Aldrig mere en 9. april! - Forsvarskommandoen

Aldrig mere en 9. april!
Genopbygningen af Danmarks forsvar 1945-1951.
English Summary
When the Second World War ended in May 1945 the Danish armed forces had virtually
ceased to exist. A few ships had managed to escape to Sweden in August 1943 and they
were, together with the so called Danish Brigade, which had been established in Sweden
during the war, able to return to Denmark in May 1945.
The rebuilding of the Danish Armed Forces was just one of many tasks the Danish Government
had to contend with following the German surrender. The primary and most
pressing tasks were mine clearance and taking care of German refugees in Denmark.
Until 9 April 1940, Denmark had succeeded in maintaining its neutrality, but the German
occupation provided proof positive that declaring itself neutral was no longer a guarantee,
if it ever had been, for its national security. In fact Denmark itself breached its declared
status of isolated neutrality in 1945 when it joined the United Nations. Be that is it may, in
my opinion Denmark retained a de facto neutrality policy until it joined NATO in April 1949.
The rebuilding of the Danish armed forces was not an issue capable of attracting the attention
of Danish politicians until the "Easter Crisis" of March 1948. In the first years following
the liberation, they waited in vain for guidelines from the United Nations and even when
they did not arrive, the rebuilding of the country’s defences held a low priority because the
Danish economy was in a slump. The navy bought or leased a few ships and the army
acquired some hardware, mainly earmarked for the Danish participation in the occupation
of Germany.
And then suddenly, in the beginning of March 1948, the Danish government issued orders
for the army and navy to prepare for an attack or coup against the Danish government.
The response of positive impotence revealed to the Danish politicians just how bad a state
the Danish forces were in and they began looking for new allies who could support Denmark
should the Soviet Union attack or attempt to apply pressure on the country. After an
abortive attempt to create a Nordic Defence Union in February 1949, the Danish government
made the decision to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. It was no easy decision
but it was a necessary one, and with NATO membership came the sorely needed
weapons the Danish armed forces needed to defend the country.
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