Ever since the beginning of the occupation, 9 April 1940, and for its duration, the Danish authorities did everything they could, but in vain, to counteract German activity in this direction.
Under the pressure of occupying forces Denmark could not prevent her credit in the clearing balance from constantly increasing, owing to the German purchases which were made without the guarantee of any equivalent. According to the Danish Government, the credit balance of the account progressed in the following way: 31 December 1940, 388,800,000 crowns; 31 December 1941, 784,400,000 crowns; 31 December 1942, 1,062,200,000 crowns; 31 December 1943, 1,915,800,000 crowns; 31 December 1944, 2,694,600,000 crowns; 30 April 1945, 2,900 million crowns.
These data are corroborated by those of the German report which I submitted a few minutes ago under Exhibit Number RF-116 (Document Number EC-86), and according to which, on 31 March 1944, the Germans had procured for themselves means of payment, through clearing, amounting to a total sum of 2,243 million crowns.
It has not been possible to establish the use the occupants made of the sum of 7,730 million crowns which they obtained fraudulently, to the detriment of Denmark, with the help of the indemnity of occupation and of clearing.
The information which we have up to now does not enable us to estimate the extent of the operations carried out by the Germans on the black market. Nevertheless, the writer of the report of 10 October 1944, presented previously, indicates; and I quote:
“An estimate of the amounts spent on the black market must not be made. Of course, one may assume that members of the Wehrmacht are buying at top prices butter and other products in Denmark. But it is impossible to fix these sums even approximately, for the black market seems to be less widespread and less well co-ordinated than in the other occupied territories of the West, and is closer to the structure of the German black market with its fluctuating prices. Nevertheless, the prices of the Danish black market can generally be considered as much lower than the German prices. It is, therefore, not possible to speak of an average high price, as for instance in France, Belgium, and Holland.”
It is worth noting that the Germans, and especially members of the Wehrmacht, used to operate on the black market and that payment was effected with funds extorted from Denmark.
Concerning the apparently regular requisitions, we also lack the necessary information to be able to give precise details. Nevertheless, according to a secret report of 15 October 1944, addressed by the German officer of the Economic Staff for Denmark to his superiors in Frankfurt an der Oder, a document discovered by the United States Army and which I submit as Document Number RF-117, the following goods were requistioned by his department:
“From January to July 1943, 30,000 tons of turf; in May 1944, 6,000 meters of wood. . . .”
The writer adds that they tried to push this production to 10,000 cubic meters per month.