Why Germany Is Interested in Greenland
For the first time since the fall of the Third Reich, Germany deployed troops to the Western Hemisphere on January 16. Granted, there were only 15 of them, and they returned Sunday after only a 44-hour deployment.
Still, the last time German troops were in Greenland, they were stationed under the orders of Adolf Hitler as the Nazis planned an invasion of North America. Germany’s Spiegel highlighted the World War ii mission in light of the recent disputes over the island on January 17 in “German Warfare in Greenland: Nazis in the Eternal Ice.”
This history gives insight into the strategic importance of the island. Spiegel wrote:
Greenland, at that time still a colony of Denmark, was already coveted by the world powers, including Nazi Germany. During World War ii, the island’s geostrategic location between North America and Europe was considered an important military factor. From 1941 onwards, the [United States] established military bases there with Danish consent in order to transport war material to the European front and to monitor the North Atlantic from the air.
At the same time, the Allies also built weather stations. Meteorological data is still central to warfare today, determining whether aircraft or ships are deployed, whether naval maneuvers, bombardments, or landing operations take place. …
Between 1941 and 1945, the Wehrmacht, therefore, set up more than 10 weather stations in Greenland and the Arctic—including one under the code name “Holzauge” (wooden eye).
The German mission began in 1940 with 18 men tasked with establishing stations to monitor weather patterns to help plan naval and air movements. In 1943, Allied forces discovered and destroyed the weather stations, which is considered to be part of the reason for Germany’s loss on D-Day. Nazi Germany’s mission in Greenland continued to operate with various setbacks until the end of the war.
But the Nazis’ goals for Greenland were much grander.
Germany invaded Denmark in 1940 despite its declared neutrality. Because Greenland was a Danish colony, U.S. officials feared that Germany might also attempt to seize Greenland, which would have provided the Nazis with a strategic foothold in North America. Barry Scott Zellen, author of Arctic Exceptionalism: Cooperation in a Contested World, explains: “If Britain fell, the Nazis were thinking about how they could expand beyond Europe. One of the plans was to get into Greenland, then extend beyond Greenland to grab Labrador and Newfoundland. All that [North American] territory was in play.”
The Trumpet’s predecessor, the Plain Truth, wrote in 1961: “Germany would have invaded Greenland and Northern Canada. The unprepared United States would indeed have been in mortal danger.”
Greenland is vital to North America’s security. That is one reason the U.S. established bases on the territory and why President Donald Trump is so adamant about seizing it.
But Danes and Greenlanders have so far rejected Trump’s imperialistic goals, which leads us to Germany’s present-day deployment.
Another German Mission to Greenland
The 15 German soldiers sent to Greenland on January 16 didn’t go to single-handedly stop the world’s most advanced military from taking over the island. However, the larger goal of the mission was exactly that.
The U.S., under Donald Trump, wants complete control over Greenland—and Europe opposes this ambition.
Europe has proposed a joint nato mission to secure the island from Russian and Chinese threats. Although Trump rejected the idea, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain independently sent military personnel to Greenland to plan for such a nato mission.
The few soldiers sent were in preparation for larger military exercises. The problem is, there is no nato without the U.S. So the mission is a purely European one in defiance of the U.S.
In fact, it can be seen as a mission to deter the U.S. from militarily taking Greenland.
Germany—Ready to Fight Trump Over Greenland
After contentious talks between Danish and American officials on January 15, EU Foreign Affairs spokesman Kaja Kallas said that, in the event of a violent conflict over Greenland, Germany and the other EU states would be required to assist at Denmark’s request because Greenland, as part of Denmark’s territory, falls under the mutual solidarity clause in Article 42(7) of the Treaty on European Union.
But before it comes to a hot war, there is a trade war.
The day after Germany and European allies sent military personnel to Greenland, Trump threatened to increase tariffs on Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Britain for trying to block his efforts to acquire Greenland.
The countries responded in a joint statement: “Tariff threats undermine trans-Atlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”
“We have a set of instruments at our disposal, and we agree that we do not want to use them. But if we have to use them, then we will,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated on Monday.
German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said, “We won’t be blackmailed, and we stand together in solidarity in Europe. … We don’t want an escalation. We are not looking for an escalation, but we are ready if it comes.”
Trade wars most certainly can lead to a dangerous downward spiral. Often they end in hot wars—and the Bible reveals it will happen again.
This particular trade war has the potential to be absolutely disastrous.
Trump’s threats prompted an EU emergency summit to discuss a response ranging from retaliatory tariffs of approximately $100 billion all the way to Europe’s strongest trade war instrument, the anti-coercion instrument, also known as the “bazooka” option. If enacted, it will allow the EU to:
- Cut American companies out of the European market, which would especially affect American tech companies
- Block American companies from bidding on European government contracts
- Restrict technology exports to the U.S.
- Introduce new tariffs
Another option is weaponizing U.S. debt. U.S. economist Kenneth Rogoff told Bild, “Overall, European governments’ holdings of treasury bills are small compared to Asia, but the market would be thrown into turmoil. If panic set in and all foreigners sold their government bonds, the amount would total nearly $9 trillion and have a huge impact.” Bild headlined on January 16: “Is U.S. Debt Our Greatest Weapon Against Trump’s Threats?”
U.S. federal debt is an unfathomable $38 trillion and growing by $6 billion per day. This reckless spending leaves the U.S. vulnerable. Europe could threaten the stability of U.S. financial markets—and the U.S. government and society—by selling its treasuries. However, it would need to be prepared to stand independently from the U.S.
That’s another reason why the EU doesn’t want to leave Greenland to the U.S. Gaining access to Greenland’s resources could prove critical for Europe to sustain a trade war.
The island is rich in natural resources such as uranium, oil, gold, zinc and titanium, all of which are essential to technological and military development. Former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, a man the Trumpet watches closely, drew attention to that fact in an interview earlier this month, published on January 10. In his opinion, Europe cannot afford to lose Greenland.
President Trump’s threats have further exposed a long-standing rift between America and Europe. The Plain Truth warned in 1983, “Economic recovery masks deep divisions that must eventually rip asunder.”
No longer does Europe view (or pretend to view) America as a close ally but as a threat to its sovereignty. And this threat is uniting Europe.
Will It Escalate?
On the surface, the EU’s strong response to America’s annexation comments may appear justified; however, its trade instruments are leading to a trade war prophesied in the Bible (see Deuteronomy 28:52 and Isaiah 23), followed by a hot war.
Many today believe a war between the U.S. and Europe is unthinkable. But Bible prophecy says otherwise. Ezekiel 5 even reveals the specific stages of this conflict.
The stages of this prophesied war on America are explained in Chapter 4 of Ezekiel—The End-Time Prophet, by Gerald Flurry. These three stages are economic siege, followed by a military attack, and then captivity. Mr. Flurry explains:
Prophecy indicates that the German-led European Union will soon join forces with Russia, China and Japan to shut the U.S. out of more and more markets (see Isaiah 23). As the U.S. and Britain become less and less competitive worldwide, unemployment will steadily increase. The fact that the U.S. and Britain have lost control of the world’s most strategic sea gates—like Panama, Gibraltar, Suez and Singapore—will make it much easier for foreign powers to choke off these nations’ supply lines. God prophesied in Deuteronomy 28:52 that the nations of end-time Israel would lose these sea gates if they turned away from Him!
The United States and Britain are going to be left out in the cold as two gigantic trade blocs, Europe and Asia, mesh together and begin calling the shots in world commerce. These nations of Israel are going to be literally besieged—economically frozen out of world trade!
Preparations for this siege are already being laid. Last week, Germany and India signed agreements to strengthen bilateral trade and cooperation. On the same day that Trump announced his tariffs, the EU and the Latin American trade bloc mercosur signed the largest free trade agreement in the world. Latin America will also join this siege, as explained in “America Is Being Besieged Economically.”
However, the Bible warns that this economic siege is just the start of America’s troubles. Once these trade alliances launch an open trade war, America is weakened, and European militaries are united, the conflict will turn bloody.
This trade war will lead to a hot war. If Europe has a strong military presence in Greenland, the island could certainly give it a critical advantage over the U.S.
Throughout the Bible are prophecies of a revived Holy Roman Empire conquering the United States. Today, that Holy Roman Empire is rising, accelerated by the dispute over Greenland.