Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1939, Page 381
REVUE LITTÉRAIRE
37i
the principles laid down above.
That the decision of August 5th,
1914, was desired by Germany and
was considered to be in favour of
German interests at this moment, is
as certain, as that it later on hap-
Pened to have the opposite effect
and was highly regretted by Admi-
ral Tirpitz, although he himself
Primarily had approved it (v. Al-
fred von Tirpitz, Erinnerungen.
1919, p. 323).
We have dwelled so fully on this
question, because it touches one of
rhe most important events in Den-
mark’s latest history, and because
ir often is recounted in a misleading
way as here in Mr. Joesten’s book.
Eo try to refute all his erroneous
conceptions and assertions would
he a task too hopeless. They are by
for too numerous.
Though the author disclaims
any pretence to prophetic insight”,
he still appears with the greatest as-
surance as a prophet. If one was to
helieve Mr. Joesten, Denmark will
9uite unavoidably be involved in a
new great war immediately on its
°utbreak. He knows almost exactly
how the German ultimatum to Den-
mark will be formulated.
With regard to Denmark’s value
as a basis for food supplies, ex-
Perience from 1914—1918 seems to
wdicate that Germany as well as
England is interested in the main-
íenance of Denmark’s neutrality,
which is the necessary condition for
°ur obtaining from abroad the raw
Oíaterials indispensable to our in-
dustrialized agriculture and the
only means whereby it will be pos-
sible to maintain and secure our
production. ’When this possibility is
spoiled by a hostile action, supplies
from Denmark will, in reality, soon
lose their value to a belligerent
nation. There is thus in this respect
a certain interaction between Ger-
man and English interests, which
during the Great War had the ef-
fect that both Powers did not want
to see Denmark drawn into the
war, as this could not — on proper
consideration — be of actual
advantage to them, whereas it might
become detrimental to them, poli-
tically.
Mr. Joesten violently attacks the
Danish trade policy. He insinuates
that political claims should have
been made to Denmark from Ger-
many in the course of negotiations
for trade agreements between the
two countries. The author believes
himself to be well informed with re-
gard to details of these claims. All
such assertions are, however, entirely
unbased on real facts, as it has been
plainly and unambiguously em-
phasized in a communication of the
Danish Council on Foreign Rela-
tions, in which all important poli-
tical parties are represented and
which has opportunity to follow
closely the development of Danish
foreign policy in all fields of im-
portance to this country.
Just as misleading is the assertion
that the Danish government should
have torpedoed the attempt to lay