OPROP! ( in correct 1940-Danish; ''Opråb!'' in correct modern Danish; ) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

airborne propaganda leaflet dropped over several Danish cities at the German invasion of Denmark on 9 April 1940. The leaflets were signed by the head of Operation Weserübung Süd, General Leonhard Kaupisch. The text, written in broken but understandable Danish mixed with Norwegian, justified the German invasion as fraternally protecting Danish and Norwegian neutrality against British aggression, denounced

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

as a warmonger, and exhorted the Danish populace not to resist the German presence while an arrangement with the Danish government was being negotiated. The OPROP! leaflet drop had a notable impact in regards to the Danish capitulation. When the German infantry arrived at the Amalienborg Palace in the morning of 9 April 1940, they were met with determined opposition from the King's Royal Guard, which repelled the initial attack, suffering three wounded. This gave

Christian X Christian X (; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 until his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, holding the title as a result of the personal union between Denmark and independent Ice ...

and his ministers time to confer with the Danish Army chief General William Wain Prior. As the discussions were ongoing, several formations of

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Due to restrictions placed on Germany a ...

and Dornier 17 bombers flew over the city dropping the OPROP! leaflets. Faced with the explicit threat of the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

bombing the civilian population of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, and only General Prior in favour of continuing the fighting, the Danish government capitulated in exchange for retaining political independence in domestic matters. In 2016, historian Hans Christian Bjerg argued that the poor broken Danish on the leaflet was because it was a rushed translation of a similar leaflet written by the Germans for use over Norway on the same day. The background reason was that Operation Weserübung initially called for invasion only of Norway and that the additional invasion of Denmark was decided at a late stage in the planning.

References

;Citations ;Sources * 1940 in Denmark 20th century in Denmark Information operations and warfare Propaganda techniques using words World War II propaganda 1940 documents Nazi propaganda Propaganda in Denmark {{Denmark-hist-stub