Greenland in World War II facts for kids
When Germany invaded Denmark in April 1940, the large island of Greenland was left without its home country. It was a Danish colony, but Denmark was now occupied. This meant other countries like the United Kingdom, United States, or Canada might try to take control of Greenland. To prevent this, the United States stepped in to protect Greenland. When the U.S. joined World War II in December 1941, Greenland also became part of the war.
From 1941 to 1945, the United States built many important facilities in Greenland. These included airfields, sea ports, radio stations, and weather stations. The United States Coast Guard also helped deliver supplies to people living there. Greenland's economy did well during this time. It traded with the United States, Canada, and Portugal. Exports of a special mineral called cryolite also helped the island's economy grow and change.
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Greenland's Neutrality During the War
Before World War II, Greenland was a Danish colony. It was mostly closed off from the rest of the world. After Germany invaded Denmark on April 9, 1940, Greenland was on its own. The Royal Navy stopped any ships coming from German-controlled Europe.
The United Kingdom and Canada first planned to take over important places on the island. But the United States, which was still neutral, strongly said "no" to any outside interference. The local leaders of South and North Greenland, Eske Brun and Aksel Svane, used an old law from 1925. They declared Greenland a self-governing territory. They believed this was best for the colony since Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany.
This decision was made with Henrik Kauffmann, the Danish ambassador to the United States. It also fit with an American statement from 1920. This statement said that no other country would be accepted as the ruler of Greenland. This idea was like an extension of the Monroe Doctrine.
Greenland's Independent Actions
Even though the Danish government was still in power, it had to follow Germany's wishes in foreign policy. Ambassador Kauffmann realized his government could not truly act freely. So, he started to act independently. On April 13, he talked with the Greenland leaders. After some discussion, they agreed to recognize him as their representative in the United States.
The United States would only offer help to Greenland if its local government was independent. So, on May 3, the Greenland leaders told their local parliament that they "had no choice" but to act as a sovereign nation. The Danish Government kept sending orders by radio, but these messages were ignored. Greenland wanted to avoid being taken over by Canada and pulled into the war.
Greenlanders also knew many Norwegians were in Canada. They worried that Free Norwegian Forces might be stationed in Greenland if Canada occupied it. This was a concern because Norway and Denmark had argued over parts of Greenland until 1933. Instead, Greenland asked the United States for protection.
The U.S. Treasury Department sent two United States Coast Guard ships, USCGC Comanche and USCGC Campbell. These ships brought supplies and a team to set up a temporary consulate in Godthaab. Accepting help from the Americans was seen as less of a threat to Greenland's independence. Comanche arrived at Ivigtut on May 20 and Godthaab on May 22. This started direct diplomatic relations with Greenland. Canada sent its own consul two weeks later.
In 1940, everyone was most concerned about getting cryolite from the mine at Ivigtut. Cryolite was a very important mineral used to make aluminum. Because of diplomatic rules, American soldiers could not guard the mines. So, the U.S. State Department hired fifteen Coast Guardsmen who had left the service. These men then worked as guards for the mine.
The ships Campbell and USCGC Northland brought naval guns, machine guns, rifles, and ammunition. This way, the United States stayed neutral but still stopped British-Canadian plans for the island.
The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol
Eske Brun, a Dane in Greenland, decided Greenland should protect its own independence. He asked Greenland's guides and hunters to join a special unit. Their job was to patrol the most distant parts of the colony. Using rifles left by the Americans, he helped create the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol (Slædepatruljen Sirius). This 15-man volunteer team included native Inuit, Danish settlers, and Norwegian people.
Germany did not try to reach Greenland in 1940. However, three Norwegian ships reached Norwegian stations on the East Coast. The Royal Navy stopped two of them. The U.S. Coast Guard stopped one, which was later released. The Royal Navy destroyed the Norwegian stations, which made America protest. A German plane flew over the East Coast in November to check on a Norwegian station that had not been heard from.
In 1941, the situation changed. Lend-Lease aircraft were being sent to Britain using North Atlantic islands as "stepping stones." Again, the United Kingdom and Canada pushed for an airfield near Cape Farewell, Greenland. This led the United States and the Greenland government to make a formal agreement. The U.S. would protect the island to keep its neutrality. After surveys in 1940 and 1941, two places for air bases were found. A naval base was also set up near Ivigtut. The American bases were called Bluie West and Bluie East.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was very interested in Greenland's future. On April 9, 1941, the anniversary of Germany's occupation of Denmark, Ambassador Kauffmann signed an agreement with Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Kauffmann did this against his government's orders. This agreement allowed American troops in Greenland and made it a U.S. protectorate.
The cryolite mine in Ivigtut was very valuable. It helped Greenland manage its economy well during the war. The United States supplied the island and sent patrol boats to survey the east coast. This activity was limited by seasonal ice. The Coast Guard, with Eske Brun, created the Northeast Greenland Sledge Patrol. This group of 15 men, many of them former hunters, patrolled the coast. Their job was to find any German activity.
In 1941, no Germans landed. However, the Norwegian supply ship Buskø was found in September. Among its crew was a Norwegian civilian who planned to send weather reports to German contacts in Norway. The Coast Guard seized this ship and took it to Boston. In 1941, Royal Navy ships continued to interfere with weather stations on the east coast. A couple of German planes from Norway flew over Scoresbysund.
Greenland Joins the War
When the United States officially entered the war with Germany on December 11, Greenland became a warring nation. All contact with Copenhagen was cut off. Rationing and daylight saving time were started. Local money and stamps were printed. In 1942, the U.S. Army took over protecting the Ivigtut mine. Combat patrols began flying from Bluie West One. This base became the headquarters for the Coast Guard Greenland Patrol and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Greenland Base Command. A third air base was set up at Bluie East Two that summer.
Greenland's population was about 18,000 native people and fewer than 500 Danes. Thousands of U.S. servicemen joined them. Relations with the Americans were excellent. They brought news, supplies, humanitarian aid, and entertainment. They also greatly improved the island's infrastructure. In 1944, a five kroner coin was made in Philadelphia for American soldiers to use.
Greenland's business interests in North America were handled by the Greenland Delegation. Ambassador Kauffmann and Aksel Svane helped them. Eske Brun stayed in Greenland as the head of the unified administration.
German Weather Stations in Greenland
Both the Allies (especially Britain) and Germany wanted to control weather information in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Weather information was very important for military planning and for guiding ships and convoys. Greenland became a key part of this "North Atlantic weather war."
Starting in August 1942, the Germans secretly set up four weather stations on the east coast. The first one on Sabine Island was found in the spring. But the Germans left successfully before it was attacked. The station set up in fall 1943 on Shannon Island also worked well through the winter and spring. Its crew was taken away by air. Two stations set up in October 1944 were captured by the Coast Guard before they could get started.
The German weather station Holzauge at Hansa Bay on Sabine Island was found by a team from the Sledge Patrol on March 11, 1943. The Germans realized they had been discovered. They chased the Sledge Patrol team, who had to leave their equipment and dogs. The team retreated to the station at Eskimonæs to warn their commander, Ib Poulsen.
Poulsen reported the German base to the Greenland government on March 13, 1943. He asked for automatic weapons and more orders. Governor Brun officially called the patrol the "Army of Greenland" and named Poulsen its captain, starting March 15.
The Germans attacked Eskimonæs on March 23. They took it over and then burned the station two days later. The Sledge Patrol members there were unharmed in the fight. But they had to walk 400 miles to the station at Ella Island without sleds, food, or equipment. On March 26, while returning to Sabine Island, the Germans ambushed Corporal Eli Knudsen at Sandodden. They accidentally killed him with a machine-gun burst meant for his dogs. In late April, Lieutenant Hermann Ritter, the German commander, was captured by Marius Jensen, a Sledge Patrol member. He was taken to the Americans after a long journey to Scoresby Sound.
The German base on Sabine Island was bombed by USAAF planes from Iceland. Then, a Coast Guard landing party took it over. But all German personnel except one person had already been evacuated by a Dornier Do 26 plane. This was the only offensive air attack on the Greenland mainland, apart from some shooting between German aircraft and American ships. An American air force group attacked the station on May 14 to make sure the Germans could not use it. On April 22, 1944, six Sledge Patrol members attacked the Bassgeiger weather station. A German lieutenant died in the fight. The station was later evacuated on June 3.
The last German weather station, Edelweiss II, was captured by U.S. Army forces. Its crew was taken prisoner on November 4, 1944. The American troops landed from the icebreaker USCGC Eastwind. This ship later transferred the prisoners to USCGC Storis. The German transport ship Externsteine, which was resupplying the station, was seized by Eastwind. It was renamed Eastbreeze and joined the United States Coast Guard.
Greenland was important for air traffic in the North Atlantic during the war. But its role as a major base for anti-submarine warfare was difficult. This was due to bad weather, winter darkness, and tough logistics. For a long time, six PBY Catalina planes from VP-6(CG) were kept at Bluie West One. They carried out many different missions.
After the War
On May 5, 1945, Greenlanders in Nuuk celebrated the liberation of Denmark. The Greenland Administration, led by Eske Brun, gave up its emergency powers. It came back under direct control from Copenhagen. Ambassador Kauffmann returned to Copenhagen. Treason charges against him were dropped, and the Danish parliament approved his agreement with the United States.
The American presence in Greenland slowly decreased. The Kauffmann-Hull agreement was replaced by a new base treaty in 1951. The American presence brought Sears catalogs. Greenlanders and Danes could order modern appliances and other products by mail. Greenland's successful experience as an independent territory led to big changes and modernization in Denmark's policy towards the colony.
The Greenland Sledge Patrol had only one casualty during the war. Corporal Eli Knudsen died in March 1943.
The remains of the police station in Eskimonæs still exist today. The only building that is fully standing is the outhouse, as the Germans did not burn it. The rest is well-preserved in the Arctic environment.
Greenland in Fiction
The film Vores mand i Amerika (The Good Traitor) tells the story of the agreement over Greenland signed by Henrik Kauffmann and the United States.
A scene in the thriller The Manchurian Candidate shows an American veteran. He gives a rather imaginative story about fighting German weather stations in Greenland.
The novel Ice Brothers by former U.S. Coast Guard officer Sloan Wilson describes the experiences of the crew. It also tells about the hardships they faced on a small Coast Guard cutter that was part of the Greenland Patrol.
