Henrik Kauffmann

New York Herald Tribune Thursday, June 6, 1963

By Fred C. Shapiro of the Herald Tribune Staff

In the cut and dried world of international diplomacy, there are few heroes.

But among those few, list Denmark’s Henrik de Kauffmann, the man, who, in the name of his government, defied its orders and saved Greenland for the free world.

Henrik de Kauffmann was the son of the late Kammerherre (Chamberlain to the King) Aage Kauffmann, an architect who took his family around the world, wherever his commissions dictated. Young de Kauffmann studied in England and Switzerland before taking his law degree from the University of Copenhagen.

In 1926, after service in the army and a succession of diplomatic appointments, he met and married Charlotte MacDougall, daughter of a distinguished American admiral, William D. MacDougall, onetime commander of the 16th Naval District, in the Far East.

The de Kauffmanns, and later, their two daughters, continued to travel, in the diplomatic service. As World War II broke out, they were dispatched to Washington.

The time was April, 1940, and Henrik de Kauffmann, Danish Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States, received formal notification that his King, Christian X, had surrendered the nation to the overwhelming might of the Nazis.

The was little Mr. de Kauffmann could do about that, but there was a part of Denmark still free, Greenland, which became a focal point of strategy for fascist and free alike.

Without authorization from his nation, Mr. de Kauffmann on his own authority, marched into the office of President Roosevelt and placed Greenland under the protection of the United States.

“I am not prepared to take orders from the German government,” Mr. de Kauffmann said. “I represent Denmark and the King of Denmark here and nobody else.”

The following year, after Nazi aircraft were spotted on reconnaissance flights over Greenland, Mr. de Kauffmann went even further, leasing to the United States on his own authority the right to construct and defend naval and air bases on Greenland.

Legally, this was a tenuous piece of business. The United States was not at war with Germany. The Danish government had concluded a treaty with its occupiers which gave the Germans legal rights to Greenland.
The reaction from occupied Copenhagen was swift, and not unexpected. Mr. de Kauffmann was informed he had been recalled. He defied the order, then was told he had been dismissed. Shortly later, he was indicted for “treason” in “misusing the King’s name.”

Despite all the fireworks, Secretary of State Cordell Hull announced that he would continue to recognize Mr. de Kauffmann as the legal representative of Denmark.

The United States continued to support Mr. de Kauffmann’s efforts to organize Danish diplomats and legations throughout the free world into a virtual government in exile for Denmark. The slim, silver haired Dane became a symbol of Scandinavian resistance to the Nazi tyranny.

The support was justified. After the surrender of German forces in Denmark, the liberation Premier, Vilhelm Buhl, canceled the “dismissal” of Mr. de Kauffmann, and elevated him to cabinet rank. A few days later, the Greenland treaty signed by Mr. de Kauffmann four years before was unanimously ratified by the Danish Parliament.

After the war, Mr. de Kauffmann was elected head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization conference in Copenhagen, and later was named head of the Danish delegation to the UN. In 1947 he was named Ambassador to the United States, when the United States and Denmark raised the status of their respective legations to embassies. He served until 1958 when he retired.]

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• Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: Aug 18 2020, 8:49:49 UTC

Henrik Louis Hans (von) Kauffmann (26. august 1888 i Frankfurt am Main – 5. juni 1963 i Skodsborg) var Danmarks gesandt i Washington i 1941 og underskrev "på kongens vegne" og med tilslutning fra landsfogederne i Grønland en overenskomst med USA om forsvaret af Grønland og levering af forsyninger til grønlænderne (som Danmark var afskåret fra at levere). Den gav USA ret til at bygge militære anlæg i den daværende danske koloni. Den danske regering protesterede mod overenskomsten, afskedigede Kauffmann og sigtede ham for landsforræderi. De danske generalkonsuler i USA erklærede sig dog solidariske med ham, hvorefter også de blev afskediget.

Hans første tid som konsulatssekretær var i det danske konsulat i New York. Fra 1921 til 1932 var han i to år gesandt i Rom og otte år i Peking. Fra 1932 til 39 var han gesandt i Oslo. Der forsøgte han at mildne spændingerne mellem Norge og Danmark, der havde grund i striden om rettighederne til den del af Grønland, nordmændene kaldte Eirik Raudes Land. Kauffmann udmærkede sig ved indberetninger af høj kvalitet og en evne til at skabe magtfulde kontakter i Kina. At han var interesseret i at rejse, viser udenrigsministeriets rejsekonto.[1] Fil:1941-04-12 US To Guard Greenland.ogvAfspil medier Henrik Kauffmann forklarer aftalen med USA om Grønland i 1941

Henrik Kauffmann var minister uden portefølje i Befrielsesregeringen fra 12. maj 1945 til 7. november 1945. Kauffmann deltog i konferencen i San Francisco, hvor de Forenede Nationer (FN) blev dannet.

Kauffmann spillede dobbeltspil 1945-51: Det var hans overbevisning, at Danmark burde blive medlem af den atlantiske alliance i stedet for at være neutral. Han gik uden for sin rolle som diplomat og var med til at forme efterkrigstidens danske udenrigspolitik.

Amerikanerne gjorde ham tidligt opmærksom på, at de ønskede at fortsætte deres tilstedeværelse på Grønland. Det var i modstrid med det neutralistisk tænkende København. Amerikanerne gjorde det klart for Kauffmann, at skønt de ikke ønskede at overtage Danmarks civile rolle på Grønland, så lagde de vægt på at fortsætte deres militære tilstedeværelse. Kauffmann informerede ikke den danske udenrigsminister Gustav Rasmussen, men sendte en beroligende meddelelse. Det medførte, at Gustav Rasmussen var helt uforberedt under det møde med amerikanerne, hvor de fremlagde deres krav. Dermed var befrielsesregeringens tillid til Kauffmann brudt.

Da socialdemokraterne overtog regeringsmagten, blev Kauffmanns politik videreført af den nye regering.

Wikipedia

Henrik Kauffmann, né le 26 août 1888 à Francfort-sur-le-Main (Allemagne) et mort le 5 juin 1963 à Skodsborg (Danemark), est un diplomate et homme politique danois.

Biographie

Ambassadeur aux États-Unis pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, il est connu notamment pour avoir signé avec les États-Unis sur sa propre initiative un traité leur donnant le droit d'établir des bases militaires au Groenland afin de défendre les colonies danoises de potentielles agressions allemandes. Il déclara avoir agi au nom du roi du Danemark (en danois : I Kongens Navn).

Ce traité fut signé le 9 avril 1941, jour anniversaire de l'occupation allemande au Danemark. Du côté américain, il fut signé par le secrétaire d'État Cordell Hull et approuvé par le président Franklin D. Roosevelt le 7 juin 1941.

Le traité fut approuvé également par les notables officiels au Groenland mais fut déclaré caduc par le gouvernement danois à Copenhague. Son pays se trouvant alors sous occupation allemande, Kauffmann passa outre les protestations gouvernementales. Il fut accusé de haute trahison et déchu de son rang, mais n'en tint aucun compte. Son action fut soutenue par le consul danois aux États-Unis et l'ambassadeur danois en Iran, qui furent déchus eux aussi. Il demanda par la suite aux autres diplomates danois de par le monde de ne plus suivre les instructions venant de Copenhague.

La révocation de sa condamnation fut l'une des premières tâches du Parlement danois après la libération du Danemark en mai 1945. Il entra dans le gouvernement d'unité nationale de Vilhelm Buhl, étant ministre sans portefeuille de mai à novembre 1945.

Le traité de Kauffmann fut adapté dans les années 1950 et servit de base légale pour la base américaine de Thulé au Groenland.

Wikipedia