheimfernschreiber cypher machine that Germany used, which afforded the Swedes advance knowledge of Germany's military intentions. Although the British Plan R 4 had not been able to be carried out, Allied troops were swiftly sent to Norway and were able to fight alongside the Norwegians unsuccessfully against the German invaders. However, the success of the German campaign against France and

14317-529: The surprise of many, Scavenius accepted these instructions without hesitation. In October 1942, Hitler transmitted a long, flattering birthday telegram to King Christian. The King replied with a simple "Spreche Meinen besten Dank aus. Chr. Rex" ("Giving my best thanks. King Christian") sending the Führer into a state of rage at this deliberate slight, and seriously damaging Danish relations with Germany. Hitler immediately recalled his ambassador and expelled

14456-552: The time. In addition, Sweden received some 70,000 Finnish children who were sent to Sweden to find safety during the 1940s. In addition to the military aid sent to Finland, the Swedish government secretly facilitated the delivery of aircraft that Finland had purchased or received as donations from other countries. A total of 157 planes were assembled in volunteering Swedish factories, while Finnish pilots collected an additional 35 planes in Sweden after they were flown in from abroad. The Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration and

14595-546: The train alone to Copenhagen. At the same time a large demonstration gathered outside of Parliament , which led the Minister of Justice, Eigil Thune Jacobsen  [ da ] to remark that he did not like to see Danish police beating up students singing patriotic songs. When Scavenius had returned to Copenhagen, he asked the cabinet to debate once and for all where the red lines existed in Danish relations with Germany. This debate concluded that three red lines existed: To

14734-604: The transfer occurred after the Soviet Union attacked Finland starting the Continuation War and Sweden was yet to take a stance in this conflict. From late 1942 and into 1943, Germany began to meet with a series of military reverses after its losses at the Second Battle of El Alamein , the Battle of Stalingrad and elsewhere. Germany was forced into a more defensive position as the Allied forces achieved success on

14873-480: The transfer of Danish army units to German military use. Stauning remained prime minister until his death in 1942, as head of a coalition cabinet encompassing all major political parties (the exceptions being the tiny Nazi party, and the Communist Party, which was outlawed in 1941). Vilhelm Buhl replaced him briefly, only to be replaced by foreign minister Erik Scavenius , who had been the main link to

15012-434: The unpleasant reality of German occupation must be confronted in the most realistic way possible, given the international situation. Politicians realized that they would have to try hard to maintain Denmark's privileged position by presenting a united front to the German authorities, so all of the mainstream democratic parties formed a new government together. Parliament and the government agreed to work closely together. Though

15151-406: The validity of the person's statement about the origins of this wealth. All existing bank accounts were also scrutinized. Multiple exchanges of cash by the same person were avoided by the requirement that currency would only be exchanged to anybody also handing in a specified ration stamp , previously issued in a different context, which had not yet been authorized for use. The exchange resulted in

15290-451: The vastly increased demand for armaments. Before the war, the annual production of armaments was typically measured in tens of millions of Swedish kronor , but during the war, output exceeded SEK 1 billion (US$ 240 million). Sweden's long-standing policy of neutrality was tested on many occasions during the 1930s. The challenges came from a strongly rejuvenated, nationalistic Germany. From 1919 until 1935, Sweden had been an active supporter of

15429-619: The war, more than 50,000 Norwegians fled to Sweden. These refugees were sent to camps at Öreryd in Småland and Kjesäter in Södermanland . From the summer of 1943 onward, the military training of Norwegian troops was carried out in Sweden, in cooperation with the Swedish government and the Norwegian government-in-exile in London . To prevent protests from Nazi Germany , this training

15568-407: The war. The country, at least certain sections of it, did so well that it has been open to the accusation of profiteering from the war . After the war there was some effort to find and punish profiteers, but the consequences and scope of these trials were far less severe than in many other countries, largely a reflection of the general acceptance of the realistic need for cooperation with Germany. On

15707-474: The war. Per Albin Hansson then asked for a second vote on how the Social Democrats would react to the right wing voting yes. The opinion was split, but the majority would rather accept the transfer than bring down the government. Since Sweden was not neutral in relation to Finland during the Winter War but non-belligerent, it is debatable if the transfer constituted a violation of neutrality even if

15846-432: The whole, though the country fared relatively well, this is only a relative measure. Phil Giltner has worked out that Germany had a "debt" of roughly 6.9 billion kroner to Denmark as a whole. This means that they had taken far more out of the Danish economy than they had put in, aside from the negative side effects of the war on trade. The German debt had accumulated due to an arrangement with the Danish central bank, in which

15985-456: The word ran in the army that anyone joining would be committing treason. The government later instructed the army and navy not to obstruct applications from soldiers wishing to leave active duty and join the corps. A 1998 study showed that the average recruit to Free Corps Denmark was a Nazi, a member of the German minority in Denmark, or both, and that recruitment was very broad socially. Historian Bo Lidegaard notes: "The relationship between

16124-478: The working class was rising against the state. In 1908 alone, there were about 300 strikes in Sweden. By 1917, Sweden's need for a new political system was apparent from these riots. Sweden had remained neutral during World War One but with a tendency to side with the Central Powers . Since the 1880s, the socialist movement in Sweden had been divided into two opposing groups: the revolutionary socialists ,

16263-457: The wounded German soldiers in Narvik. However, in reality there were 17 soldiers for every medical officer or orderly. Sweden knew that the trains were being used to transport troops because a Swedish representative in Berlin reported that he had watched them board. The trains also transported heavy artillery, anti-aircraft guns, ammunition, and communications and supply equipment. At the start of

16402-539: Was a clear violation of his diplomatic powers, but Kauffmann argued that he would not receive orders from an occupied Copenhagen. Historically, Denmark had a large amount of interaction with Germany. In 1920 the country regained possession of the northern part of Schleswig after losing the provinces during the Second Schleswig War in 1864. The Danish people were divided about what the best policy toward Germany might be. Few were ardent Nazis; some explored

16541-401: Was a risk of the coalition government falling apart if the Social Democrats, for which Per Albin Hansson was the leader, voted no to the transfer and the right wing parties voted yes. Per Albin Hansson did not want a government in crisis and recommended to vote yes. Ernst Wigforss convinced the Social Democrats to vote no with a large majority by stating that this was about choosing sides in

16680-419: Was allowed along this border. One of Germany's demands on Sweden, as Germany's invasion progressed, was that Sweden was not to mobilize. However, Sweden re-organized its system of mobilization to allow for personal order by letter to be made possible as an alternative to official proclamation, so that 320,000 men were able to be raised in a few weeks. This was called "The Organization" and was barely different from

16819-525: Was established by the occupation. The danger of saying no—I would not like to see a Terboven here. Sign with addendum—that modifies the pact. Scavenius boarded a train and headed for Berlin, where he arrived on Monday 24 November. The next crisis came when he was met by Renthe-Fink, who informed him that Ribbentrop had informed Fink that there had been a "misunderstanding" regarding the four clauses and that clause 2 would be deleted. This had specified that Denmark only had police-like obligations. Scavenius had

16958-475: Was formally represented by a Reichsbevollmächtigter (' Reich Plenipotentiary '), i.e. a diplomat accredited to the Sovereign, a post awarded to Cecil von Renthe-Fink , the German ambassador, and then in November 1942 to the lawyer and SS general Werner Best . Danish public opinion generally backed the new government, particularly after the fall of France in June 1940. There was a general feeling that

17097-545: Was illegal. The SS disregarded this law and began recruiting efforts – predominantly recruiting Danish Nazis and members of the German-speaking minority. The Danish government discovered this and decided to concentrate on persuading the Germans not to recruit underage boys. General Prior wanted to remove Kryssing and his designated second-in-command but decided to consult the cabinet. It agreed that Kryssing should be removed in its meeting on 2 July 1941, but this decision

17236-444: Was immediately adjacent to Schleswig-Holstein to the south and was thus wide open to a panzer attack from there. Unlike Norway, Denmark had no mountain ranges from which drawn-out resistance could be conducted. Sixteen Danish soldiers died in the invasion, but after less than six hours the Danish government surrendered , believing that resistance was futile and hoping to work out an advantageous agreement with Germany. Not only

17375-505: Was later able to renegotiate the Germans' arbitrary exchange rate between the German military currency and the Danish krone to reduce this problem. The success most often alluded to in regard to the Danish policy toward Germany is the protection of the Jewish minority in Denmark. Throughout the years of its hold on power, the government consistently refused to accept German demands regarding

17514-404: Was later withdrawn when Erik Scavenius—who had not attended the original meeting—returned from negotiations and announced that he had reached an agreement with Renthe-Fink that soldiers wishing to join this corps could be given leave until further notice. The government issued an announcement stating that "Lieut. Colonel C. P. Kryssing, Chief of the 5th Artillery reg., Holbæk, has with the consent of

17653-432: Was pursued, which led to a furthering of the divide between the two socialist factions: the communists and the reformist left . The distance between these two, at least at the ideological level, became so great that the communists often referred to the social democrats as "the social fascists". Apart from a period termed "the vacation government" (Sw: semesterregeringen) between 19 June and 28 September 1936, Per Albin Hansson

17792-511: Was rarely of very serious concern to the Germans. Nonetheless, the Danish resistance movement had some successes, such as on D-Day when the train network in Denmark was disrupted for days, delaying the arrival of German reinforcements in Normandy . An underground government was established, and the illegal press flourished. Allied governments, which had been sceptical about the country's commitment to fight Germany, began recognizing Denmark as

17931-427: Was set as the date of Operation Weserübung , the German attack on Norway. Hitler was correct about Allied intentions. The Allied plan had two parts, Operation Wilfred and Plan R 4 . Operation Wilfred was to take place on 5 April (it was in fact delayed until 8 April) when Norwegian territorial waters were to be mined, violating Norwegian neutrality. This would force the ships carrying ore to Germany to travel outside

18070-484: Was sold to Germany throughout the war and Germany owned several mines in Sweden that had been bought by German companies before the outbreak of the war. These mines were called Tyskgruvorna ("German mines"). For the Allies, Sweden shared military intelligence and helped to train soldier refugees from Denmark and Norway, to be used in the liberation of their home countries. It also allowed the Allies to use Swedish airbases between 1944 and 1945. Swedish neutrality remains

18209-505: Was that the unexpected would happen, an attitude that continued until the very end of the war. With Germany's weakening position came stronger demands from the Allies. They pushed for Sweden to abandon its trade with Germany and to stop all German troop movements over Swedish soil . Sweden accepted payments from the Allies to compensate for this loss of income through reduced trade with Germany, but continued to sell steel and machine parts to Nazi Germany at inflated smugglers' rates . During

18348-633: Was the Swedish government buying material to strengthen its defences, it began drafting conscripts. On 6 May 1938, the government called up all those aged 15 for short periods of training. In addition to this, the Swedish Cabinet ordered that one quarter of those conscripted in 1938 should be retained for further training. In 1940, the Home Guard was created. Its units were small groups of former soldiers who were equipped with rifles , machine guns , ammunition, medicine and uniforms. They had

18487-462: Was the flat Jutland territory a perfect area for the German army to operate in, the surprise attack on Copenhagen had made any attempt to defend Zealand impossible. The Germans had also been quick to establish control over the bridge across the Little Belt , thus gaining access to the island of Funen . Believing that further resistance would only result in the futile loss of more Danish lives,

18626-583: Was this expectation which made the defence of a small country feasible. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , signed at the end of August 1939 between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, upset this balance. In 1936, the Swedish government started to heighten its military preparedness as the international situation worsened. Military spending in Sweden went from US$ 37 million in 1936, to $ 50 million in 1937, to $ 58.6 million in 1938, and then increased over fivefold to $ 322.3 million in 1939. During World War II itself, military spending peaked at $ 527.6 million in 1942. Not only

18765-948: Was to be the Prime Minister of Sweden until his death in 1946. Sweden had very few tanks in the inter-war era. For a time, the entire armoured corps consisted of ten Stridsvagn mf/21s . This was a design based upon a German First World War tank and had been secretly purchased by Sweden in the form of tractor assembly kits. In the Defence Act of 1936 , it was decided to form two tank battalions. Captain Fale Burman , chief of "Army Procurement" ( Arméns utrustningsdetalj ) in 1937, commented: ... Härför krävdes total nyanskaffning av deras viktigaste innehåll, stridsvagnarna. Redan på ett tidigt stadium fick vi dock klart för oss att om vi enbart valde kanonutrustade vagnar skulle de högst komma upp till ett antal av 15–20. (This required

18904-422: Was to start its journey a few hours after the mine-laying. On 8 April, a Royal Naval detachment led by HMS  Renown mined Norwegian waters as a part of Operation Wilfred, but German troops were already on their way and "Plan R 4" was quickly made obsolete. On 9 April 1940, Germany launched Operation Weserübung , an operation with the objective of simultaneously occupying Denmark and Norway , and to stage

19043-476: Was unclear. But by a combination of its geopolitical location in the Scandinavian Peninsula , realpolitik maneuvering during an unpredictable course of events, and a dedicated military build-up after 1942, Sweden kept its official neutrality status throughout the war. At the outbreak of hostilities, Sweden had held a neutral stance in international relations for more than a century, since

19182-420: Was used as a fuel for motor vehicles and shale oil as a substitute for bunker oil . At the beginning of the war, agreements had been signed between Sweden and the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany in order to sustain vital trade; but in spite of this, and the fact that Sweden had declared itself a neutral country , Swedish shipping came under attack. Sweden's trade with Britain was cut by a total of 70%. Within

19321-499: Was very vulnerable to these price shocks and shortages. The government had foreseen the possibility of coal and oil shortages and had stockpiled some before the war, which, combined with rationing , prevented some of the worst potential problems from coming to the country. The disruptions to the European trading network were also damaging to the economy, but all things considered, Denmark did quite well compared to other countries during

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