German Occupation of Denmark

Discussion in 'Others' started by Drew5233, May 10, 2009.

  1. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    I saw this pictured of a SdKfz Amoured Radio Car
    [​IMG]

    advaning through (Jutland) in Denmark and thought I'd post this up to create some talk about Denmark during it's occupation.
    [​IMG]

    Other than the picture above and the film Flame and Citron I know nothing about what happened in Denmark during WW2. Oh and Lord Haw Haw was captured there at the end of the war.

    Cheers
    Andy
     
  2. kfz

    kfz Very Senior Member

    Funny picture. Do the Wehrmacht have a SOP for tank commanders during parades, exactly the same stance. Stand on the chair, back straight and hands on the hatch lids.

    love the Pz1 parked neatly on the pavement, at least when invading a neutral country they park sensibly.

    Is that a Pz1 Command tank behind?

    Kev
     
  3. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Yes, Kleine Befehlswagen.(Sd.Kfz.265).
    Nice clear shot of the Sd.Kfz.223 with it's Aerial frame up too (the top armoured car).
     
  4. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    From a quick scan on the net it seems Denmark was invaded predominately due to it bordering Germany. Their 'Excuse' being there was a thought that the Allies could invade Germany via Denmark.

    I guess looking at some of the pictures below around the Danish coast they obviously felt it was a viable option to the Allies. I know from all the commando activities and Allied raids on Norway Hitler always felt that a invasion of Norway was a real possibility hence some 300,000 Germans being posted there.

    1.
    [​IMG]

    2.
    [​IMG]

    3.
    [​IMG]

    4.
    [​IMG]

    5.
    [​IMG]

    6.
    [​IMG]
     
  5. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Some interesting facts about the invasion and occupation:

    The Germans invaded at 4:15 on the morning of 9 April 1940.

    16 Danish Soldiers died during the invasion.

    The Danish Government surrendered after two hours of fighting.

    Officially Germany claimed to be protecting Denmark from a British invasion.

    The occupation was so quick that most Danes got out of bed not knowing their country was now occupied.

    The British invaded the Faroe Islands and Iceland as a result of the German occupation of Denmark.

    The Danish government and king continued to control Danish affairs until 1943.

    On June 22. 1941, the German authorities in Denmark requested that the Danish communists should be arrested. The Danish government complied.

    In August 1941 Denmark outlawed Communism and after Operation Barbarossa the Communist Party was banned in Denmark. As a result many of the first resistance fighters were Communists.

    The Danish Army was allowed to maintain 2,200 men + 1,100 auxiliary troops after occupation.

    On the 29th of June, 1941 Free Corps Denmark was founded to fight against the USSR.

    In 1942 Adolf Hitler sent a long telegram to the Danish King congratulating him on his birthday. He replied with a rather short message 'Giving my best, Thanks, King Cristian'. This upset Hitler and relation were strained in Denmark.

    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.

    On 29 August 1943 the Germans officially dissolved the Danish government and instituted martial law.

    In October 1944 the Germans decided to remove all Jews from Denmark.

    The plan was leaked by the German Diplomat Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz and most of the Danish Jews were ferried across to Sweden with the help of other Danish civilians.

    Most of Denmark was liberated from German rule in May 1945 by Field Marshal Montgomery.

    Around 850 members of the resistance were killed during the war and about 900 Danish civilians died as a direct result of the German occupation in one way or another.

    39 Danish soldiers were killed or injured during the invasion, and four were killed on 29 August 1943 when the Germans dissolved the Danish government.

    1,850 Danish sailors died and just over 100 soldiers died as part of the Allied forces.

    Approximately 6,000 Danes were sent to concentration camps during WWII of which about 10% died.

    After the war, 40,000 people were arrested on suspicion of collaboration. Of these, 13,500 were punished in some way.

    78 received death sentences, of which 46 were carried out.

    In the final weeks of the war, between February 11 and May 9, about 250,000 German refugees fled across the Baltic Sea, fleeing the advancing Soviet Army.

    The refugees were interned in hundreds of camps from Copenhagen to Jutland.

    In the camps, food rations were meager and medical care was inadequate. In 1945 alone, more than 13,000 people died, among them some 7,000 children under the age of five.

    Info from Wiki so don't blame me if any are wrong ;)

    Regards
    Andy
     
  6. Jakob Kjaersgaard

    Jakob Kjaersgaard Senior Member

    Nice pictures Andy. I have never seen those before.

    The Flame and Citron film gives a pretty good image of what it was like, based on what I've read in biographies etc. about the resistance. Though the film also caused debate concerning the resistance, because people claim a lot of innocent people were killed by the resistance.

    I guess the wiki info covers the basic information concerning the occupation.

    Here's a good link about the occupation from the ministry of foreign affairs:
    Denmark - History - The Occupation 1940-45

    From the site:
    "German troops occupied Denmark within a few hours on the morning of 9 April 1940. The attack was accompanied by an ultimatum that no resistance was to be offered. Germany would, in exchange, respect the country's political independence; the King and the government gave in. Thus began a "peaceful occupation" during which Denmark tried to maintain the illusion of independence. With a few exceptions, the Foreign Ministries handled all communication between the two countries."

    This has always been something of great debate in this country. The way the government did not put up a fight at all, deciding to work together with the germans. Simply putting the fate of our country into the hands of the enemy is something which will never be forgotten by the public.


    Jakob
     
  7. Gerard

    Gerard Seelow/Prora

    The efforts of the Danes to evacuate the Jews to Sweden is a credit to the Danish People Kjaersgaard.
     
    BarbaraWT likes this.
  8. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

Share This Page