Denmark Urged to Reveal Long List of Nazi Collaborators

The extent of Denmark's collaboration with the Nazis during the second world war may be much greater than previously thought. A sealed national archive may contain the names of up to 300,000 Danish Nazis or Nazi sym pathisers gathered by the wartime resistance, leading historians say.

Headed by Claus Bryld, professor of modern history at Roskilde University, they want the archive - subject to an 80-year rule - opened so that the truth can be gauged.

Denmark was occupied by the Germans from April 1940 until May 1945 and for much of the time King Christian X and a string of coalition governments ran the country "as usual", ceding only military power to the occupiers.

In Britain and elsewhere Denmark's wartime record has traditionally been por trayed in a positive light, but Prof Bryld says much of its industry and agriculture collaborated with the Nazis for the sake of the money, and 12,000 Danes fought in a regiment against the Russians.

He said: "I'm not talking about printing all 200,000 or 300,000 names, but historians and the public should have access to them."

The information needed to be checked, but much of it should be accurate, he said."Big business figures may be compromised by its release and there may be revealing information in the files on the royal family."

"There were very intimate relations between leading German officials and leading Danish ones. They made no political considerations.

"They traded with the Germans as if they were normal people. A moral perspective was totally absent."