Norway-Denmark (1953)

[Music] Day by day, progress in aviation and atomic power is shrinking our globe. Our nation's security is now inevitably linked with countries formerly distant, but now strategically close to our shores. Such a strategic position is occupied by the Scandinavian family of nations. Because they command key North Atlantic and Baltic waters and the swift polar air routes to the United States, their security is of vital importance to us and the rest of the free world. While all of the Scandinavian countries are friendly to the democracies, Norway and Denmark are of particular significance to us as they are members of both the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Though the two countries are similar, each has developed separately as a nation and each has problems peculiar to it. Norway reaches like an icy finger into the Arctic, a long narrow country about twice as large as the state of Florida. [Music] Almost 70% of the land is uninhabitable, covered by mountains, glaciers, and rivers. Its rugged coastline is indented by numerous deep fjords or sunken valleys which have become flooded with salt water. The fjords remain ice-free the year round and provide excellent harbors. Norway is one of the lands of the midnight sun. In the extreme north, the sun does not set during many summer weeks, nor does it rise above the horizon for an equal period during the winter. [Music] The Gulf Stream brings the west coast of Norway a moderate climate. But the interior and northern areas are extremely cold in winter. On the frigid northern borders, the primitive Lapland country is Norway's Arctic sentinel. One half of the country's 3 million people live in cities and towns along the coast. Bergen, Norway's second largest city, is an important cultural center and a principal seaport. [Music] Capital of the nation is Oslo, one of Europe's most progressive cities. Educational standards are high. Norwegians are one of the most liberally governed peoples in the world. Cooperative movements and social welfare legislation are extensive and the government is assuming an ever-increasing responsibility in the life of the nation. The present regime led by King Haakon VII consists of a two-house parliament, a cabinet, and prime minister. [Music] The Norwegian economy, since the days of the Vikings, has been heavily dependent on water. Inland, numerous mountain streams and rivers provide a continuous source of power, bringing with it the promise of prosperity. [Music] Norway's water projects have harnessed almost a million and a half horsepower for industrial purposes. However, the nation's waterways have a potential of 10 million horsepower. The country's narrow water passages are effective channels for bringing to market one of Norway's largest natural assets, timber. [Music] Pine and fir forests cover a quarter of the land, lumber and lumber products providing 1/4 of the country's exports. [Music] Recent developments of the wood pulp industry have boosted the manufacture of paper, cellulose, and rayon into a major industry. [Music] A natural love for the sea has made the Norwegians great shipbuilders. [Music] Norway's merchant fleet is third largest in the world and has carried as much as 5 million gross tons of shipping annually. The sea has always been the Scandinavian people's chief highway and their main source of food. [Music] 100,000 Norwegians make their living from the fishing industry. The sea around them yields a rich harvest, a recent year's catch amounting to more than a million tons valued at $41 million. [Music] The Lofoten Island fisheries provide up-to-date canning and freezing facilities for Norway's thriving seafood export trade. Norway has the world's largest whaling industry, producing up to 2 million barrels of whale oil annually. [Music] The vast lands to the north offer Norwegians who have not gone to sea a smaller but fertile field of employment in the mining industry. [Music] Mining output is now four times greater than at the turn of the century. Chief deposits include silver, tungsten, pyrite, copper, tin, and zinc, strategic defense materials. Though only 5% of Norway is arable and only 3% actually under cultivation, many Norwegians earn their living from farming. [Music] Leading crops are wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes. [Music] Cattle, goats, and other livestock are raised. [Music] The great majority of Norwegians are members of the Lutheran faith and except for the Laplanders are of Teutonic descent. Tracing their origin as far back as 3000 BC, they have developed over the centuries a strong national character which combines ancient rights and practices with modern artistic and social concepts. [Music] Early in the 1900s, Norway's political union with Sweden was ended and a democratic type government set up, beginning an era of peaceful prosperity. [Music] Disaster exploded over the nation in 1940 when the Nazis lashed out for valuable Scandinavian ports. [Music] Unprepared, Norway was soon overrun. The German occupation was violently resisted by a strong Norwegian underground that gave great assistance to the Allied cause. Norway's liberation in 1945 brought King Haakon back from exile in England. He resumed leadership of an eager, virile nation that had never lost its faith. Each May 14th, Norwegians celebrate Constitution Day and reaffirm the democratic rights which they cherish. It is a day of great significance for Norway, determined now to be prepared for any new aggression. The country has universal military training. What War games and maneuvers occupy Sundays and time off for 100,000 Norwegian reservists. Neutral in the First World War, Norway learned in World War II that inadequate defenses may lead to national calamity. Norway's grim lesson of yesterday is her guide for tomorrow. [Music] Across the strait from Norway lies another vital member of the Scandinavian family of nations, Denmark. About half the size of the state of Maine consists of the Jutland Peninsula and a series of adjacent islands in the Baltic Sea. The Danish coastline is similar to Norway's. [Music] But the western part of Denmark is low and flat. Its highest mountain barely 600 ft above sea level. Virtually surrounded by the sea, the country's climate is mild and damp with frequent rains and fogs. Denmark's topography has made her a maritime nation. Steamers and ferry boats link the major islands where quaint seacoast towns reveal the land's ancient charm. [Music] Rich in scenic beauty, Denmark is severely handicapped by inadequate natural resources. The Danish soil is among the poorest in Europe, but scientific methods and agricultural education have helped the Danes turn their sandy waste soil into rich grazing and farmland. [Music] 80% of the land is under cultivation and farming is the country's chief economic asset. [Music] Chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, rye, potatoes, and sugar beets. Large landholdings are against the law in Denmark and the nation's many small farm operators belong to profit-sharing cooperatives. Denmark is the dairy farm of Europe. Dairy exports providing a great source of the national income. [Music] Danish farms produce 200 million pound weight of eggs and lard every year. [Music] Outside the United States, Denmark is the world's largest exporter of bacon. Dairy and pork products shipped abroad by the Danes cars, textiles, and other important commodities. As in all the Scandinavian nations, fishing is a vital part of the nation's economy employing 200,000 of Denmark's 4 million population. Cod, herring, mackerel, and oysters are the principal catch. In Copenhagen, Denmark's capital city, is the famous Fishwives' Market where Danish women engage in a brisk seafood trade. Before World War II, Denmark stood fourth among the shipbuilding nations. Today, her shipyards are returning to their high pre-war production level. Danish ships carry on a profitable trade in moving cargo between world ports outside of Denmark. [Music] Lacking coal for domestic use, the resourceful Danes have utilized their country's plentiful peat bogs as a source of fuel. [Music] Hundreds of windmills also supply power for pumping water and generating electricity. Development of a prosperous manufacturing industry was the Danes' answer to his country's limited natural resources. [Music] Manufactured items for export include bricks, diesel engines, refrigeration equipment, and other machinery. Danes make the world-famous cherry herring liqueur. [Music] They carry on a thriving brewery industry. The entire profits of the great Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen are turned over to science and art indicating Denmark's keen interest in the progress of civilization. The imaginative cultural spirit of the Danes is reflected in Copenhagen's architecture. [Music] Since the 17th century, the Stock Exchange building has reared its twisted dragon tails against the Copenhagen sky. Engaged now in peaceful pursuits, the Danes, like the Norwegians, are descendants of the Vikings who set out centuries ago in their longboats to explore and conquer. [Music] Kronborg Castle at Elsinore, only a few miles from Copenhagen and scene of Shakespeare's Hamlet, recalls Denmark's empire-building era which united all the Scandinavian countries under Danish rule by the early 1400s. A hundred years later, Sweden won her independence. Norway achieved hers in 1814. By then, the power of Danish nobles had weakened. The country's large feudal landholdings, long in the process of dissolution, were finally broken up and the peasants freed from serfdom. This marked the beginnings of a reform movement that was to turn Denmark eventually into a progressive and industrious modern state. [Music] Denmark's government, ruling the island kingdom from Copenhagen, is similar to Norway's with king, cabinet, prime minister, and parliament making up the administration. As in Norway, the state religion is Lutheran. And social welfare is one of the major concerns of the government. [Music] Social legislation includes care for children of working mothers, old-age pensions, [Music] workmen's compensation, medical aid, and relief for the poor. Almost everyone in Denmark has an elementary school education. The University of Copenhagen is one of Europe's oldest institutions of learning. Denmark is the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen whose fairy tales have been translated into 35 languages. The statue of the Little Mermaid, immortalized in one of Andersen's stories, stands watch over Copenhagen Harbor. Danes, as well as Norwegians, are an extremely democratic people. Everywhere, rich and poor mingle without distinction. A large middle-class group is a major component of the Scandinavian countries' social and economic structure. Denmark has enjoyed unbroken rule by its own people for a longer period than any other country in Europe. The Nazis occupied the land in World War II and destroyed much of its economy, but left the governmental machinery intact. Today, Denmark and her northern neighbor, Norway, put their hopes for world peace with the United Nations and have contributed cargo ships and medical aid to the UN cause in Korea. As members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, both countries are receiving economic and military aid from the United States. Danes and Norwegians have a common stake in cooperation with the democracies. They are bound to the west by blood relationships and by mutual cultural interests. They share our determination to resist aggression. [Music] Their countries' key position in Europe makes them highly important to the defense of the Arctic and the Atlantic and to the security and survival of the Western nations. [Music]