RESISTANCE IN DENMARK

In the spring of 1940, the people of Denmark were very afraid. Only six months earlier, in September 1939, Germany had attacked Poland. Now Germany--a large and powerful country--had its eyes on Denmark. King Christian X knew that Germany would beat Denmark terribly if the two countries went to war.

When Germany finally invaded Denmark on April 9, 1940, the Danish people barely put up a fight. They knew that many Danish people might be hurt if Denmark tried to resist an attack from from an enemy as large as Germany. Denmark made the right decision. Fortunately, Germany's invasion was not violent. Very few Danes were injured, and Germany allowed Denmark to keep its government and its military.

As time passed, Denmark became increasingly uncomfortable with German occupation. Denmark wanted to keep the food it produced rather than send it to Germany to feed Nazi troops. The Danes grew tired of seeing Nazi soldiers on every street corner; they wanted their country to themselves again. Most of all, however, the people of Denmark wanted the Nazis out of Denmark. The Danes could not make the Germans leave, though; the Danish army wasn't large enough.

Although they couldn't fight them openly, many Danes began to resist the German invaders--they fought against them in secret ways. The main way was through their newspapers. Germany allowed the Danish to continue to publish their newspapers as they had before the war. To make sure that Danish newspapers did not write bad things about Germany, Nazi censors screened the news articles every day. If they found negative articles about Germany, they forced the Danish newspaper workers to change or remove them. The Danes who ran the papers were very clever, however. They tricked the Germans with newspaper stories that made fun of or complained about Germany, but in ways that were not obvious to the Germans. For example, a Danish newspaperman might place a serious story about a German victory next to a funny picture of a pig. Danes reading the paper understood the message.

Meanwhile, outside of Denmark, the Nazis imprisoned or killed many Jews and other people they believed were not as good as themselves. America and its allies fought Germany in planes, ships, and on land. Danish newspapers were not allowed to report any of this; they were only allowed to report news that made Germany look good. Some Danes started newspapers that told all the news--not just the news that Germany wanted Denmark to read. These illegal papers were written and handed out secretly, without German approval. They reported American victories and German losses, and they also let people know about other secret activities in Denmark that helped to make things difficult for Germany. The people who wrote them were in danger of going to jail, but this did not stop them. There were lots of these secret papers. Over time, more and more Danes wrote, distributed, and read the newspapers.

Danish disc jockeys who worked for radio stations also tried to help resist the Nazi occupation. These radio announcers used their voices to communicate their true opinion of Germany. For example, when a Dane was required to read a report about German victories on the radio, he or she might read the report in a low voice with very little energy. Radio listeners hearing the voice knew that the speaker would rather not have reported those German victories.

All Danes could use one of the secret ways to work against Germany. It was known as the "V" campaign. People used the letter "V" as often as possible in letters, in the newspaper, on radio, and even in graffiti written on buildings and sidewalks. The "V" stood for "victory over Germany." Though Danes could not talk about Germany losing, they could use the "V" as a way to remind them that victory over Germany was possible.

The easiest way for any Dane to fight German soldiers without getting hurt was known as the "cold shoulder." They would not pay any attention to Nazi soldiers. From the King to the children-- the Danes ignored the German troops whenever possible. Once a group of Danes were gathered inside a building waiting for King Christian to arrive. When they heard the door open, they all stood up to show their respect for their king. But when they saw that it was only a Nazi official, all the Danes quickly sat down. They did not want to give any glory to Germany.

Denmark's frustration with Germany began to rise in the spring of 1943. Young men and women talked about blowing up the bridges and railroad tracks that were used by German trucks and trains. They planned to bomb Danish factories that made weapons for the Germans.

Next, click here to read about the escape of the Danish Jews.