All Steps Necessary: Danish Nuclear Policy, 1949–1960

Abstract

Danish nuclear policy was decided in the years 1949–60. The policies adopted by the Danish government in this period did not differ essentially from those of the other Western allies. For example, the government did not want the crucial decision of whether and when to use nuclear weapons to be made by the military. It should remain a political decision, in practice to be made by the US president. One distinctive Danish policy, however, was the decision not to allow storage of nuclear warheads on Danish soil ‘under the present circumstances’. The motives for this seemingly irresolute policy are discussed in this article.