859.85/676
The Danish Minister (Kauffmann) to the Secretary of State
Sir: Danish ships on the high seas and in ports the world over were placed in a very unfortunate and embarrassing situation on April 9th last year when Denmark, suddenly and without warning, was occupied by German military forces.43
Because of the fact that Denmark had been completely occupied by forces at war with Great Britain and France, and as there was no Danish Government outside of Denmark able to exercise its functions, the British and French Governments, immediately after the occupation, declared, as you will recall, that Danish ships would no longer be treated as neutral, but were technically “enemy” ships, subject to seizure and prize court proceedings, by which they could be transferred to British or French flag and registry.
In line with this policy, Danish ships in Allied ports or on the high seas, altogether more than one-third of the total Danish tonnage, [Page 79] were seized and transferred to the British or French flag. Of the Danish ships in neutral countries, representing approximately one-quarter of the total Danish tonnage, the majority remained in port in order to avoid such seizure and transfer.
A few days after the German invasion of Denmark, a Danish Shipping Committee was formed in New York. Discussions were begun with representatives of the British and French Governments, in the hope of arriving at an understanding that would make it possible for Danish ships to go to sea again.
In view of the situation in Denmark, these discussions were begun and conducted without consulting Copenhagen. They were unsuccessful. This was primarily because no agreement could be reached on the flag issue. The Shipping Committee maintained that it had no authority to agree to a transfer to foreign flag and registry; the Allied Governments considered a transfer of the ships to their registries absolutely essential in order to safeguard the ships against legal actions that the owners of the vessels or the Danish authorities might be forced to take under German duress.
While some Danish ships, against orders from Copenhagen, have left neutral ports, accepting the terms offered by the British and French Governments, the majority of the Danish ships in neutral countries remained where they were. Most of the captains and agents abroad considered it beyond their authority voluntarily to accept seizure by a belligerent, even though the seizure was described as being of a technical nature only, and restitution to the owners after the war was promised.
Later on, from time to time, new efforts were made to solve the problem of Danish ships lying idle in neutral ports, but no positive results were ever reached. One of the reasons for this, was repeated orders from Copenhagen, undoubtedly due to German pressure, that the ships must remain in neutral ports for the duration of the war. As time went on, these orders became not only more explicit and emphatic, but wider in scope. Lately, all Danish ships in United States ports have received telegrams from the owners in Denmark instructing the crews to leave the ships immediately if they were to sail, and under no circumstances to sign on other ships.
Furthermore, it has been indicated from various sources that pressure is at present brought to bear on the government in Denmark by the German authorities, to have a law passed curtailing the freedom of Danish seamen to sign on ships under foreign flag.
In view of the fact that the obstacles against using ships flying the Danish flag have shown themselves to be insurmountable, I have held the opinion for several months that Danish ships would not be permanently allowed to remain in American ports at a time when the [Page 80] shortage of ships is steadily increasing, but that Danish ships, sooner or later, would have to face requisitioning by government action. This opinion I repeatedly expressed in reports to Copenhagen.
When the Danish ships in United States ports were taken into custody on March 30th last, and when news of the proposed American legislation authorizing requisitioning of foreign ships became known, I received instructions from the Foreign Office in Copenhagen to lodge, on behalf of the Danish Government, an emphatic protest against any measures to be taken by the American Government aiming, contrary to the rules of international law, to requisition Danish ships either for title or for use.
Although aware of the fact that it could be made a matter of discussion whether the planned requisitioning was in conformity with international law, and that such requisitioning in previous cases had been challenged, both diplomatically and by some of the most highly recognized legal authorities, I was of the opinion that a protest of the kind intended by Copenhagen would not serve its purpose under present circumstances. I felt that it was more in line with true Danish interests to regard the planned requisition as the inevitable and sole means of solving an otherwise insolvable problem created by circumstances beyond the control of the Danish and American Governments, and to strive for the protection of Danish interests on that basis. I considered this line of thought to be the more appropriate, both from the point of view of the Danish interests in general, and from the point of view of the more specific interests of the Danish shipowners and the Danish crews.
My views in this respect, which I made known to Copenhagen, and which made it impossible for me to associate myself with the protest formulated by the Government in Denmark, were greatly strengthened by the repeated assurances given me by various officers of the American Government, that any Danish shipowner whose ship might be requisitioned would receive just and adequate compensation.
I have noted with great satisfaction that this fundamental principle, as I understand it, has found explicit expression, both in the resolution regarding requisitioning of foreign-flag vessels in American ports adopted unanimously by the Inter-American Financial and Economic Advisory Committee on April 26th, 1941,44 and in the bill before Congress (H. R. 4466), authorizing the acquisition by the United States of idle ships in United States ports.45 And while it is obviously my duty, as representative of my country, to reserve the rights of my nationals in regard to the application of said principle in the individual [Page 81] cases that may arise, I beg leave to assure you once more, Mr. Secretary, of my earnest desire to cooperate most fully and frankly with the American authorities in order to settle, as quickly and as harmoniously as possible, the various questions necessarily arising in connection with the impending transfer of Danish ships in United States ports to the American flag.
In my opinion, a requisition for use will serve the purpose of the planned requisitioning just as satisfactorily as a requisition for title. As I have had the honor to point out on numerous occasions, Danish shipowners consider it to be of the greatest importance that Danish ships in United States ports be requisitioned, not for title, but only for use, and that the ships be returned to the Danish owners as soon as the present emergency is over, adequate insurance cover to be given to enable owners to replace any tonnage lost.
Danish shipping has in past years been an important source for providing Denmark with foreign exchange, especially the dollar balances necessary to serve the various dollar loans, and to pay for our imports from the United States, vastly exceeding our exports to this country. Over and above the disruption of the economic life in Denmark and the other losses caused by the German occupation, the German debt to the National Bank of Denmark, after one year of occupation, has reached an amount corresponding to nearly one-third of the total national income of Denmark in a normal year. Denmark, not provided with raw materials or rich natural resources, undoubtedly will be a very poor country after the war, both from a financial and a broader economic point of view. This economic disaster means little to us Danes compared with the present loss of our freedom; however, the task of reconstruction after the war will be an arduous one, and one of the most pressing problems unquestionably will be the difficulty of obtaining the foreign exchange necessary to meet our foreign debt and to pay for the imports vital to the welfare of the people and the economic reconstruction of the country.
It is, therefore, of paramount importance not only to Danish shipowners, but to the Danish community in general, that the earning power of Danish shipping be kept alive during the war and that the ships be returned to their owners as soon as the emergency is over.
I trust that the American Government will share these views, and that the long and never broken friendship between Denmark and the United States, and the understanding your Government and the American people have shown my country in its present plight, will find expression also on this occasion. I am confident that the various important questions arising from the requisitioning of the ships can be settled, not by recourse to litigation, but by friendly discussions on the basis of the principles of justice.
I avail myself [etc.]
- See Foreign Relations, 1940, vol. i, pp. 136 ff.↩
- For text of resolution, see Department of State Bulletin, May 3, 1941, p. 531. For correspondence pertaining to requisitioning of foreign flag vessels, see vol. vi .↩
- Introduced April 22, 1941, Congressional Record, vol. 87, pt. 3, p. 3251.↩