Occupation of Denmark

Germany's occupation of Denmark was commenced by Operation Weserübung 9 April 1940, and lasted until the German forces were withdrawn at the end of World War II following their surrender to Allied forces. The occupation ended on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupations during the war, most Danish institutions continued to function relatively unaffected until 1943. The Danish government remained in the country in an uneasy relationship between a democratic and a totalitarian system until German authorities dissolved the government following a wave of strikes.

Economy

There were extremely serious economic problems in Denmark during the war. The Danish economy was fundamentally hurt by the rising cost of raw material imports such as coal and oil. The blockade against Germany affected Denmark too with unfortunate results. Since the country has virtually no natural resources of its own it 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 the war.

Related Topics:
Danish economy - Coal - Oil - Blockade - Natural resources - Rationing

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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 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.

Related Topics:
Profiteering from the war - Kroner

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This German debt means that the occupation of Denmark was overall an economic benefit to their war effort. This represents an unhappy reality for Danes who would like to think that they contributed to the downfall of Nazi Germany.

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