The Battle of Copenhagen (Danish: Slaget på Reden) was an engagement which saw a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker fight a huge Danish fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Kryssing of the Danish army shortly after the invasion of the USSR had begun. Combatants at the Battle of Copenhagen: A British Fleet against the Danish Fleet. In March 1943 the Germans allowed a general election to be held. In July 1945, two months after the liberation of Denmark, the Danish Parliament passed an emergency law initiating a currency reform, making all old banknotes void. Sabotage. Grab a copy of our NEW encyclopedia for Kids! After the fall of the government, Denmark was exposed to the full extent of occupational rule. In reality—largely due to the initiative of the permanent secretary of the ministry of foreign affairs Nils Svenningsen[30]—all day-to-day business had been handed over to the Permanent Secretaries, each effectively running his own ministry. Author weaves a good mix of the political maneuverings in London, Copenhagen, and St. Petersburg and the tensions between Admiral Nelson and his Commanding officer. In 1807 - the British attacked Copenhagen with a heavy bombardment of the city in connection with the Napoleonic wars. Hitler immediately recalled his ambassador and expelled the Danish ambassador from Germany. The entire evacuation lasted two months and one man helped ferry more than 1,400 Jews to safety. At the time of the German capitulation there were about 250,000 German refugees in Denmark. The reason for this was not only anti-German resentment, but also lack of resources, the time needed to rebuild administrative structures, and the fear of epidemic diseases which were highly prevalent among the refugees. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. 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. media caption The Soviet advance at Kursk was a turning-point in WW2 Winning the biggest tank battle in history - against Nazi Germany at Kursk in 1943 - remains a … Refugees were gradually moved from over 1,000 smaller locations to new-built camps or previous German military barracks, some of which held over 20,000 refugees. The Danish authorities took an active part in the development and even initiated negotiations on a customs union. Harald Heering from Akademisk Skytteforening (Academic Rifle Club). Officially Germany claimed to be protecting Denmark from a British invasion.[7]. [34] In 1943, Swedish authorities allowed 500 Danish soldiers in Sweden to train themselves as "police troops". It marked a turning point when Britain stood alone against Hitler's seemingly unstoppable military power. [citation needed] Stauning himself was deeply depressed by the prospects for Europe under Nazism. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Danish cabinet handed in its resignation, although since King Christian never officially accepted it, the government remained functioning de jure until the end of the war. Battle between the freedom fighters and HIPO. "The Success of Collaboration: Denmark's Self-Assessment of its Economic Position after Five Years of Nazi Occupation,", Gram-Skjoldager, Karen. He believed that the British would quickly come to terms and did not make the invasion of Great Britain a priority at the time. At the same time as the border crossing, German planes dropped the notorious OPROP! By the autumn of 1944, the ships in Sweden officially formed a Danish naval flotilla in exile. Vilhelm Buhl replaced him briefly, only to be replaced by foreign minister Erik Scavenius, who had been the main link to the Nazi authorities throughout the war. 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, four of which were the larger ships; two of the larger vessels had remained at safe harbour in Greenland. Soldiers stationed in Denmark had found most of the population cold and distant from the beginning of the occupation, but their willingness to cooperate had made the relationship workable. Denmark faced some serious economic problems during the war. 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. The only party that appeared to receive a significant boost from resistance was the Communist Party. One area that was badly damaged was the island of Bornholm, largely due to Soviet bombardment of the German garrison there in the very last days of the war. Signing this treaty "in the name of the King" was a clear violation of his diplomatic powers, but Kauffmann argued that he would not receive orders from an occupied Copenhagen. As the war dragged on, the Danish population became increasingly hostile to the Germans. Colonel Lunding from the 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. [50] Some historians argue that the relatively accommodating policy which did not actively resist the occupation was the only realistic way of safeguarding Danish democracy and people. Although some members of the resistance tried to organize new political parties after the war to reshape the political order in Denmark, they were unable to do so. People looking at Langebro (bridge) in Copenhagen. This alliance was led by Russia, whose Tsar supported France. Fink replied on 21 November that "Germany would be unable to comprehend" a Danish rejection and demanded this decision be reversed before the end of the day. At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral. The Danish fleet surrendered to Britain after Copenhagen was bombarded. In anticipation of Operation Safari, the Danish Navy had instructed its captains to resist any German attempts to assume control over their vessels. The morning after the battle, Nelson was sent into Copenhagen to meet Crown Prince Fredrick. Fredrick had been acting as his father’s regent for some years, and was to succeed him as Fredrick VI in 1808. The battle came about over British fears that the powerful Danish fleet … He assured Scavenius that the pact contained neither "political or other obligations" (i.e., going to war with the USSR). Britain took over the areas where Denmark previously had given support, and the islands now became dependent on the United Kingdom, which began to participate in fishing production and supplied the islands with important goods. Battle of Copenhagen. The SS disregarded this law and began recruiting efforts – predominantly recruiting Danish Nazis and members of the German-speaking minority. Meanwhile, Britain had been planning naval operations in the Baltic to undermine an armed neutrality between Denmark, Sweden and Russia. 1917. No legislation discriminating against Jews. These articles have not yet undergone the rigorous in-house editing or fact-checking and styling process to which most Britannica articles are customarily subjected. German military planners believed that a base in the northern part of Jutland, specifically the airfield of Aalborg, would be essential to operations in Norway, and they began planning the occupation of parts of Denmark. 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. The Danish people were divided about what the best policy toward Germany might be. Soon much of the city was in flames, and the Danes, suffering heavy civilian casualties, were forced to surrender on September 7. Commanders at the Battle of Copenhagen: Admiral Sir Hyde Parker and Vice Admiral Lord Nelson against the Danish Crown Prince. The United Kingdom occupied Iceland (to pre-empt a German occupation) on 10 May 1940, turning it over to the then neutral United States in July 1941, before that country entered the war in December 1941. [23] The economic consequences of the occupation were also mitigated by German-Danish cooperation. In 1920 the country had regained possession of the northern part of Schleswig after losing the provinces during the Second Schleswig War in 1864. [15] 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. World War II was total war - every person, every business, every service was involved. 5th May 1945. 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 decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 December 1939. [9], Sixteen Danish soldiers died in the invasion, but after two hours the Danish government surrendered, believing that resistance was useless and hoping to work out an advantageous agreement with Germany. 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). 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. However, as late as February 1940 no firm decision to occupy Denmark had been made. [16] There was a general feeling that the unpleasant reality of German occupation must be confronted in the most realistic way possible, given the international situation. In early 1807, British leaders suspected that Napoleon might get control of the Russian fleet and then perhaps the Danish and Swedish ones, too—together a strong enough force to pose a new threat to Britain’s naval mastery. Most of Denmark was liberated from German rule in May 1945 by British forces commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery; the easternmost island of Bornholm was liberated by Soviet forces, who remained there for almost a year. The Danish economy was fundamentally hurt by the rising cost of raw material imports such as coal and oil. In the meantime, more information about the article and the author can be found by clicking on the author’s name. Few were ardent Nazis; some explored 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 German foreign ministry agreed to the terms, provided that the protocol was not made public, which was the intent of the Danish foreign ministry. The Danish government refused to deal with the situation in a way that would satisfy the Germans, who presented an ultimatum to the government, including the following demands, on 28 August 1943: A ban on people assembling in public, outlawing strikes, the introduction of a curfew, censorship should be conducted with German assistance, special (German military) courts should be introduced, and the death penalty should be introduced in cases of sabotage. The Danes refused, and hostilities began. They were able to maintain much of their former control over domestic policy. The Danish government was later able to renegotiate the Germans' arbitrary exchange rate between the German military currency and the Danish krone to reduce this problem.[15]. [17] After the battles of Stalingrad and El-Alamein the incidents of resistance, violent and symbolic, increased rapidly. After initial inadequacy, food rations became more sufficient. The Danish ambassador to Germany, Herluf Zahle, issued a similar warning which was also ignored. Colonel C.P. 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. He watered down the wording but left the content pretty intact. Already at the end of April, the German military authorities seemed to have lost control of the situation; many refugees had no food, the sick were not treated, mortality was high, and unburied dead bodies were stored in warehouses and cellars--although this was the result of different priorities in negotiations on aid between German and Danish authorities. The Second Battle of Copenhagen (or the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 5 September 1807) was a British bombardment of the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in order to capture or destroy the Dano-Norwegian fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. Thomas Campbell (1777-1844). Furthermore, Denmark lost its main trading partner at that point, the UK. Prime Minister Stauning's notes from the day stated: The objective is a political positioning. [citation needed] Even stiff resistance from the Danes would not have lasted long. Jørgen Hæstrup (1979), "Departementschefstyret" in Hæstrup, Jørgen; Kirchhoff, Hans; Poulsen, Henning; Petersen, Hjalmar (eds. The largest of the camps, Oksbøl Refugee Camp, in Oksbøl on the west coast of Jutland, held 37,000 refugees. National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark, History of Greenland § Strategic importance, "The diaries: Quisling sealed Denmark's WWII fate", "Dan Hilfling Petersen: 9. april 1940 — hele historien. At the same time a large demonstration gathered outside of Parliament, which led the Minister of Justice, Eigil Thune Jacobsen, to remark that he didn't like to see Danish police beating up students singing patriotic songs. The Battle of Copenhagen was fought on April 2, 1801, and was part of the War of the Second Coalition (1799-1802). Britain did not fight alone, the war also involved many countries. At the capitulation, the refugee administration was handed over to Danish authorities. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. 78 received death sentences, of which 46 were carried out. In Aarhus, young girls known to have had relationships with German soldiers were dragged into streets by citizens in front of crowds of people, and had most of the hair on their heads cut off. [6] Though the effect of this was close to the creation of a one-party state, it remained a representative government. The Danish authorities were able to use their more cooperative stance to win important concessions for the country. [28] 2.1% voted for the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark, almost corresponding to the 1.8% the party had received in the 1939 elections. Lidegaard comments that the old man remained defiant: during a conversation with Ribbentrop in which the latter complained about the "barbarous cannibalism" of Russian POWs, Scavenius rhetorically asked if that statement meant that Germany didn't feed her prisoners.[27]. However, 25 Faroese ships were lost and 132 sailors died, corresponding to approx. The Germans later succeeded in raising and refitting 15 of the sunken ships. [15] Many were killed and imprisoned because of their work resisting the German authorities. The Danish army was largely demobilized, although some units remained until August 1943. 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. ", https://www.nationalbanken.dk/da/om_nationalbanken/historie/Sider/1940-1949---Bes%C3%A6ttelse,-pengeombytning-og-etablering-af-IMF.aspx, "UNDER SANDET - NY FILM AF MARTIN ZANDVLIET", "Historiker roser 'Under Sandet' selv om der skrues »liiige lovligt meget på drama-knappen«", "Foghs opgør med samarbejdspolitikken er strandet", "Denmark: Apology For Cooperation With Nazis", "The German Decision to Invade Norway and Denmark", United States Army Center of Military History, Agreement between U.S. Secretary of State and Danish Minister on the status of Greenland April 10, 1941, The BBC's Danish broadcast, 4 May 1945, 20:30 announcing the surrender of the German army units in Denmark. "Denmark and the‘European New Order', 1940–1942. Small arms ... Police officers in front of Griffenfeldtsgade 50 in Copenhagen - the communist party's head quarter. Both the Danish government and king remained in the country in an uneasy relationship between a democratic and a totalitarian system until the Danish government stepped down in a protest against German demands to institute the death penalty for sabotage. "Building Hitler's Europe: Forced Labor in the Danish Construction Business during World War II. 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. As Berlin grew tired of waiting, Joachim von Ribbentrop called Copenhagen on 23 November threatening to "cancel the peaceful occupation" unless Denmark complied. Battle of Cape Matapan: World War II Italian Naval Massacre. From 1918 until 1944 Iceland was self-governing, but the Danish king (King Christian X) was Head of State of both Denmark and Iceland. [4]) Overall this represents a very low mortality rate when compared to other occupied countries and most belligerent countries. 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". The Battle of Copenhagen was fought to force Denmark out of the hostile ‘Armed Neutrality’ of the Northern Powers – Russia, Sweden, Denmark and Prussia. 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 the government, and hold a relatively free election, with decidedly anti-Nazi results, in the middle of the war. About 380 members of the resistance were killed during the war: they are commemorated in Ryvangen Memorial Park. 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