Government Changes

After five years of German occupation the Danish government had changed greatly. For the last few years of occupation, Denmark did not have a government at all. The Danish Assembly and King Christian X abdicated their powers on August 29,1943, giving the government to the Germans and leaving a vacuum to be filled by the people. The people, in the form of the resistance movement unofficially controlled the government under the Danish Freedom Council. After liberation, the members of the Freedom Council thought that it deserved a right in government for having helped Denmark last through the occupation. They believed that those who saved Denmark should have a say in its future. Negotiations between the Freedom Council and the old politicians resulted in a government that would be an alliance between resistance and politicians. This alliance in government created a balance of power that would last for many years (Kjersgaard 78). The new Danish Assembly, although once again made up of mostly old government politicians who tended still to enact old government policies, was balanced by a strong minority of resistance leaders who acted as representatives of the people and worked to liberalize the government and strengthen its policies and country. The government became a government for the people because it was all the people in Denmark that contributed to the fact that Denmark still existed (Kjersgaard 407).
As the resistance moved into its later years, the Communist underground that had begun so many resistance groups, especially the BOPA, seemed to fade into the shadows. The Communist party still lingered in Denmark and in the 60s ad 70s it would rise up in revolt but not in a strong political form as it once did. Denmark's movement towards democracy caused it to align with the United States's dislike of Communism (Kjersgaard 96).
Also, with his abdication of power along with the Assembly, King Christian X lost much of his political sway. The king and the idea of the king was still loved by the Danish people. Not much of his popularity was ruined by giving up the government but enough that the people did not want it to happen again. When he came back into power, most of the power had already been sent into the Assembly. King Christian X remained as a powerful national figurehead. The reign of true monarchies in Denmark came to an end after German occupation (Kjersgaard 407-409).
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