Denmark in World War II During much of World War II , Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany . The occupation began with Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940 , and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May 1945 . Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation , most Danish institutions continued to function relatively normally until 1943 . Both the Danish government and king remained in the country in an uneasy relationship between a democratic and a totalitarian system until German authorities dissolved the government following a wave of acts of sabotage and labour strikes . Just over 3 , 000 Danes died as a direct result of the occupation . ( A further 4 , 000 Danish volunteers died fighting in the German army on the Eastern Front ) . Overall this represents a very low mortality rate ( ca . 0 . 08 % of population ) when compared to other occupied countries and most belligerent countries . ( See : World War II casualties ) . An effective resistance movement developed by the end of the war , and most Danish Jews were rescued in 1943 when German authorities ordered their internment as part of the Holocaust . In 2003 , in a speech for the 60th anniversary of the end of the 1940 – 43 collaborationist government , Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that Denmark ' s cooperation with Nazis was " morally unjustifiable " , which was the first public condemnation of the World War II era Danish leadership by a Danish leader . Invasion . The occupation of Denmark was initially not an important objective for the German government . The decision to occupy its small northern neighbor was taken to facilitate a planned invasion of the strategically more important Norway , and as a precaution against the expected British response . German military planners believed that a base in the northern part of Jutland , specifically the airfield of Aalborg , would be essential to operations in Norway , and they began planning the occupation of parts of Denmark . However , as late as February 1940 no firm decision to occupy Denmark had been made . The issue was finally settled when Adolf Hitler personally crossed out the words " die Nordspitze Jütlands ( the Northern tip of Jutland ) " and replaced them with " Dä " , a German abbreviation for Denmark . Although the Danish territory of South Jutland was home to a significant German minority , and the province had been regained from Germany as a result of a plebiscite resulting from the Versailles Treaty , Germany was in no apparent hurry to reclaim it . In a much more vague and longer - term way , some Nazis hoped to incorporate Denmark into a greater " Nordic Union " at some stage , but these plans never materialized . Officially Germany claimed to be protecting Denmark from a British invasion . At 4 : 15 on the morning of 9 April 1940 , German forces crossed the border into neutral Denmark , in direct violation of a German – Danish treaty of non - aggression signed the previous year . In a coordinated operation , German ships began disembarking troops at the docks in Copenhagen . Although outnumbered and poorly equipped , soldiers in several parts of the country offered resistance ; most notably the Royal Guard in Copenhagen and units in South Jutland . At the same time as the border crossing , German planes dropped the notorious OPROP ! leaflets over Copenhagen calling for Danes to accept the German occupation peacefully , and claiming that Germany had occupied Denmark in order to protect it against Great Britain and France . Colonel Lunding from the Danish army ' s intelligence office later confirmed that Danish intelligence knew the attack would be coming on either 8 or 9 April and had warned the government accordingly . The Danish ambassador to Germany , Herluf Zahle , issued a similar warning which was also ignored . As a result of the rapid turn of events , the Danish government did not have enough time to officially declare war on Germany . Denmark was in an untenable position in any event , however . Its territory and population were too small to hold out against Germany for any sustained period . Its flat land would have resulted in it being easily overrun by German panzer s ; Jutland , for instance , was wide open to a panzer attack from Schleswig - Holstein to the south . Unlike Norway , Denmark had no mountain ranges from which a drawn - out resistance could be mounted . Sixteen Danish soldiers died in the invasion , but after two hours the Danish government surrendered , believing that resistance was useless and hoping to work out an advantageous agreement with Germany . The flat territory of Jutland , immediately adjacent to Germany , was a perfect area for the German army to operate in , and the surprise attack on Copenhagen had made any attempt to defend Zealand impossible . The Germans had also been quick to establish control over the bridge across the Little Belt , thus gaining access to the island of Funen . Believing that further resistance would only result in the futile loss of still more Danish lives , the Danish cabinet ultimately decided to bow to the German pressure " under protest " . The German forces were technologically sophisticated and numerous ; the Danish forces comparatively tiny and used obsolete equipment ; partially a result of a pre - war policy of trying to avoid antagonizing Germany by supplying the army with modern equipment . Even stiff resistance from the Danes would not have lasted long . Questions have been raised around the apparent fact that the German forces did not seem to expect any resistance , invading with unarmored ships and vehicles . Faroe Islands . After the occupation of Denmark , British forces made a pre - emptive invasion of the Faroe Islands – then still a Danish amt ( county ) – to prevent their occupation by German troops . Iceland . From 1918 until 1944 Iceland was self - governing , but the Danish King was Head of State of both Denmark and Iceland . As with the Faroe Islands , the United Kingdom occupied Iceland ( to pre - empt a German occupation ) but later turned it over to the United States , before that country entered the war in 1941 . Iceland became a fully independent republic in 1944 and has remained so thereafter . Greenland . Regarding Greenland , on 9 April 1941 , the Danish envoy ( ambassador ) to the United States , Henrik Kauffmann , signed a treaty with the U . S . , authorising it to defend Greenland and construct military stations there . Kauffmann was supported in this decision by the Danish diplomats in the United States and the local authorities in Greenland . Signing this treaty " in the name of the King " was a clear violation of his diplomatic powers , but Kauffmann argued that he would not receive orders from an occupied Copenhagen . Protectorate Government 1940 – 43 . Historically , Denmark had a large amount of interaction with Germany . In 1920 the country had regained possession of the northern part of Schleswig after losing the provinces during the Second Schleswig War in 1864 . The Danish people were , however , divided about what the best policy toward Germany might be . Few were ardent Nazis ; some explored the economic possibilities of providing the German occupiers with supplies and goods ; others eventually formed resistance groups towards the latter part of the war . The majority of Danes , however , were unwillingly compliant towards the Germans . As a result of the cooperative attitude of the Danish authorities , German officials claimed that they would " respect Danish sovereignty and territorial integrity , as well as neutrality . " The German authorities were inclined towards lenient terms with Denmark , for several reasons : These factors combined to allow Denmark a very favourable relationship with Nazi Germany . The government remained somewhat intact , and the parliament continued to function more or less as it had before . They were able to maintain much of their former control over domestic policy . The police and judicial system remained in Danish hands , and unlike most occupied countries , King Christian X remained in the country as Danish head of state . The German Reich was formally represented by a " Reichsbevollmächtigter " ( ' Reich Plenipotentiary ' ) , i . e . a diplomat accredited to the Sovereign , a post awarded to Cecil von Renthe - Fink , the German ambassador , and then in November 1942 to the lawyer and SS general Werner Best . Danish public opinion generally backed the new government , particularly after the fall of France in June 1940 . There was a general feeling that the unpleasant reality of German occupation must be confronted in the most realistic way possible , given the international situation . Politicians realized that they would have to try hard to maintain Denmark ' s privileged position by presenting a united front to the German authorities , so all of the mainstream democratic parties formed a new government together . Parliament and the government agreed to work closely together . Though the effect of this was close to the creation of a one - party state , it remained a representative government . The Danish government was dominated by Social Democrat s , including the pre - war prime minister Thorvald Stauning , who had been strongly opposed to the Nazi party . Stauning himself was deeply depressed by the prospects for Europe under Nazism . Nonetheless , his party pursued a strategy of cooperation , hoping to maintain democracy and Danish control in Denmark for as long as possible . There were many issues that they had to work out with Germany in the months after the occupation . In an effort to keep the Germans satisfied , they compromised Danish democracy and society in several fundamental ways : In return for these concessions , the Danish cabinet rejected German demands for legislation discriminating against Denmark ' s Jewish minority . Demands to introduce the death penalty were likewise rebuffed , and so were German demands to allow German military courts jurisdiction over Danish citizens . Denmark also rejected demands for the transfer of Danish army units to German military use . Stauning remained prime minister until his death in 1942 , as head of a coalition cabinet encompassing all major political parties ( the exceptions being the tiny Nazi party , and the Communist Party , which was outlawed in 1941 as discussed ) . Vilhelm Buhl replaced him briefly , only to be replaced by foreign minister Erik Scavenius , who had been the main link to the Nazi authorities throughout the war . Scavenius was a diplomat , not an elected politician , and had an elitist approach to government . He was afraid that emotional public opinion would destabilize his attempts to build a compromise between Danish sovereignty and the realities of German occupation . Scavenius felt strongly that he was Denmark ' s most ardent defender . After the war there was much recrimination over his stance , particularly from members of the active resistance , who felt that he had hindered the cause of resistance and threatened Denmark ' s national honour . He felt that these people were vain , seeking to build their own reputations or political careers through emotionalism . The Danish authorities were able to use their more cooperative stance to win important concessions for the country . They continually refused to enter a customs and currency union with Germany . Danes were concerned both about the negative economic effects of the German proposals , as well as the political ones . German officials did not want to risk their special relationship with Denmark by forcing an agreement on them , as they had done in other countries . The Danish government was also able to stall negotiations over the return of South Jutland to Germany , ban " closed - rank uniformed marches " that would have made nationalist German or Danish Nazi agitation more possible , keep National Socialists out of the government , and hold a relatively free election , with decidedly anti - Nazi results , in the middle of the war . Danish military officials also had access to sensitive German information , which they delivered to the Allies under government cover . The economic consequences of the occupation were also mitigated by German - Danish cooperation . Inflation rose sharply in the first year of the war , as the German Army spent a large amount of German military currency in Denmark , most importantly on military installations and troop deployments . Due to the Occupation , the National Bank of Denmark was compelled to exchange German currency for Danish notes , effectively granting the Germans a gigantic unsecured loan with only vague promises that the money would eventually be paid , something which never happened . The Danish government was later able to renegotiate the Germans ' arbitrary exchange rate between the German military currency and the Danish Krone to reduce this problem . The success most often alluded to in regard to the Danish policy toward Germany is the protection of the Jewish minority in Denmark . Throughout the years of its hold on power , the government consistently refused to accept German demands regarding the Jews . The authorities would not enact special laws concerning Jews , and their civil rights remained equal with those of the rest of the population . German authorities became increasingly exasperated with this position but concluded that any attempt to remove or mistreat Jews would be " politically unacceptable . " Even the Gestapo officer Dr . Werner Best , plenipotentiary in Denmark from November 1942 , believed that any attempt to remove the Jews would be enormously disruptive to the relationship between the two governments and recommended against any action concerning the Jews of Denmark . King Christian X remained in Denmark throughout the war , a symbol of courage much appreciated by his subjects , though the story claiming that he would wear the Star of David if Jews were forced to do so is apocryphal . Free Corps Denmark . On 29 June 1941 , days after the invasion of the USSR , " Free Corps Denmark " was founded as a corps of Danish volunteers to fight against the Soviet Union . " Free Corps Denmark " was set up at the initiative of the SS and DNSAP who approached Lieutenant - Colonel C . P . Kryssing of the Danish army shortly after the invasion of the USSR had begun . The Nazi paper " Fædrelandet " proclaimed the creation of the corps on 29 June 1941 . According to Danish law , it was not illegal to join a foreign army , but active recruiting on Danish soil was illegal . The SS disregarded this law and began recruiting efforts – predominantly recruiting Danish Nazis and members of the German - speaking minority . The Danish government discovered this and decided to concentrate on persuading the Germans not to recruit underage boys . General Prior wanted to sack Kryssing and his designated second - in - command but decided to consult the cabinet . It agreed that Kryssing should be sacked in its meeting on 2 July 1941 , but this decision was later withdrawn when Erik Scavenius — who had not attended the original meeting — returned from negotiations and announced that he had reached an agreement with Renthe - Fink that soldiers wishing to join this corps could be given leave until further notice . The government issued an announcement stating that " Lieut . Colonel C . P . Kryssing , Chief of the 5th Artillery reg . , Holbæk , has with the consent of the Royal Danish Government assumed command over ' Free Corps Denmark ' " . The Danish text only explicitly said that the government recognized that Kryssing had been given a new command , it did not sanction the creation of the corps , which had already happened without its creators asking the government ' s consent . In July 1941 Heinrich Himmler complained that Denmark was unofficially trying to stop recruitment , since the word ran in the army that anyone joining would be committing treason . The government later instructed the army and navy not to obstruct applications from soldiers wishing to leave active duty and join the corps . A 1998 study showed that the average recruit to " Free Corps Denmark " was a Nazi , a member of the German minority in Denmark , or both , and that recruitment was very broad socially . Historian Bo Lidegaard notes : " The relationship between the population and the corps was freezing cold , and legionnaires on leave time and again came into fights , with civilians meeting the corps ' volunteers with massive contempt . " Lidegaard gives the following figures for 1941 : 6 , 000 Danish citizens had signed up to German army duty ; 1 , 500 of these belonged to the German minority in Denmark . Anti - Comintern pact . On 20 November 1941 , 5 months after the invasion of the USSR , the Danish government received a German " invitation " to join the Anti - Comintern pact . Finland accepted reluctantly on 25 November and stated that it presumed that Denmark would also attend the ceremony ( effectively conditioning its own attendance ) . Erik Scavenius argued that Denmark should sign the pact but the Cabinet ministers refused , stating that this would violate the policy of neutrality . Scavenius reported this decision to Renthe - Fink . Fink replied on 21 November that " Germany would be unable to comprehend " a Danish rejection and demanded this decision be reversed before the end of the day . He assured Scavenius that the pact contained neither " political or other obligations " ( i . e . , going to war with the USSR ) . At a cabinet meeting the same day , it was suggested to seek a written confirmation of this promise in an addendum to the protocol . Stauning agreed on these terms , since it would effectively make the signing meaningless . The Danish foreign office drew up a list of four terms that stated that Denmark only committed itself to " police action " in Denmark and that the nation remained neutral . The German foreign ministry agreed to the terms , provided that the protocol was not made public , which was the intent of the Danish foreign ministry . As Berlin grew tired of waiting , Joachim von Ribbentrop called Copenhagen on 23 November threatening to " cancel the peaceful occupation " unless Denmark complied . On 23 November , the " Wehrmacht " in Denmark was put on alert and Renthe - Fink met Stauning and Foreign Minister Munch at 10 AM stating that there would be no room for " parliamentary excuses " . If the German demands were not met Germany " would no longer be committed by the promises given on 9 April 1940 " ( the threat of a state of war , a Nazi government , and territorial dismemberment ) . In a Cabinet meeting at 2 PM that day , Stauning , Scavenius , Munch and two additional ministers advocated accession ; seven ministers opposed . In a meeting the same day in the Nine Man committee , three more ministers caved in , most notably Vilhelm Buhl , stating " Cooperation is the last shred of our defence " . Prime Minister Stauning ' s notes from the day stated : " The objective is a political positioning . But this was established by the occupation . The danger of saying no — I would not like to see a Terboven here . Sign with addendum — that modifies the pact . " Scavenius boarded a train and headed for Berlin , where he arrived on Monday 24 November . The next crisis came when he was met by Renthe - Fink , who informed him that Ribbentrop had informed Fink that there had been a " misunderstanding " regarding the four clauses and that clause 2 would be deleted . This had specified that Denmark only had police - like obligations . Scavenius had a strict mandate not to change a sentence and stated that he would be unable to return to Copenhagen with a different content from the one agreed upon , but that he was willing to reopen negotiations to clarify the matter further . This reply enraged Ribbentrop ( and rumours claim that he was considering ordering the SS to arrest Scavenius ) . The task fell to German diplomat Ernst von Weizsäcker to patch up a compromise . He watered down the wording but left the content pretty intact . Nonetheless , for Scavenius it was a strong setback that the four clauses would now only get the status of a unilateral Danish declaration ( " Aktennotitz " ) with a comment on it by Fink that its content " no doubt " was in compliance with the pact . Furthermore he was instructed to give a public speech while abstaining from mentioning the four clauses but only making general statements about Denmark ' s status as a neutral nation . Scavenius signed the pact . At the following reception , the Italian ambassador described Scavenius as " a fish dragged on land . . . a small old gentleman in a suit asking himself how on earth he got to this place " . Lidegaard comments that the old man remained defiant : during a conversation with Ribbentrop in which the latter complained about the " barbarous cannibalism " of Russian POWs , Scavenius rhetorically asked if that statement meant that Germany didn ' t feed her prisoners . When news of the signing reached Denmark , it left the population outraged , and rumours immediately spread about what Denmark had now committed itself to . The cabinet sent a car to pick up Scavenius at the ferry , to avoid his riding the train alone to Copenhagen . At the same time a large demonstration gathered outside of Parliament , which led the Minister of Justice , Eigil Thune Jacobsen , to remark that he didn ' t like to see Danish police beating up students singing patriotic songs . When Scavenius had returned to Copenhagen , he asked the cabinet to debate once and for all where the red lines existed in Danish relations with Germany . This debate concluded that three red lines existed : 1 ) No legislation discriminating against Jews , 2 ) Denmark should never join the Axis Pact between Germany , Italy , and Japan , 3 ) No unit of the Danish army should ever fight against foreign forces . To the surprise of many , Scavenius accepted these instructions without hesitation . Telegram crisis . In 1942 , Adolf Hitler transmitted a long , flattering birthday telegram to King Christian . The King replied with a simple " Spreche Meinen besten Dank aus . Chr . Rex " ( English : " Giving my best thanks . King Christian " ) sending the Führer into a state of rage at this deliberate slight , and seriously damaging Danish relations with Germany . Hitler immediately recalled his ambassador and expelled the Danish ambassador from Germany . The plenipotentiary , Rente - Fink was replaced by Werner Best and orders to crack down in Denmark were issued . Hitler also demanded that Erik Scavenius become prime minister , and all remaining Danish troops were ordered out of Jutland . Increasing resistance . As the war dragged on , the Danish population became increasingly hostile to the Germans . Soldiers stationed in Denmark had found most of the population cold and distant from the beginning of the occupation , but their willingness to cooperate had made the relationship workable . The government had attempted to discourage sabotage and violent resistance to the occupation , but by the autumn of 1942 the numbers of violent acts of resistance were increasing steadily to the point that Germany declared Denmark " enemy territory " for the first time . After the battles of Stalingrad and El - Alamein the incidents of resistance , violent and symbolic , increased rapidly . In March 1943 the Germans allowed a general election to be held . The voter turnout was 89 . 5 % , the highest in any Danish parliamentary election , and 94 % cast their ballots for one of the democratic parties behind the cooperation policy while 2 . 2 % voted for the anti - cooperation " Dansk Samling " . 2 . 1 % voted for the Nazi party , almost corresponding to the 1 . 8 % the party had received in the 1939 elections . The election , discontent , and a growing feeling of optimism that Germany would be defeated led to widespread strikes and civil disturbance s in the summer of 1943 . The Danish government refused to deal with the situation in a way that would satisfy the Germans , who presented an ultimatum to the government , including the following demands , on 28 August 1943 : A ban on people assembling in public , outlawing strikes , the introduction of a curfew , censorship should be conducted with German assistance , special ( German military ) courts should be introduced , and the death penalty should be introduced in cases of sabotage . In addition , the city of Odense was ordered to pay a fine of 1 million kroner for the death of a German soldier killed in that city and hostages were to be held as security . The Danish government refused , so on 29 August 1943 the Germans officially dissolved the Danish government and instituted martial law . The Danish cabinet handed in its resignation , although since King Christian never officially accepted it , the government remained functioning " de jure " until the end of the war , but this is a technicality . In reality — largely due to the initiative of the permanent secretary of the ministry of foreign affairs Nils Svenningsen — all day - to - day business had been handed over to the Permanent Secretaries , each effectively running his own ministry . The Germans ran the rest of the country , and the Danish Parliament did not convene for the remainder of the occupation . As the ministry of foreign affairs was responsible for all negotiations with the Germans , Nils Svenningsen had a leading position in the government . Anticipating a German attack on the Copenhagen Docks , the Danish navy had instructed its captains to resist any German attempts to assume control over their vessels . The navy managed to scuttle 32 of its larger ships , while Germany succeeded in seizing 14 of the larger and 50 of the smaller vessels ( " patruljekuttere " or " patrol cutters " ) . The Germans later succeeded in raising and refitting 15 of the sunken ships . During the scuttling of the Danish fleet , a number of vessels were ordered to attempt an escape to Swedish waters , and 13 vessels succeeded in this attempt , four of which were the larger ships ; two of the larger vessels had remained at safe harbour in Greenland . By the autumn of 1944 , these ships officially formed a Danish naval flotilla in exile In 1943 , Swedish authorities allowed 500 Danish soldiers in Sweden to train themselves as " police troops " . By the autumn of 1944 , Sweden raised this number to 4 , 800 and recognized the entire unit as a Danish military brigade in exile . Danish collaboration continued on an administrative level , with the Danish bureaucracy functioning under German command . In September 1943 , a variety of resistance groups grouped together in the Danish Freedom Council , which coordinated resistance activities . A high - profile resister was former government minister John Christmas Møller , who had fled to England in 1942 and became a widely popular commentator because of his broadcasts to the nation over the BBC . After the fall of the government , Denmark was exposed to the full extent of Nazi terror . In October the Germans decided to remove all Jews from Denmark , but thanks to an information leak from German diplomat Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz and swift action by Danish civilians , the vast majority of the Danish Jews were transported to safety in neutral Sweden by means of fishing boats and motorboats . The entire evacuation lasted two months and one man helped ferry more than 1 , 400 Jews to safety . Sabotage , unencumbered by government opposition , grew greatly in frequency and severity , though it was rarely of very serious concern to the Germans . Nonetheless , the Danish resistance movement had some successes , such as on D - Day when the train network in Denmark was disrupted for days , delaying the arrival of German reinforcements in Normandy . An underground government was established , and the illegal press flourished . Allied governments , which had been skeptical about the country ' s commitment to fight Germany , began recognizing Denmark as a full ally . The permanent secretary of the ministry of foreign affairs , Nils Svenningsen , in January 1944 suggested establishment of a Danish camp , in order to avoid deportations to Germany . Werner Best accepted this suggestion , but on condition that this camp was built close to the German border . Frøslev Prison Camp was set up in August 1944 . The building of the camp was for the sole purpose of keeping Danish Jews and other prisoners within Denmark ' s borders . The Gestapo had limited trust in the Danish police , which had a total 10 , 000 members . 1 , 960 of these were arrested and deported to Germany on 19 September 1944 . Economy . Denmark faced some serious economic problems during the war . The Danish economy was fundamentally hurt by the rising cost of raw material imports such as coal and oil . Furthermore , Denmark lost its main trading partner at that point , the UK . During years of occupation the Danish economy was more and more aligned on meeting German demands , which mainly meant agrarian products . The Danish authorities took an active part in the development and even initiated negotiations on a customs union . Those negotiations failed on the question whether the Danish krone should be abolished . The blockade against Germany affected Denmark too with unfortunate results . Since the country has virtually no natural resources of its own it was very vulnerable to these price shocks and shortages . The government had foreseen the possibility of coal and oil shortages and had stockpiled some before the war , which , combined with rationing , prevented some of the worst potential problems from coming to the country . The disruptions to the European trading network were also damaging to the economy , but all things considered , Denmark did quite well compared to other countries during the war . The country , at least certain sections of it , did so well that it has been open to the accusation of profiteering from the war . After the war there was some effort to find and punish profiteers , but the consequences and scope of these trials were far less severe than in many other countries , largely a reflection of the general acceptance of the realistic need for cooperation with Germany . On the whole , though the country fared relatively well , this is only a relative measure . Phil Giltner has worked out that Germany had a " debt " of roughly 6 . 9 billion Kroner to Denmark as a whole . This means that they had taken far more out of the Danish economy than they had put in , aside from the negative side effects of the war on trade . Post - war currency reform . The Danish National Bank estimates that the occupation had resulted in the printing press increasing the currency supply from the pre - war figure of 400 million kroner to 1 , 600 million , much of which ended up in the hands of war profiteer s . In July 1945 , two months after the liberation of Denmark , the Danish Parliament passed an emergency law initiating a currency reform , making all old banknotes void . A small number of employees at the National Bank had clandestinely begun the production of new banknotes in late 1943 . The production of new notes happened without the knowledge of the German forces located at the bank , and by the spring of 1945 the bank ' s stock of notes was sufficient to initiate the exchange . The law required was passed hastily on Friday 20 July and published the same day ; it also closed all shops for the weekend . By Monday 23 July , all old notes were officially outlawed as legal tender and any note not declared in a bank by 30 July would lose its value . This law allowed any Dane to exchange a total of 100 kroner to new notes , no questions asked . An amount up to 500 kroner would be exchanged , provided the owner signed a written statement explaining its origins . Any amount above this level would be deposited in an escrow account and only released or exchanged following scrutiny by tax officials examining the validity of the person ' s statement about the origins of this wealth . All existing bank account s were also scrutinized . Multiple exchanges of cash by the same person were avoided by the requirement that currency would only be exchanged to anybody also handing in a specified ration stamp , previously issued in a different context , which had not yet been authorized for use . The exchange resulted in a significant drop in the currency supply , and around 20 % of the 3 , 000 million kroner property declared had not previously been registered by the tax authorities . Estimates vary for the amounts of currency simply destroyed by its owners . All banknotes issued since the changeover date remain valid indefinitely ; earlier ones are not valid . Hardship and the end of the war . Most of Denmark was liberated from German rule in May 1945 by British forces commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery ; the easternmost island of Bornholm was liberated by Soviet forces , who remained there for almost a year . Although Denmark was spared many of the difficulties other areas of Europe suffered , its population still experienced hardships , particularly after the Germans took charge in 1943 . Yet on the whole , Denmark can be said to have suffered the least of all the European combatants from the war . Many were killed and imprisoned because of their work resisting the German authorities . There were small bombing raids on select targets in the country , but nothing comparable to that suffered by , for instance , neighbouring Norway or the Netherlands . One area that was badly damaged was the island of Bornholm , largely due to Soviet bombardment of the German garrison there . Just over 850 members of the resistance were killed during the war . Roughly 900 Danish civilians were killed in a variety of ways : either by being caught in air raids , killed during civil disturbances , or in reprisal killings , the so - called " clearing " - murders . 39 Danish soldiers were killed or injured during the invasion , and four were killed on 29 August 1943 when the Germans dissolved the Danish government . Some sources estimate that about 360 Danes died in concentration camps . The largest groups of fatalities were amongst Danish sailors , who continued to operate throughout the war , most falling victim to submarines . 1 , 850 sailors died . Just over 100 soldiers died as part of Allied forces . Approximately 6 , 000 Danes were sent to concentration camps during World War II , of whom about 600 ( 10 % ) died . In comparison with other countries this is a relatively low mortality rate in the concentration camps . After the war , 40 , 000 people were arrested on suspicion of collaboration . Of these , 13 , 500 were punished in some way . 78 received death sentences , of which 46 were carried out . Most received prison sentences of under four years . Many people criticized the process for victimizing " small " people disproportionately , while many politicians and businesses were left untouched . One difficult issue was deciding what to do with collaborators who were essentially " following orders " that their own government had given them , such as business executives who had been encouraged to work with the Germans . Although some members of the resistance tried to organize new political parties after the war to reshape the political order in Denmark , they were unable to do so . The only party that appeared to receive a significant boost from resistance was the Communist Party . The Communists received about one - eighth of the popular vote in the October 1945 elections . On 5 May 1945 , Denmark was officially free of German control . Citizens all over the country took black shades used to cover their window during bombing raids , and burned them in the streets . In some places this is tradition and done annually on the 5th of May every year . Allied troops ( mostly Soviet soldiers ) were released from prisons all over the country and paraded down streets in Copenhagen , Aarhus , and other cities . In Aarhus , young girls known to have had relationships with German soldiers were dragged into streets by citizens in front of crowds of people , and had most of the hair on their heads cut off . They would then be forced to march down streets to be humiliated . No one has ever been charged or arrested for these actions . German refugees . In the final weeks of the war , between 9 February and 9 May , several hundred thousand German refugees fled across the Baltic Sea , fleeing the advancing Soviet Army . For the most part , the refugees were from East Prussia and Pomerania . Many of the refugees were women , children , or elderly . Many were malnourished , exhausted , anxious or seriously ill . A third of the refugees were younger than 15 years old . The German authorities had given the refugees a privileged status , seizing Danish schools , assembly houses , hotels , factories and sports facilities for refugee housing . At the same time , thousands of Danes were deported to German prisons and concentration camps . German terror against Danish resistance fighters and civilians increased in these final months . The general sentiment among Danes saw the arrival of refugees as a new , violent German occupation . At the time of the German capitulation there were about 250 , 000 German refugees in Denmark . Already at the end of April , the German military authorities seemed to have lost control of the situation ; many refugees had no food , the sick were not treated , mortality was high , and unburied dead bodies were stored in warehouses and cellars — although this was the result of different priorities in negotiations on aid between German and Danish authorities . The Danish negotiators , led by secretary of state Nils Svenningsen , would only agree provided that approximately 4 , 000 Danish citizens , mainly policemen , who were being detained in German concentration camps , were liberated . German authorities , on the other hand , would only agree if those policemen would take an active part in defeating the Danish resistance . At the capitulation , the refugee administration was handed over to Danish authorities . Refugees were gradually moved from over 1 , 000 smaller locations to new - built camps or previous German military barracks , some of which held over 20 , 000 refugees . The largest of the camps , Oksbøl Refugee Camp , in Oksbøl on the west coast of Jutland , held 37 , 000 refugees . Camps were placed behind barbed wire and guarded by military personnel , as to avoid contact with the Danish population . In some of the camps , food rations were meagre and medical care was inadequate . In 1945 alone , more than 13 , 000 people died , among them some 7 , 000 children under the age of five . The situation was worst in the months right before and after the capitulation , when Danish hospitals and doctors were reluctant to treat German refugees . The reason for this was not only anti - German resentment , but also lack of resources , the time needed to rebuild administrative structures , and the fear of epidemic diseases which were highly prevalent among the refugees . Instead , Danish authorities established a camp - internal medical system with German medical personnel , which took some time to work adequately . In the camps , there was school education for children up to the upper secondary level , work duty for adults , study circles , theatre , music and self - issued German newspapers . After initial inadequacy , food rations became more sufficient . On 24 July 1945 , the British occupation force , contrary to Danish expectations , decided that the refugees must stay in Denmark until the situation in Germany had stabilised . The first refugees were returned to Germany in November 1946 and the last ones in February 1949 . Only very few stayed in Denmark for good . Legacy . The policy of the government , called " samarbejdspolitikken " ( cooperation policy ) is one of the most controversial issues in Danish history . Some historians argue that the relatively accommodating policy which did not actively resist the occupation was the only realistic way of safeguarding Danish democracy and people . However , others argue that accommodation was taken too far , was uniquely compliant when compared to other democratic governments in Europe , and can not be seen as part of a coherent long - term strategy to protect democracy in Denmark or Europe . In 2003 Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen characterised the cooperation as " morally unjustifiable , " the first time a Danish leader had condemned the war - era leadership .