Scandanavia: Norway,Sweden, Denmark (1962)

[Music] swedes Norwegians Danes descendants of the ancient Vikings who crossed the Atlantic 500 years before Columbus discovered America people who look much alike speak similar languages who live in Scandinavia in the extreme North of Europe as far north as Alaska are the countries of Scandinavia Denmark Norway Sweden much of Norway and Sweden lie within the Arctic Circle yet for the most part the climate is moderate with warm Summers and Winters much like those in the northern United States from the Gulf of Mexico a current of warm water like a river in the sea flows northeastward across the Atlantic this Atlantic drift or Gulf Stream and the Westerly winds which blow from it warm much of Northern Europe producing a temperate climate in these lands which would otherwise be very cold Norway is tremendously influenced by the Sea The Sea affects not only the climate but the way in which the people live water in the form of rushing streams or glaciers has cut deep narrow valleys between High banks on the coast the sea flows into these valleys or fjords and reaches Inland in places as far as 100 miles with the land broken by hundreds of Ys travel by sea is easier than by land just outside the fjords are more than a 100,000 Islands which provide protection for the fishing vessels which make port in coastal Villages and towns like Allison most of the 19,000 people of Allison earn their livelihood from the sea during the summer there may be as much as 24 hours of daylight in much of Norway the fishermen of Allison leave home for their boats in the evening just as the children are ready for bed Evar molus and his brothers fish the coastal Waters in their own well equ equipped tler the Norwegian Coast is one of the world's great fishing grounds Norwegian fishermen among the world's best and most prosperous even as the days grow shorter and the long nights Begin to Fall with the coming of Winter the men of Allison search the Seas for fish Norway's greatest natural resource as the boats come home to Port the catch is unloaded Cod hay hadock mackerel sardines more fish are brought ashore in Norway than in any other European country most of the catch is exported some fish are shipped fresh or frozen others like cod are salted and dried fishing and life on the sea is an Norwegian tradition grandfather molus was a wher as was his father before him the children of Allison will grow in this seafaring tradition becoming fishermen and merchantmen themselves traveling to the Far Corners of the Earth in Norwegian art literature music and thought the sea is never far shipping is fundamental to the Norwegian economy shipping services are Norway's chief export and source of income her Fleet the third largest in the world most of it is engaged in transport between foreign ports only and in almost any one you will be sure to find Norwegian ships and Norwegian seamen Norway has always turned to the Sea perhaps because of the nature of the land mountains cover nearly all of the country in The Valleys between the mountains are small farms but less than 3% of the land is good for agriculture and Norway must import much of her food supply the land is not rich in natural resources the people cultivate the little soil they possess they harvest the forests they fish the Seas they sail the oceans they harness water power and build factories to use that power they live in a society where few are rich and none suffer poverty there is work for all 3 and5 million Norwegians the people of Norway have learned to make the most of the limited resources of their beautiful but not particularly Bountiful land a peninsula jutting from the European Mainland and about 500 islands make up Denmark the smallest country of Scandinavia one of the smallest in Europe a land about half the size of the state of Maine here no mountains or FS or rushing streams no empty Wilderness of glaciers and forests as in Norway instead mile upon mile of open Farmland to which the people of Denmark have turned for their livelihood over 75% of the land is usable for farming few countries have so large a percentage of workable Farmland the neelon are farmers small farmers Eric neelen owns his own 40 acres and with the help of his family works it without outside help their home is typical of Danish farmhouses comfortable clean and equipped with most of the convenience es of modern living Danish Farms are among the most efficient in the world the soil is relatively infertile but careful cultivation hard work mechanization and scientific methods have made it highly productive for a wide range of crops vegetables sugar beets grain 70 years ago Denmark produced mostly grain then competition from the great wheat fields of the new world forced a change the Danes turned to large scale livestock production developing their own cattle breeds like the red Danish which supplies milk meat butter and cheese to much of Europe they developed their own breed of pigs which have made Danish ham and bacon famous there is little left to chance on a Danish Farm scientific feeding produces animals of remarkably uniform quality in the shortest possible time Danish Farmers work closely together meeting on each other's Farms to exchange information they study the latest agricultural methods and research findings but cooperation goes beyond exchange of information most dairies to which the farmers send their milk are owned in common by the farmers themselves they are called cooperatives through these nonprofit cooperatives farmers are able to purchase their equipment and supplies Market their products economically and maintain standards which make Danish farm products seem as if they came from one gigantic Farm instead of from thousands of small ones Danish designed butter churns and the best in modern equipment help maintain high levels of production butter is the main product of Danish Farms most of it is exported to Britain Danish cheese is known around the world eggs packed by The Cooperative bearing the stamp of Danish quality control are sold largely to Germany and Spain at Cooperative schools education is continued well beyond the age when most leave school Farm families shop at cooperatively owned stores for over a 100 years cooperatives have flourished in Denmark agriculture is the basis of the Danish economy these f farms and the people who work them Denmark's greatest resource there is limestone used in the making of cement under much of the country but there is Little Else Denmark is extremely poor in natural resources raw materials for industry must be almost entirely imported wood for the fine Danish furniture which has created created a worldwide demand for itself steel for building ships and for the giant diesel engines which drive them the majority of the people work in industry or trade the value of manufactured goods now accounts for almost half of the income Denmark receives from exports agricultural products still the most important Copenhagen is the capital a million and a quar of Denmark's 4 and a half million people live here it's a city of whirling bicycles handsome people parks and heart that reflects the Danish Spirit The Little Mermaid from the tales of Denmark's beloved Hans Christian Anderson looks out across copenhagen's Harbor the people of Denmark energetic intelligent educated disciplined have created a nation and a standard of living envied by much of the world and done it in spite of an almost total lack of Natural Resources the largest and wealthiest country of Scandinavia is Sweden both in size and outline it resembles the state of California in the northern 2/3 of the country great forests of Pine and Spruce cover almost all of the land literally billions of trees cover well over half of Sweden mountains rise along the Norwegian border from the mountains flow thousands of rushing streams rivers and lakes cover over a tenth of the country the Farms of Sweden are in the South where the land is much like that of Denmark open rolling highly productive while Danish Farms are invariably small those of Sweden range from a few acres to Giant Estates from less than 10% of the land area Sweden feeds herself abundantly well the rich farmlands the stately silent forests the Swift streams and rivers s the gray iron mines far north in the land of the Midnight Sun these are the great natural assets of another people who have learned to use them well let us see how 250 million trees a year are felled and driven down a unique network of rivers to the Mills along the coast Timber can be cut at this rate for centuries to come for the forests are managed by law in such a way that the supply Remains inexhaustable the forests feed the paper and Pulp Mills providing jobs for thousands of sweds forest products are Sweden's greatest asset as an export accounting for nearly half of the country's total revenue from products shipped abroad iron ore is mined in vast quantities north of the Arctic Circle so much iron is here that 9/10 of it is exported much of it through the Norwegian Arctic Port of narvik from Iron Ore Mills produce the famous Swedish Steels known all over the world Sweden is not a large scale steel producer because of her lack of coal indispensable in steel making neither is oil found here to produce power for this modern industrial nation so Sweden has turned to another of her great assets water water from thousands of streams rushing down from the mountains produces 95% of Swedish electricity about half of the 1,000 hydroelectric plants are owned by the government the Rest by Private Industry railroads operate on electric power almost completely cheap electricity transmitted great distances from the power sources in the north helped Sweden's 25,000 privately owned fact iies and workshops flourish in their clean and pleasant surroundings the range of manufactured goods includes most of the things a Modern Nation needs the country's Advanced industrialization is due largely to Swedish inventions like the dial telephone and to high standards in engineering Swedish electrical mechanical goods are renowned for their precision and efficiency other products like glass for their Clarity and simplicity of design Swedish workmen enjoy one of the world's highest living standards ingar Peterson Works in a glass factory 7 hours a day 5 days a week in their attractive homes families like the Petersons have most of the material things which make life comfortable and secure ingar Peterson has ample leisure time to spend at home with his family the government pays him allowance for each child under 15 he is entitled to at least 3 weeks vacation each year with full pay he has both the time and income to enjoy the natural Delights of his country should he become ill he has paid a daily sickness benefit hospitals provide free medical care there is an old age pension for everyone Sweden believes that all citizens are entitled to a certain protection on the basis of need rather than ability to pay and that ultimately Society will gain by providing such care as it gains by providing better education tuition fees have been abolished even at the University level everyone attends good schools in a publicly financed system the teaching profession enjoys considerable Prestige Stockholm is Sweden's capital A City built on a dozen Islands a city old in history and tradition but as modern as any in the world it is perhaps here in Stockholm that the character of Sweden and all Scandinavia shows best towering new buildings shopping centers Fine Art all of these things mirror the accomplishments of the resourceful people of Scandinavia who have so much in common Royal palaces stand in Stockholm aw SL and Copenhagen but the people are not governed by their kings rather by free Democratic processes cooperation robust self-reliance and energy maximum utilization of resources these are the keys to Scandinavia success toward achieving what every nation wants security and prosperity for all of the people