1940-1945

Nazi occupation

The occupation of Denmark was different from that of any other country. The government was joined by the two large non-socialist opposition parties, the army and the police remained in place until 1944, free democratic elections were held in the spring of 1943; the occupying power did interfere with Danish internal matters, but to a wide extent it was possible to maintain normal conditions. To be sure, more than 100,000 Danish workers were more or less forced to take jobs in Germany, but all things considered the government pursued a very pragmatic policy of co-operation with the occupying power until the autumn of 1943. As the largest party, the Social Democratic Party later had to bear the responsibility and blame for this policy although farmers and capital owners reaped the financial benefits of it.

The DKP was banned in 1941 following the German attack upon the Soviet Union; the party then undertook an active part in the underground resistance and played a leading role in the resistance movement. It played a major part in connection with the two strike campaigns, one in August 1943 whose immediate result was the collapse of the policy of cooperation, and in July 1944. As a result of all this, at the end of the war communists had a strong position in the working class and enjoyed a great deal of sympathy in the rest of the population, whereas the Social Democratic Party had suffered a considerable political weakening. This was reflected by the elections in October 1945 when the Social Democratic Party obtained less than 33% of the votes and the DKP 12.5%.