This article introduces Scandinavia (or the Norden, as the region is sometimes called) and describes the position of the five Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, during the Cold War. The Cold War created a new political situation in the Nordic region, and to some degree divided the Nordic countries between East and West and also on the German question. The introduction analyses how the Nordic countries dealt with Germany – that is with the two German states, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, and also describes the role of the Soviet Union and how it tried to influence the Nordic stance on the German question.

This article analyses Danish relations with the two German states. After 1949 Denmark found itself in a special position as the only West European country that was neighbour to both Germanys, having a land border with the Federal Republic and a sea border and important communications links with the German Democratic Republic. But Denmark recognised only the Federal Republic as the legitimate representative of Germany. Germany had historically constituted a serious problem for Denmark, and even in the after-war period Danish relations with its big neighbour were beset with problems. After 1955, when the minority question was settled and Denmark and the FRG were both members of NATO, relations with West Germany improved. Relations with the GDR were much more troubled because Denmark was to an extent forced to bow to West German interests, but could not ignore the existence of the East German neighbour state.

After the end of the Second World War, when Finland sought to redefine its position vis-à-vis Germany, negotiations were dogged by the fact that Finland had been a close ally of Hitler's Germany in 1941–4 in the war against the USSR. In April 1948 Finland signed a Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (FCMA) with the USSR, in which the military articles were based on the need to counter a potential German attack on the Soviets via Finland's territory. Finland's international position was so difficult that it became the only country in the world that did not establish full diplomatic relations with either of the German states. It was also the only country in the world to pursue a policy of absolute neutrality vis-à-vis both Germanys. When the Finnish government offered to host the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in May 1969, its main preoccupation was the German question, and it succeeded in fending off Soviet pressure to recognise the GDR. In 1973, with West German Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt's Neue Ostpolitik easing tensions with regard to the German question, Finland was able to establish full diplomatic relations with both German states simultaneously.

This article highlights the extent to which Norway's policies towards the two Germanys and ‘the German question’ were anchored in its perception of ‘the German problem’. While the Cold War overshadowed Norway's relations with the GDR, ‘the German problem’ prevailed in its relations with the FRG well into the 1960s. Norwegian dependence nevertheless forced it to support West German reconstruction, rearmament and sovereignty. Relations with Bonn were a perennial political minefield. While Norway loyally followed NATO's restrictive policy towards the GDR, from the early 1960s politicians saw that this stood in the way of détente. Bonn's new Ostpolitik in the late 1960s allowed for political rapprochement between Oslo and Bonn and held out the hope of achieving the long-awaited rapprochement with East Berlin.

The main aim of the GDR's foreign policy was to promote the survival and stabilisation of the SED dictatorship, and the so-called ‘worldwide revolution’, by seeking external recognition. After it was granted full sovereignty in 1954–5 the East German state carefully cultivated relations with Western countries. The Scandinavian countries received special attention on the basis of common history, natural economic and transport links, a close relationship with their respective communist parties and East German conformity to Soviet policy in the Baltic region. Up to the 1970s the GDR's main aim was to end its own international isolation. Despite a few spectacular successes, not even Sweden was won over and the final breakthrough did not come until the government of the FRG embarked on its new and successful Ostpolitik. In 1972–3 the Scandinavian countries were among the first officially to recognise the GDR.