Did US give back Greenland to Denmark after World War II? Fact-checking Trump's claim in Davos speech

Historical documents do not support his claim that the United States ever owned or controlled Greenland

United States President Donald Trump, while addressing political and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday reasserted his ambitions to seize Greenland.

Trump invoked World War II to justify renewed American interest in Greenland and reiterated security concerns to acquire the island.

During the speech, he said, "... in World War II, when Denmark fell to Germany after just six hours of fighting and was totally unable to defend either itself or Greenland. So, the United States was then compelled – we did it, we felt an obligation to do it – to send our own forces to hold the Greenland territory..."

"We literally set up bases on Greenland for Denmark. We fought for Denmark. We weren’t fighting for anyone else. We were fighting to save it for Denmark. Big, beautiful piece of ice. It’s hard to call it land. It’s a big piece of ice. But we saved Greenland and successfully prevented our enemies from gaining a foothold in our hemisphere..."

Trump said: "And then after the war, which we won, we won it big – without us, right now, you’d all be speaking German and a little Japanese, perhaps. After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it, but we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now?"

This claim by Trump is misleading.

Historical documents do not support Trump's claim that the United States ever owned or controlled Greenland.

Greenland was formally established as a Danish colony in 1814 and has remained an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1916, the United States and Denmark signed the Treaty of the Danish West Indies, which officially transferred what are now the US Virgin Islands to the United States for $25 million in gold. As part of this diplomatic agreement, the United States formally recognised Denmark's sovereignty over the entire island of Greenland.

During his speech, Trump was most likely referring to a World War II-era defence pact between the United States and Denmark.

In 1941, a year after the Nazis invaded Denmark, the Danish ambassador to the United States signed the pact, called the Agreement Relating to the Defense of Greenland. It granted the United States the right to build airstrips, naval bases, and weather stations in Greenland. In exchange, the US guaranteed the island's protection. The agreement, however, did not give the United States sovereignty or control over Greenland.

The preamble to the agreement stated: “Although the sovereignty of Denmark over Greenland is fully recognized, the present circumstances for the time being prevent the Government in Denmark from exercising its powers in respect of Greenland.”

“The Government of the United States of America reiterates its recognition of and respect for the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Den­mark over Greenland,” the agreement said.

In 1951, after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in 1949, the US and Denmark signed an updated agreement to incorporate NATO into their 1941 arrangement and to set some rules governing the US military presence in Greenland.

In 1953, Greenland, which was a colony, became an integral part of Denmark.

In 2004, an agreement was signed by the US, under the then-President George W Bush's administration, updating and amending the 1951 agreement. It again explicitly noted Danish sovereignty over Greenland.