‘Our Staunchest Friends and Allies in Europe’: Britain’s Special Relationship with Scandinavia, 1945–1953

Abstract

The intensification of the Cold War in 1947–48 placed the Scandinavian countries on the horns of a dilemma.1 In the immediate post-war period Norway, Denmark and Sweden, in contrast with the Benelux countries, had maintained distance from the Western powers in the hope that the emerging East-West rivalry would not directly affect their vital interests.2 However, by 1947–48, in all Scandinavian countries a similar view of Northern Europe’s place in international affairs and the future outlook of their strategic situation was rapidly developing. The only possible enemy in a future war was considered to be the Soviet Union.3 Further, with the failure of the Council of Foreign Ministers in late 1947, there was no doubt that their peacetime foreign and security policies had to adapt to the requirements of the Cold War.