From organised crime to white-collar crime: The black market in Denmark during the Second World War

The chapter investigates criminal culture and the black market in Denmark during the Second World War and the enforcement of regulations carried out by the police and governmental agencies. The authorities appealed for the acceptance of rationing and price control as a way of demonstrating social solidarity. In general, the public accepted regulations, yet the black market was large enough to cause concern. The black market was linked with both white-collar crime and organised crime. The so-called black-market sharks (spivs) were mainly men from the lower working class, around half of whom had prior convictions, and who generally had connections to an underworld of organised crime. In some parts of the country, the German army played an important role on the black market—as both consumers and sellers.