Today, Greenland is a modern society with a large fishing industry. New history research reveals that the Greenlanders actually wanted that change. (Photo: Colourbox)

Greenlanders strove for change

If Greenlandic culture has been ruined, Denmark is not to blame. Greenlanders wanted to have their opportunities expanded beyond their old sealing and whaling-based culture, argues Greenlandic historian.

Niels Ebdrup

Published 3 October 2012 - 06:49

It is often said that indigenous Greenlandic culture was wrecked when the Danes colonised the great island and forced the Greenlanders to abandon their sealing and whaling-based culture.

However, new history research now reveals that it was actually the other way round: for years Denmark tried to keep Greenland as an old-fashioned sealing society, because Danish politicians feared that the introduction of factories and modern houses would ruin Greenlandic culture.

The Greenlanders, on the other hand, fought to establish a modern, Westernised society, according to a new book based on a PhD thesis. The book challenges the common conception that Denmark forced modernisation upon Greenland.

“Greenland cannot simply blame Denmark. The Greenlandic people hold a great responsibility for the course of events,” says Jens Heinrich, a PhD in Arctic culture, language and literature at Ilisimatursarfik – The University of Greenland.

On 5 May 1945 the German occupation of Denmark came to an end. The event was celebrated in Nuuk too, but during the occupation Greenland had experienced increased autonomy, because the Danish political system had been paused. The Greenlandic people wanted to hold on to this autonomy. (Photo: The National Museum of Greenland)

“They were able to influence developments and they were well aware what they sought to achieve: more autonomy, education, enlightenment and contact with the outside world.”

Democratically elected Greenlanders were influential

In his thesis, Heinrich explores how Greenland started to become a modern society in the period around the Second World War. At the time, Greenland was ruled by:

The Greenland Administration - at the top level via a director in Copenhagen and two governors in Greenland
The two provincial councils where democratically elected Greenlanders were gathered.

The Danish government had the last word. But the provincial councils had the right to express their opinion – and following the Second World War they wanted a modern and more autonomous Greenland.

Danish politicians wanted to keep Greenland after the Second World War.

The Greenlandic subsoil contained many minerals. And most importantly: Greenland’s location provided a strong card in Denmark’s foreign policy, since the US showed great interest in using Greenland as a military base.

“The Danish director for the Greenland administration, Knud Oldendow, was convinced that it wasn’t a good idea to enforce a modernization process,” says Heinrich.

“Ever since the turn of the previous century, the Danes had believed that the Greenlandic economy should be left to itself, without any intervention from the outside world. Oldendow supported that idea. He was conservative and believed that it was best to avoid any experiments that could ruin the entire Greenlandic society.”

Chief administrative governor: give the Greenlandic people what they want

One of the two governors, Eske Brun, took a different view on the future of Greenland. He was convinced that the only way for Denmark to keep a hold on Greenland was to give the Greenlandic more freedom and help them establish industry on the island.

“Eske Brun succeeded in gaining more and more power. Director Knud Oldendow had an alcohol problem and was frequently sick for extended periods. So Eske Brun grew more powerful. After consulting with the Danish Prime Minister, Hans Hedtoft, he managed to introduce increased autonomy and a Greenlandic fishing industry,” says the Greenlandic researcher.

Greenlanders were not allowed to learn Danish

Developments in Greenland were quick:

From 1721 to 1953 Greenland was a Danish colony
In 1953 the Island was given status as a Danish county and Greenlanders were given Danish citizenship. Greenland was then modernised in only a few years. The population went from being self-sufficient hunters to being regular wage earners primarily in the cities. This readjustment was difficult for many locals to deal with.
In 1979 Greenland was given its home rule after an election. This meant limited autonomy with its own parliament – the Landsting.
In 2009, the island received self-rule, which increased the Greenlanders’ authority. Foreign and defense policy is, however, still administered by Denmark.

Eske Brun wanted to meet the wishes of the most socially aware Greenlanders – who were very often teachers. For 50 years they had tried to push Greenlandic society towards more education. Long before Eske Brun came to Greenland around 1900, a group of Greenlanders asked to be taught Danish.

The reason was that they had to speak and write Danish in order to take leading roles in trade and politics in Greenland.

“But the Government was not keen on letting the Greenlanders learn Danish. It was thought to break down the culture,” says Heinrich.

“There was an idea that the Greenlandic society was based on whaling and sealing, and that this must be protected as much as possible. Language played an important part in that, as the general conception was that Danish would ruin the Greenlandic language.”

College teacher was frontrunner

Among the Greenlandic frontrunners was the college teacher and political debater Augo Lynge. He was a member of Godthåb (present-day Nuuk) Council Board from 1930 to 1942 and wanted a modern Greenland.

“He was a charismatic politician who in 1941 started the youth organisation ‘Vores Lands Børn’, (‘Children of Our Country’). His goal was to teach young people that they shouldn’t limit themselves. And he wanted the Greenlandic people to know that they could become more educated,” he explains.

Augo Lynge was later elected for the Parliament of Denmark as one of the first two Greenlandic representatives.

He was also a member of the national provincial council for several periods. So Augo was a man who had the support of the Greenlandic people. And he was one of the people that Eske Brun listened to.

At a meeting in 1948, Prime Minister Hans Hedtoft and Governor Eske Brun decided to give the Greenlandic fishing industry a push, so they asked a wealthy Danish fisherman for assistance. He was offered the chance to make a good profit from fishing in Greenland in return for teaching the Greenlandic people the art of fishing.

“But it turned out that he wouldn’t hire Greenlandic staff, as he only wanted to use his own men. That caused a large group of Greenlandic congress members to complain to the prime minister. The deal was off and another fisherman was pulled in instead,” he says.

“The Greenlanders didn’t like that the Danes just went and made money from Greenland. They wanted to acquire new skills and take part in events.”

Danish historians blame Denmark

The young Greenlandic historian is the second PhD ever to have graduated from the University of Greenland. He believes that his cultural background allows him to dare take a different view on Danish-Greenlandic history.

“Denmark feels guilty that Greenland was treated so badly. Because of that, Danish historians easily end up arriving at the conclusion that Denmark is to blame for the bad turn that developments in Greenland took,” he says.

“I don’t know if Danes should feel guilty – Greenlanders wanted that change.”

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Read the Danish version of this article at videnskab.dk

Translated by: Iben Gøtzsche Thiele