Commemoration and Scandinavia during WW2 Flashcards
Positive impact for Denmark
Danish allies to be placed in line with Allies in the United Nations an idea firmly placed in Danish consciousness.
Situation in Denmark during the occupation
the Danish maintained a fully backed government. No german administrative body present in Denmark and all work in Denmark by Germany was done by diplomatic services . The relation with Germany came to entail both elements of resistance and cooperation.
Germanic expansion… but consequences
Germans looked to include Denmark in the Germanic country expansion- tried to deport jews after a rejection of the death penalty by the Danes and several other extremist measures that Hitler sought to introduce.
Demands made by the German gov- relaxed
negotiated- i.e. they did not have to be followed with immediacy. Furthermore a fairly relaxed policy on freedom of expression was retained by the Danes.
agricultural production in Denmark
Denmark was allowed to keep a large proportion of its agricultural production to such an extent that their rations were a higher proportion to those of the germans.
Cost of occupation on Denmark
The occupation only cost Denmark 15% of its gross national product
humiliating
Eventhough the occupation was regarded as humiliating by the Danish community- they were willing to give in to the pressure in order to achieve the goal of sparing the people from the effects of war. - this point divided the people
Type of defence
There was no need for a defence against natzification rather purely an attack against the military forces. The early efforts made after 1943 saw the political cooperation between the two sides to an end
Ilegal press
Danish illegal press heightened the awareness of Danish resistance- they used the strikes in copenhagen in 1944 as a tool for raising awareness.
Crimes by Hitler in Denmark/ crimes in general
to kill random civilians not associated with the resistance. Crimes dictated by Nazi slogans- not german interests.
Two goals for the Danes
protect the people and be recognised as an ally were achieved.
Vidkun Quisling
headed the Norwegian government during the occupation of Germany
When did it change for Denmark
1943 when a series of strikes informally showed the rejection of the policy of cooperation- Danish jews all had to flee to Sweden- the assistance was a genuine manifestation of the detest of antisemitism- many fisherman coming back from Sweden were prosecuted on the account that they had helped the jews escape- this was very often not strictly true.
Quisling coup d’état
Quisling declared a coup d’etat in april 1939 after talks with Hitler in Berlin and Hitler was angry that they hadn’t surrendered to the German ultimatum to surrender. His coup only lasted 6 days
Effect of the coup on the nature of the resistance in Norway
Changed it to a ideological struggle rather than simply a mil one
Terboven
appointed from the inner circle- a man concerned with gaining political comeback more than anything else
Norwegian politicians happy to
the politicians in Norway were happy to apply a collaborationist approach provided that the democratic parties could remain with the overriding influence once in power- this was overiden though
Terboven declared
He declared the gov and king in exile and banned all political influence
Allowed Quisling back in after his failures in the Coup
NS expanded
Rapid expansion of NS membership in 1940 along with street rallies and increased propaganda . The NS launched arms bearing initiatives for all Norwegian men but resistance was directed against these initiatives - including against forced labour
Underground
army established- backed with armaments by the British
Until when had the collaboration been considered legitimate?
up until the summer of 1940- much shorter period than in french and denmark
Establishment of a Home Front
containing passive resistors, full time illegals and also the saboteur or spy. Took several years for this to form
Most of the resistance was directed at
Most of the resistance was also directed at the NS rather than seizing power.
Tensions existed between
communists and communists
The period has come to be viewed as mythical
detached from the chronological time line and viewed in an eternal form
only one view of the occupation
created by the resistance community itself. All activity that took place has been placed under what can be called resistance.
The 50th anniversary
entailed huge street parties and all the survivors mobilising in support of what happened. No public reconciliation took place with the Germans.
Norwegians not divided
but rather split - one outside the community of the nation and the nation itself.
Haakon VII
became the national symbol of resistance.
Per Albin Hansson- said
Swedes were egotistical about peace
Per Albin
was the leader of the national coalition that governed the Swedes during the second world war. He sought to promote the idea of peace at the expense of the idea of resistance. - this was a recurring theme in his pronouncements.
Policy of concessions
the most controversial policy- led to a division between much of the country. The policy can be connected to humanitarianism and one that had an aim to alleviate suffering
Their concessions can be explained based on two factors
previous evidence of Hitler’s madman status- Secondly Sweden had week defences and had to disarm in 1925
King Gustaf in contrast to haakon
believed the concession was the best way to act in the face of war.
Rejection of passage
Following the midsummer crisis in 1941- the germans accepted this
1944 questionnaire
many people responded saying the war had actually impacted on Sweden very little- this shows the extent to which the Swedes maintaining their ‘Swedish way of life’ was actually well thought out and successful
Swedish diplomat
A Swedish diplomat upon returning from the front line noted that those who had been to the front and then returned were not on the same wavelength as those who had remained in Sweden. For most the war was a mere protracted state of watching and waiting.
Following the end of the War- no myth
Sweden was not able to sit back on a myth like Norway and Denmark had been able to- there was no unity or greater strength of identity gained from their experience during the war.
Unusual case for those who supported antifascist movements
In Sweden there was an unusual case that those who had NOT supported the racist case were then threatened with expulsion for disloyalty.
Stroke of genius
Hansson believed that the Swedes were involved in a stroke of genius following the war. He says that we have done our part- whether they actually knew or indeed were aware of the value of their part is something that we wont know
Quelled resentment
due to the pm remaining the same
Policy of the whitebooks-
not to give a rounded view of Swedish policy during the war but instead to disarm Norwegian criticism- triumphant for the image
The danes on the whitebooks
having seen the report believed that there was no real grounds for criticism following what had been a life or death situation for the Swedes- for this reason it praised the Swedes for later trying to reconcile with the Norwegians.
Decision of the Swedish press post war
only voice the thoughts of the papers in Norway and Denmark that had shown the swedes to be courageous perhaps highlights the lack of belief in their own courageous efforts. They maintained that because it kept the peace there was no need to criticise their policy on occupation.
Bargaining of the policy
the swedish foreign minister bargained with the policy that they had led- saying that they had been in part saved by the allies but also that the policy of peace was in the interest of mankind.
Undén seemed to maintain
even if Sweden had made more concessions she would still have come out of the war morally untarnished as it was with the benefit of the country and its peace in mind.
Pride maintained
through keeping with a long history of modern neutrality
Moral super power?
involving itself in humanitarian work. and concerning itself with the elderly and handicapped- in doing so it becomes increasingly clearer that Sweden had been the very antithesis of what Naziism had stood for- and in this sense was somewhat inconsistent with her values and left herself open to criticism.
60s reports
merely described the events and gave little evidence or reason for why Sweden had been so passive - made up of 20 theses
1991 Honor and conscience
writer spoke of a conspiracy of silence that had coined Swedish mentality during the war, condemning the decisions taken by the government. She described the half heartedness of Swedish policy and in the process shamed the wartime policy.
aim of honor and conscience
unction as the devils advocate in the debate on Swedish policy and shook the idea of small-state realism.
Name of the Norwegian resistance force
Milorg- gathered up to 42,000 troops
The impact of the holocaust on Norway
not major although around 700 Jews were captured and taken to concentration camps to be killed
Terror caused by Terboven
he had the power to make dramatic attacks and did so on several occassions- he imposed martial law in Trondheim for example
How did Hitler try to rebrand the Heil salute in Norway?
He said that it was a tradition that dated back to the vikings
Defiance in Norway
they would wear red clothing in the faces of the Nazis and would say things like happy Norwegian christmas instead of ‘happy christmas’
how many Danes joined the SS
around 6000 Danes Joined the SS in Denmark
reluctancy to reveal
In Denmark there was a reluctancy to talk about and reveal the identities of the collaborators until around 2005 - in 2005 the Danish Prime minister made an official apology to the Jews- it took until 1998 for many documents to be released on the matter
