Introduction: The Nordic Countries and the German Question after 1945

• Published in: Contemporary European History
• Main Author: LAMMERS, KARL CHRISTIAN
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2006
• Subjects: History; Norway; Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0960777306003481; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0960777306003481

This article introduces Scandinavia (or the Norden, as the region is sometimes called) and describes the position of the five Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, during the Cold War. The Cold War created a new political situation in the Nordic region, and to some degree divided the Nordic countries between East and West and also on the German question. The introduction analyses how the Nordic countries dealt with Germany – that is with the two German states, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, and also describes the role of the Soviet Union and how it tried to influence the Nordic stance on the German question.