The National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Arbejderparti; DNSAP) was the largest
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
before and during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
History
The party was founded on 16 November 1930, after the success of the Nazis in the German Reichstag elections of that year. The party mimicked the National Socialist German Workers' Party (
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
) in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, including the use of the swastika and
Hitler salute
The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. T ...
, the naming of their fighting force as
SA, and even the singing of a translated version of the
Horst Wessel Song. The party was
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, though not to the same degree as the German Nazis.
The party had other differences with the Germans; as Danish nationalists, they wanted the Danish border to grow to the south to take in the whole of the historical
Duchy of Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ( ...
, a move which would have brought more
ethnic Germans under Danish rule. The DNSAP considered the Germans of
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
South Schleswig
Southern Schleswig (german: Südschleswig or ', da, Sydslesvig; frr, Söödslaswik) is the southern half of the former Duchy of Schleswig in Germany on the Jutland Peninsula. The geographical area today covers the large area between the Eide ...
to be in reality
Germanized
Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...
Danes, who could be politically led back to their Danish origin. The Germans wanted to incorporate the northern portion of Schleswig into the German state. The DNSAP was also supportive of the principles of loyalty to the
Danish monarchy
The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark was alre ...
and the
Church of Denmark
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...
.
The party was initially led by
Cay Lembcke
Cay Lembcke (15 December 1885 – 31 January 1965) was a co-founder of the Denmark, Danish Boy Scouts Organization in 1910 and the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark in 1930. He was captain of the Danish Guard Hussar Regiment (Denmark), ...
, although they attracted no more than a few hundred members under his leadership and failed to gain even minor support in the elections of 1932.
Lembcke was replaced in 1933 by
Frits Clausen
Frits Clausen (12 November 1893 – 5 December 1947) was leader of the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark (DNSAP) prior to and during World War II.
Life
Born in Aabenraa, since 1864 a part of Prussia, Clausen served in the German Ar ...
, who concentrated the activities in his home territory of
North Schleswig
Southern Jutland ( da, Sønderjylland; German: Südjütland) is the name for the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called da, Nørr ...
, where the bulk of support for the DNSAP was to come from. At the 1939 elections, with about 5000 members, the party won three seats in the
Folketing
The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...
(parliament), corresponding to 1.8% of the popular vote.
DNSAP supported Hitler's invasion and subsequent occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940. A transition to Nazi government in Denmark was considered by the German administrator,
Cecil von Renthe-Fink, in the end of 1940, but due to the policy of co-operation with the legitimate Danish government, it was deemed better to wait until Germany had won the war, although DNSAP did receive some financial and political support from Germany. A major factor influencing Renthe-Fink's decision was the failure of the party's rally on 17 November 1940, planned to be the signal of the party's takeover of political power in Denmark. The rally was confronted by a huge and hostile crowd, outnumbering the participants several times, and the party members had to be protected by the Danish police. After the rally, the police had to escort the participants to safety to save them from being attacked and beaten up by the bystanders.
A rare victory for the DNSAP was its role in organizing the recruitment for
Waffen-SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
and
Frikorps Danmark (Free Corps Denmark). The DNSAP was not included in the wartime coalition government (1940–1943) and at the
1943 elections it barely improved on its pre-war performance, winning only 2.1% of the votes cast and three seats in the Folketing. The day after the election, the disappointed Clausen renounced German financial support, intending to take a more purely Danish national line.
After the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the party was officially dissolved in May 1945, and lost almost all of its popular support. However, a few individuals continued their work under the old party name. The current
National Socialist Movement of Denmark
The National Socialist Movement of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Bevægelse, DNSB) is a neo-Nazi political party in Denmark. The movement traces its origins back to National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark (DNSAP, Danmarks Nat ...
traces its origins back to the DNSAP.
''Storm Afdeling''
![Emblem of the Storm Afdeling](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Emblem_of_the_Storm_Afdeling.svg)
The D.N.S.A.P. had its own Storm Troopers — the S.A. ( da, Storm Afdeling) whose normal service dress was a brown shirt with black breeches and black top boots, a black tie and a black brassard with white swastika. Headgear could be either a black peaked cap or black forage cap. On the peaked cap was a two-part badge consisting of the nation cockade of Denmark and a runic "S" and "A" within white circle. "Full dress" uniform consisted of a brown tunic, black breeches, Sam Browne belt and a cross strap worn with a khaki shirt and tie, and forage cap. On duty, guards wore a Danish army steel helmet with a runic S.A. badge.
Electoral performance
Upper house (''Landsting'')
Parliament (''Folketing'')
See also
*
Ranks and insignia of the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark
*
Søren Kam
*
Carl Værnet
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
www.milhist.dk (in Danish)
{{Authority control
Political parties disestablished in 1945
Defunct political parties in Denmark
Political parties established in 1930
Nazi parties
Danish collaborators with Nazi Germany
1930 establishments in Denmark
1945 disestablishments in Denmark
Collaboration with the Axis Powers
Banned far-right parties
Monarchist parties
Antisemitism in Europe