Suluk # 02•2005 64 ASS./FOTO/PHOTO: NARSAQ FOTO ASS./FOTO/PHOTO: NARSAQ FOTO
● When the war came to Qassiarsuk USA established several airbases in <strong>Greenland</strong> during World War II. The presence of the Americans changed everyday life in <strong>Greenland</strong> for ever. Former sheep farmer Erik Røde Frederiksen from Qassiarsuk near Narsarsuaq tells about the change By Tupaarnaq Rosing Olsen - The mood was festive on Liberation Day, May 5th 1945, because we had been part of the war. The contact man came over to Qassiarsuk to give us the news. Flags were hoisted and everyone was happy. The connection to Denmark, which was important to <strong>Greenland</strong>ers, could now be re-established, remembers the old sheep farmer. Erik Røde Frederiksen experienced the closeness of war in his childhood village of Qassiarsuk in South <strong>Greenland</strong>. A war that ended 60 years ago and which brought new times to <strong>Greenland</strong>. Before the start of World War II, the Danish government institution called the <strong>Greenland</strong> Agency had been extremely reluctant to issue travel permits to <strong>Greenland</strong>. It was the opinion of the colonial power i.e. Denmark, that the pace of development in <strong>Greenland</strong> should be controlled. But the war put an end to this policy of isolation. After April 9th, 1940 the country suddenly swarmed with Americans and Canadians. It was a time of change in more ways than one. The huge American mail order catalogue from Sears & Roebuck offered alternatives to the Danish goods stocked in the Royal <strong>Greenland</strong> Trading Company stores, which had previously had a trade monopoly. Money was no problem either, although there were shortages of some items. The soughtafter cryolite from the quarry at Ivittuut in South <strong>Greenland</strong> was shipped to the USA and used in the manufacture of fighter and bomber planes in the aircraft industry. The cryolite funded steady supplies to <strong>Greenland</strong> throughout the war and lead to lively trade with the USA and Canada. Many have claimed <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Greenland</strong> inflight magazine 65 that April 9th, 1940 was the most important date for <strong>Greenland</strong> in the 20th century, because it was the beginning of the end of 219 years of colonial rule. The budding desire for independence flourished 60 years ago in the post-war period and it is still a significant part of political motivation today. The Americans built several air and navy bases in <strong>Greenland</strong> and these were used as stepping stones for transport of aircraft to Europe and for safe harbours for supply ships crossing the Atlantic, where German submarines lurked in the depths. The population of <strong>Greenland</strong> was never directly involved in battle action, but there are still strong recollections of how ordinary, everyday life was changed. This applies to 77-year-old Erik Røde Frederiksen. In Narsarsuaq, on the opposite side of the fjord to Qassiarsuk, the Americans built an air base, a harbour and, later on, a large military hospital which treated wounded soldiers on their way to the USA from the fronts in Europe. Military security at the base presented the population with a series of problems: restrictions on freedom of movement, loss of hunting and fishing grounds, pollution of the fjord and a ban on contact between the local population and the American soldiers. But Narsarsuaq was mysteriously attractive for an inquisitive young man. And then there was the dump, where it was possible to find a lot of exciting things. Erik Røde Frederiksen clearly remembers that every day life changed when the war came to Qassiarsuk. Source of food lost - After the arrival of the Americans in the summer of 1941 it was no longer possible to get to Narsarsuaq. The base was off limits to all civilians, tells Erik Røde Frederiksen, who is one of the few people who still remembers what influence the American base in Narsarsuaq had on the one hundred or more inhabitants in Qassiarsuk as well as on the inhabitants of Qaqortoq, Narsaq and Igaliku, who were also denied access to the military area. - Narsarsuaq was our source of food. The river, which had lots of arctic char, was closed to us. So were the valley slopes, where we hunted ptarmigan, hare and fox and gathered firewood for the winter. A lot of hay grew on the shallow foreshore and we used to row out to gather it. When Narsarsuaq was built, it was all closed to us. We lost a lot. Instead, we were allowed to collect discarded wood from the dump every 14 days or once a month during the war, tells Erik Røde Frederiksen. Heavy air traffic Narsarsuaq was constructed to meet all the requirements of a military base. It started as a tent camp and later came barracks, canteens, recreation facilities, workshops, warehouses and everything else that is required for a »camp« with 3-4,000 people. More than 400,000 tons of equipment and supplies were shipped to Narsarsuaq during the period. After only 6 months the first aircraft landed on the runway – the first of more than 100,000 aircraft that landed and took off from Narsarsuaq during the war. Pollution and salvation - Unfortunately, the military activity ASS./FOTO/PHOTO: NARSARSUAQ MUSEUM
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