Author(s): Lars BAERENTZEN
Publication name: Romanian Intelligence Studies Review
Publisher name: Mihai Viteazul National Intelligence Academy
Publication type: Journal article
Publication date: June 30, 2022
Pagination:
Issue/ Volume: 27/2022
DOI:
Abstract:
Germany justified the April 9, 1940, attack on Norway and Denmark by claiming
that Great Britain and France were planning an intervention in Scandinavia. After the
defeat of France, German soldiers found on June 19, 1940, by chance, in abandoned
railroad cars in La Charité-sur-Loire, many French secret documents which Berlin saw as
a confirmation of this claim. The German Foreign Ministry in 1941 published 70 of these
documents in Denmark and in other occupied countries including France. These texts were
used in press articles and in some official speeches. This paper describes the circumstances
of the capture and argues that the documents are genuine and may, with caution, be used
as historical evidence, although the 1941 publication was indeed propaganda. A small
number of the documents are presented in some detail. The German publication has
apparently not been used by Danish historians, but a few post-war historians in Great
Britain, the USA, France and Germany have made use of the “captured French documents”
and have discussed their historical value. This paper argues that they are important for
understanding the course of the war in early 1940, the period known as “The Phoney War”.
Keywords: 1941German propaganda, captured French documents, La Charité-
sur-Loire, British and French 1940 plans, Scandinavia in World War II, The Phoney war.
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