7 Dec.
45
"The German
attack came as a surprise and all the invaded towns along the coast
were captured according to plan with only slight losses. In the
Oslofjord, however, the cruiser Blücher, carrying General
Engelbrecht and parts of his division, technical staffs, and
specialists who were to take over the control of Oslo, was sunk. The
plan to capture the King and members of the Government and Parliament
failed. In spite of the surprise of the attack resistance was
organized throughout the country."
That
is a brief picture of what occurred in Norway.
What happened
in Denmark is described in a memorandum prepared by the Royal Danish
Government, a copy of which I hand in as Exhibit GB-94 and an extract
from which is in Document D-628, which follows the C documents.
"Extracts
from the memorandum concerning Germany's attitude towards Denmark"
— before and during the occupation — " prepared by the
Royal Danish Government.
"On the 9th of April 1940 at
0420 hours" — in the morning that is — "the German
Minister appeared at the private residence of the Danish Minister for
Foreign Affairs accompanied by the Air Attaché of the Legation.
The appointment had been made by a telephone call from the German
Legation to the Secretary General of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
at 4 o'clock the same morning. The Minister said at once that Germany
had positive proof that Great Britain intended to occupy bases in
Denmark and Norway. Germany had to safeguard Denmark against this. For
this reason German soldiers were now crossing the frontier and landing
at various points in Zealand, including the port of Copenhagen; in a
short time German bombers would be over Copenhagen; their orders were
not to bomb until further notice. It was now up to the Danes to
prevent resistance, as any resistance would have the most terrible
consequences. Germany would guarantee Denmark territorial integrity
and political independence. Germany would not interfere with the
internal government of Denmark but wanted only to make sure of the
neutrality of the country. For this purpose the presence of the German
Wehrmacht in Denmark was required during the war . . . .
"The
Minister for Foreign Affairs declared in reply that the allegation
concerning British plans to occupy Denmark was completely without
foundation; there was no possibility of anything like that. The
Minister for Foreign Affairs protested against the violation of
Denmark's neutrality which, according to the German Minister's
statement, was in progress. The