Following the election of Donald Trump in November 2024, a significant diplomatic rift has emerged between the United States and Denmark regarding the control of Greenland. While the Trump administration views the Arctic as a pivotal strategic zone for American interests, the Danish ruling class perceives their colonial hold over Greenland as their essential link to relevance on the global stage. Fearing that their international standing would diminish to insignificance without this territory, Danish leaders have publicly opposed any infringement on their colonial dominance.
However, behind this façade of defiance lies a strategy of appeasement. To satisfy the demands of the White House, the Danish establishment has rapidly increased Arctic defense spending. Most notably, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has suggested the possibility of stationing nuclear weapons on Danish territory. This statement, effectively a subservient plea to the new US administration, indicates that the Danish state is prepared to accede to American demands—including hosting weapons of mass destruction in Greenland—provided that Danish sovereignty over the island remains technically intact.
A History of Duplicity: The 1957 Secret Agreement
Media outlets and politicians portray Frederiksen’s recent comments as a deviation from the long-standing defense policy established in 1957, which ostensibly prohibited the stationing of nuclear weapons. This narrative, however, relies on a convenient historical amnesia; the United States did, in fact, store nuclear weapons in Greenland during the Cold War with the complicity of the Danish government.
In 1957, Social Democratic Prime Minister H.C. Hansen covertly acquiesced to American demands to deploy nuclear armaments in Greenland, despite simultaneously campaigning on a platform that forbade such weapons in Denmark. Hansen argued that hosting nuclear weapons in Denmark proper would be suicidal in the event of a war between the superpowers, yet he displayed no such concern for the safety of the Greenlandic people. By secretly allowing these weapons in Greenland—legally a part of the Danish realm—he knowingly exposed the local population to the catastrophic risks associated with nuclear proliferation.
Imperialist Expansion and the Displacement of the Thule People
The roots of this exploitation can be traced to the aftermath of World War II, when the Danish bourgeoisie forged a subservient alliance with American imperialism. A 1951 treaty granted the US military unfettered access to expand facilities in Greenland, establishing a forward operating base against the Soviet Union.
The expansion of the Thule Air Base (now Pituffik Space Base) had devastating consequences for the indigenous Inuit population. In 1953, to accommodate US military needs, Danish colonial authorities ordered approximately 30 families to evacuate their homes within three days. Under the threat that their houses would be razed, these families were forcibly relocated 150 kilometers north to what is now Qaanaaq.
Upon arrival, the displaced families found a desolate wasteland lacking housing or supplies. The scarcity of game in the new settlement led to widespread hunger. When the Thule people attempted to return to their original lands in desperation, Danish authorities responded by burning down their former homes, cementing the misery inflicted by this imperialist collaboration.
The 1968 B-52 Nuclear Disaster and Cover-Up
The inherent dangers of this secret arrangement materialized on January 21, 1968, when an American B-52 bomber crashed onto the frozen fjord near Thule Air Base. The aircraft carried four hydrogen bombs, possessing a destructive capacity far exceeding that of the weapon used on Hiroshima. While a nuclear detonation was averted, the conventional explosives within the bombs detonated, scattering radioactive plutonium over an area of 7.7 square kilometers and threatening the marine ecosystem. In the wake of the crash, a massive cover-up ensued. The Danish government, publicly committed to a nuclear-free policy, denied knowledge of the weapons’ existence, while the US minimized the severity of the incident.
Prime Minister Jens Otto Krag engaged in cynical political theater, feigning outrage at the American violation of Danish policy to preserve his government, despite having personal knowledge of the nuclear stockpiles documented in his own diary.
The Human Cost of Capitalist Negligence
The cleanup operation involved the mobilization of American, Danish, and Greenlandic personnel, later known as the Thule workers. The disparity in the treatment of these workers highlights the callous nature of the Danish administration. While American personnel were issued protective suits, Danish and Greenlandic workers were denied basic safety gear because the Danish government refused to officially admit that a nuclear accident had occurred.
The health consequences were severe. A 2005 study indicated that cancer mortality rates among Danish Thule workers were double that of the general population, with 410 out of 1,500 workers succumbing to the disease. Furthermore, the local Greenlandic population, already victims of forced displacement, suffered economic ruin as hunting and fishing were banned due to radioactive contamination. These events have left a legacy of poverty and social hardship in northwest Greenland that persists to this day.
A Legacy of Betrayal
The deception was fully exposed in 1995 with the declassification of documents proving that successive Danish governments had lied to the public for 38 years. Despite this, the Danish legal system has continued to protect state interests over justice; in 2003, the Supreme Court rejected the Thule people’s claims for compensation and the right to return, illustrating the judiciary’s role in defending the crimes of the bourgeoisie.
Today, as Mette Frederiksen postures as a protector of Greenland against Trump while simultaneously entertaining nuclear deployment, it is evident that the Danish ruling class remains a loyal instrument of American imperialism. History demonstrates that the working class and the oppressed can place no trust in politicians who treat them as pawns in imperialist power struggles and sacrifice their safety for capitalist interests.