80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Friday 9th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I am delighted to participate in this debate, which marks in particular the 80th anniversary of VE Day. My contribution is a deeply personal one, taking memories handed down from my mother, grandmother and other members of my family in Denmark.

Denmark was occupied from April 1940 until 5 May 1945, although the island of Bornholm remained under Russian occupation for another year. I am proud of the support given by Britain to the resistance efforts in Denmark in terms of explosives and ammunition and, of course, moral support.

It was always going to be difficult for a small country such as Denmark, with limited military forces, to resist the German occupation of its country. Initially, the Danes declared neutrality and agreed a treaty of non-aggression with Germany, primarily to protect the Jews—I am delighted to say that most of the Jews survived the war under the German occupation. Germany broke that treaty within one year.

With support from the Special Operations Executive here, the Danish resistance movement became more active and more daring, managing to damage the German occupiers with their efforts to sabotage and disrupt the occupying forces, as well as taking strike action to deny the German war effort ammunition and arms being produced in Danish factories destined for the German army.

A strict curfew was imposed and the hours were limited further as the war went on. Many Danes defied the curfew order to take an evening stroll, and were shot and killed on the streets. News of the liberation reached Denmark from the British Broadcasting Corporation, as the BBC was then known, which interrupted its normal broadcast on the evening of 4 May 1945.

British forces played a large role in freeing Denmark, as well as assisting the resistance fighters. During World War II, there were 415 airdrops, allied aircraft dropping 6,500 containers with weapons, ammunitions and sabotage equipment to support the Danish resistance movement. There were inevitably heavy losses, with 18 allied aircraft lost over Danish soil and 69 airmen losing their lives in the line of duty.

The liberation was followed by the prosecution of those who collaborated with German occupiers working against the resistance movement. Over 10,000 were tried as collaborators or traitors between 1947 and 1950. Over 100 were sentenced to death, with more than 40 executed.

The ninth of May is also Schuman Day, commemorating the role played by Robert Schuman and other European leaders in bringing Europe together after the war, initially pooling their coal and steel resources to prevent the potential for further aggression between European neighbours. Today marks the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, marking the first steps in greater co-operation, peace and prosperity between European neighbours who had previously been at war with each other in the 20th century.

I consider myself a product of a very special European union between a Scottish father and a Danish mother, who met on a blind date in Hamburg in the aftermath of the Second World War. My father was serving as a Royal Army Medical Corps officer, and my mother was working as a translator with the British Army. The UK having now left the umbrella of the European Union, I hope that a review next year of our relations with the EU will be positive and reflective of the realities in which we now live. Perhaps the European defence mechanism outlined by the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup, could be the next step forward to which Britain can contribute.

Until now, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, my generation had lived in relative peace. We owe that peace and our freedom to all who sacrificed their lives in the Second World War, and we recognise and commemorate all who served and contributed to that success in Europe and the Far East.