'THE FIVE ACCURSED YEARS': Danish perception and usage of the period of the German Occupation, with a wider view to Norway and Sweden

The subject for this paper is the question of how the Second World War has been perceived and used since that war - in Denmark, and especially in recent years, but also with a comparative view to Norway and Sweden. In addition to an outline of the development of public history regarding the war and the Scandinavian countries and a comparison of the ways history is used, the paper examines the friction areas between history, politics and morality in relation to actual cases and raises the question of how to establish a balance between the three which will enable a reliable picture of historical events as well as secure a positive identification for future generations.