Swedish intelligence activities in Denmark during the cold war
A couple of miles north of Helsingborg you will find a museum at a place called Djuramossa. The museum shows the time of World War II and the time of the Cold War. The name of the museum is The Museum of Military Preparedness (beredskapsmuseet). The name indicates the situation in Sweden during 1939 to 1945. The museum started in 1997 after closing of the military unit at the place Djuramossa in 1991.
The web address is www.beredskapsmuseet.com .
After the German invasion of Denmark on the 9th of April 1940 a coast artillery battery was built in a very short time at Djuramåsa (present Djuramossa) consisting of four heavy guns very well protected in bunkers. The task of the battery was to defend the northwest part of the south of Sweden (called Skåne) from invasion and ensure free through-traffic of the waterway Öresund. The huge area of the battery reached from Kullen in the north to Landskrona in the south. The battery reported ready for action early in June 1940. It became one of the most modern batteries in Europe but was not as big as those at the Atlantic Wall.
During the time of World War II staff from the battery was involved in a couple of armed incidents. They also participated several times in the reception of refuges from Denmark coming in various vessels to Sweden.
During the 1970th the battery Helsingborg as well as the battery Trelleborg and the battery Ystad became a battalion respectively. This meant increased weaponry and greater responsibility in the whole area of Skåne. All the time large areas in the east of Denmark (Själland) could be reached by artillery from the battery Helsingborg. (See map below.)
After the war Denmark became a member of NATO and was of course not a threat any more. Since forces of the Warszawa Pact during the Cold War could pass through the part of the free zone of Öresund, the neutral country Sweden (battery/battalion Helsingborg) could be involved in case of a sudden incident. It could happen in maintaining international law and especially if it developed to an armed conflict. Because of this it was needed to accomplish certain military preparation in Denmark. One of the officers was ordered from the commanding officer at the battery Helsingborg to plan for artillery fire at the Danish coast. Dressed as a civilian he drove around in his own car mainly in the area of Helsingör and did some observations and measurements. The purpose was to ensure a better effectuation in case of a conflict.
Some military personell in the staff knew about the illegal activity in the NATO country Denmark but no one wanted to hear about it. You could certainly call it a minor form of espionage. If you just mentioned it, an outburst of anger arose from higher command. For us at the battery and later at the battalion it was a regular way of gaining military information as every military unit needs to do.
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