Danish underground resistance began with the occupation of Denmark by Nazi Germany in World War II. At the onset of the war, Germany under the command of Adolph Hitler predicted that Britain would be the biggest thorn in the side of the Germans' conquest. Hitler and his commanders discovered the key that in the long run would take down Britain. This key involved using Norway as a staging point for all out attacks against Britain by both land and sea (Ziemke 52). Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland had declared their neutrality in September 1939, but Norway increasingly appealed to Nazi Germany as a strategic global position. Hitler approved the Weseruebung which came to be the German plan to invade Norway (Ziemke 59). Denmark, being located between Germany and Norway, became the perfect passage between both and was added to the Weseruebung plan. The fact that Danish ports could also be used to launch naval attacks against Britain also was brought up. Due only to its position, Denmark was about to enter a war it did not want to fight.
On February 29, 1940, Hitler approved the last plans to invade Denmark and Norway. The invasion occurred on April 9, 1940, with lightening speed. The XXXI corps under General der Flieger Leonard Kaupisch invaded southern and middle Denmark while airborne paratroopers were dropped at strategic cities including Aalborg in order to secure the North Jutland area and the Shetland-Norway passage which would serve as the main military passage to Norway (Ziemke 61). The various routes of German troops are shown on The Occupation of Denmark Map. As the Nazis continued to struggle in Norway for the important Trundhein-Narvik area, the weak and defenseless Danes fell to Germany after one day of limited fighting. The Danish army was very small and had no real protection against the German troops, so the government reconciled with the Germans quickly to prevent a Danish massacre. The Germans tried to validate the Weseruebung plan by stating that they were trying to ensure neutrality in Denmark and Norway as Britain drew closer and closer to making these small nations choose a side (Ziemke 67-70). The Allies were not able to help Denmark, so Germany gained a possible strategic stronghold against Britain and demonstrated once again its effective employment of modern military forces using Blitzkrieg (lightening war). This success, as it was seen in Germany, would cause no significant effect on the war’s outcome but would begin to create a terrible thorn in Germany’s side as Danish resistance to German occupation slowly emerged (Ziemke 71).

German Decision to invade Denmark.


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