Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1939, Blaðsíða 375
REVUE LITTÉRAIRE
365
a nation in the following dis-
paraging phrases:
"The Danes are a nation of epi-
cureans. They do not seem to
cherish any higher ambition than to
jnake money, eat and drink to their
neart’s content and enjoy them-
Selves. They look on life with great
Zest and a touch of scepticism. They
do not know of any ideas worth
sacrifices nor a cause for which they
w°uld gladly give their lives.”
This is the author’s quite gene-
falizing utterances of the nation,
who, under the most difficult con-
^itions, have fought and suffered
ln the defence of their nationality
111 South Jutland. — Comments
°ught here, indeed, to be super-
fluous.
That Mr. Joesten finds the Da-
nish defence-policy or rather lack
°f defence-policy incomprehensible,
'•hat he feels strongly antagonistic
towards the Danish “defence-nihil-
lsme”, especially in the present si-
•^uation of world-politics and in
Vlew of the other Northern coun-
tries’ reaction against it, of this the
reviewer can find no justifiable rea-
s°n to complain. But his statement
shows clearly that he really lacks
understanding even of the defence-
Political problems, and Danes have
°nly to shake their heads at many
details in his account. The author
seems to be quite unable to under-
stand the historical evolution, which
hus led to the present political si-
tuation, which many Danes so high-
ly regret and are doing their best
Le Noid, 1939, 3
to remedy. But when Mr. Joesten
wants to have the Danish defence
completely adjusted to one side, this
will meet with unanimous refusal.
Any Danish defence has no other
aim than the maintenance of abso-
lute neutrality in order to keep the
country out of war.
The author’s whole prejudgment
shows that he really is unable to
understand Denmark’s position. On
an ideological-political background
he divides Europe in two blocs: pro
and contra Nazism, and looks upon
all political phenomena in this light.
The different countries — also Den-
mark — is placed after this divi-
sional line. It is very simple and
easy, but has nothing to do with
the most primitive sense of political
realities. On page 106 the author
states the following:
“Friends of Denmark are all
those nations and individuals (sic!),
who stand, as she does, for peace,
democracy, progress and civil li-
berties. Arch-enemy of Denmark is
not the German people as such, but
Nazism, which plots to do to the
Danish neighbour, what it has al-
ready done to the Austrians and the
Czechs — and before that to its
own nation — enslave, rob and
murder him.”
But it is a fundamental misunder-
standing to place Denmark, directly
or indirectly, within any form of
bloc-policy. Denmark does not
want to side with any of the par-
ties, but to keep aloof. The Danish
neutrality-policy is deeply rooted
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