Greenland in World War II
Economically, Greenland traded successfully with the United States, Canada and Portugal, which, supplemented by the cryolite exports, caused a reanimation and permanent realignment of the island's economy.
After the invasion of Denmark on 9 April 1940, Greenland was left on its own, because the United Kingdom's Royal Navy seized any ships arriving from Axis-controlled Europe.
The UK and Canada initially laid plans to occupy points of interest on the island, but the United States, still neutral, firmly rejected "third party" intervention there.
[1] Although the Danish government continued in power and still considered itself neutral, it was forced to obey German wishes in foreign policy matters.
[3] This was a cause for concern, as the Norwegians had been vying for control over part of the territory until the Permanent Court of International Justice settled the dispute in 1933.
He made an appeal to the Greenland's guides and hunters to join an elite unit tasked with patrolling the most remote areas of the colony.
The United States supplied the island and sent patrol boats to survey the east coast of Greenland although this activity was limited by seasonal ice.
The Coast Guard, in coordination with Eske Brun, created the Northeast Greenland Sledge Patrol, consisting of 15 men, many of them former hunters in the area.
Remaining contact with Copenhagen was broken off, rationing and daylight saving time was introduced, and local currency and stamps printed.
Relations with the Americans were excellent, as they provided news, provisions, humanitarian aid, and entertainment in addition to greatly expanding the island's infrastructure.
The German weather station Holzauge at Hansa Bay on the northeast coast of Sabine Island was discovered by a team from the Sledge Patrol on 11 March 1943.
Though unhurt in the firefight, the entire Sledge Patrol contingent based there was forced to make a 400-mile trek to the station at Ella Island without sleds, food, or equipment.
On 26 March, while returning to Sabine Island, the Germans ambushed Corporal Eli Knudsen at Sandodden, and accidentally killed him with a machine-gun burst meant for his dogs.
[3][10][11] In late April, Lieutenant Hermann Ritter, the officer in command of the German detachment, was taken prisoner by Marius Jensen, a member of the Sledge Patrol, and brought to the Americans after a long journey to Scoresby Sound.
[15] On 22 April 1944, six Sledge Patrol members attacked the Bassgeiger weather station and in the ensuing skirmish a German lieutenant died.
The German transport ship Externsteine, which was resupplying the station, was seized by Eastwind, renamed Eastbreeze and commissioned in the United States Coast Guard.
For a long period, a flight of six PBY Catalinas of VP-6(CG) was maintained at Bluie West One, carrying out a great variety of missions.
[20][page needed] The American presence brought Sears catalogs, with which Greenlanders and Danes ordered modern appliances and other products by mail.
[15] The film Vores mand i Amerika (The Good Traitor) covers the signing of the agreement over Greenland between Henrik Kauffmann and the United States.
A scene in the thriller The Manchurian Candidate includes an American veteran of the struggle against the German weather stations in Greenland giving a rather fanciful account of his experiences.
