Phasing out the Colonial Status of Greenland, 1945-54

In 2005 the Danish government obliged the wish of the Greenlandic Home Rule to commission a historical report on the circumstances surrounding the changed status of Greenland within the realm following the modification of the Constitution in 1953. This report is here presented by leading specialists in the field who provide the most comprehensive account to date of Greenland's colonial status in the years 1945-54. With the Constitution of 1953, the colonial status of Greenland came to an end and the country was made an integral part of Denmark, and Greenlanders were now granted equal rights as citizens within the Danish realm. In 1954 this new arrangement was supported by an overwhelming majority in the UN General Assembly. The decision to change Greenland's status was conditioned both by internal and external circumstances. In the UN context, Danes increasingly felt the strain of being a colonial power, and they also feared the possibility of future UN interference in Greenlandic affairs. The chapters in this volume are significant contributions to the ongoing debates concerning important political developments in Danish-Greenlandic relations in the post-war period. Together they constitute the definitive attempt to untangle and delineate the many circumstances impinging on the phasing out of Greedlands colonial status.