Danish Reactions to German Occupation

History and Historiography

Carsten Holbraad

ISBN: 9781911307495

Publication: February 06, 2017

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What is this?

For five years during World War II, Denmark was occupied by Germany. While the Danish reaction to this period of its history has been extensively discussed in Danish-language publications, it has not until now received a thorough treatment in English. Set in the context of modern Danish foreign relations, and tracing the country’s responses to successive crises and wars in the region, Danish Reactions to German Occupation brings a full overview of the occupation to an English-speaking audience. Holbraad carefully dissects the motivations and ideologies driving conduct during the occupation, and his authoritative coverage of the preceding century provides a crucial link to understanding the forces behind Danish foreign policy divisions.

Analysing the conduct of a traumatised and strategically exposed small state bordering on an aggressive great power, the book traces a development from reluctant cooperation to active resistance. In doing so, Holbraad surveys and examines the subsequent, and not yet quite finished, debate among Danish historians about this contested period, which takes place between those siding with the resistance and those more inclined to justify limited cooperation with the occupiers – and who sometimes even condone various acts of collaboration.

Praise for Danish Reactions to German Occupation

‘Carsten Holbraad's scrupulously impartial survey of Denmark's history in the Second World War and of Danish historiography concerning the period is a great boon to Anglophone readers. Almost all of the hundreds of works he cites are available only in Danish, and most English-language studies of his topic are badly dated.’
Michigan War Studies Review

Carsten Holbraad studied at the LSE with a Leverhulme undergraduate scholarship, and gained a DPhil at the University of Sussex in the field of European history of ideas. He has held research and teaching positions at the Institute of Advanced Studies of the ANU in Canberra, Carleton University and Queen’s University in Canada, El Collegio de Mexico and at LSE and UCL. His previous books include Internationalism and Nationalism in European Political Thought (2003) and Danish Neutrality (1991).

Introduction

1. Traumas and trends
1.1 1814
1.2 1864
1.3 1914
1.4 1940

2. 1940–45: From cooperation to resistance
2.1 Support
2.2 Cooperation
2.3 Opposition

3. Since 1945: From resistance to collaboration
3.1 Concord
3.2 Conflict
3.3 Discord
3.4 Debate
3.5 Discourse

Conclusion
Notes
Works cited
Index