German minority in Denmark: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Ethnic group}} |
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{{More citations needed|date=August 2010}} |
{{More citations needed|date=August 2010}} |
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{{Infobox ethnic group |
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| flag = {{flagicon|Germany}} {{flagicon|Denmark}} |
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| group = Germans in Denmark<br />''Danske tyskere''<br />''Dänische Deutsche'' <br> ''Hjemmetyskere'' |
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| population = 15,000-20,000 |
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| popplace = [[North Schleswig]], [[Copenhagen]], [[Bornholm]], throughout [[Denmark]] |
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| rels = [[Christianity]] ([[Roman Catholicism]], [[Protestantism]]), [[Judaism]], [[Irreligious]] |
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|langs = [[Low Saxon]], [[Danish language|Danish]] ([[South Jutlandic]]) |
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| related = Other [[Germans]], [[Danes]], [[Frisians]], [[Dutch people]], [[Norwegians]], [[Faroese people]] |
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}} |
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[[File:Bandera Bund Deutscher Nordschleswiger.svg|thumb|Flag of the Germans of North Schleswig]] |
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Approximately 15,000 people in [[Denmark]] belong to an [[ |
Approximately 15,000 people in [[Denmark]] belong to an [[Autochthonous peoples|autochthonous]] [[ethnic German]] minority traditionally referred to as ''hjemmetyskere'', meaning "Home Germans" in [[Danish language|Danish]], and as ''Nordschleswiger'' in [[German language|German]].<ref>[http://www.nordschleswig.dk Nordschleswig]</ref> They are [[Danish nationality law|Danish citizens]] and most self-identify as [[ethnic Germans]]. They generally speak [[Low Saxon]] and [[South Jutlandic]] [[Danish language|Danish]] as their [[home language]]s. |
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''Nordschleswiger'' in [[German language|German]].<ref>[http://www.nordschleswig.dk Nordschleswig]</ref> This minority of Germans hold Danish [[citizenship]] and self-identify as [[ethnic Germans]]. They generally speak [[German language in the United States|German]] or [[Low German]] alongside [[South Jutlandic]] dialect of [[Danish language|Danish]] as their [[home language]]s. Furthermore, there are also several thousand German immigrants residing in Denmark with no historical connection to this group. |
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Unrelatedly to the North Schleswig Germans, there are also a substantial number of [[German nationality law|citizens of Germany]] who live in Denmark under the aegis of the [[Schengen Area]] and have no connection to the historical German inhabitants of the Duchy of Schleswig. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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[[Image:Abstimmung-schleswig-1920.png|thumb|left|Results of the plebiscite]] |
[[Image:Abstimmung-schleswig-1920.png|thumb|left|Results of the plebiscite]] |
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In 1920, in the aftermath of [[World War I]], two [[Schleswig Plebiscites]] were held in the northernmost part of the Prussian [[Province of Schleswig-Holstein]] (the northern half of the former [[Duchy of Schleswig]]). The plebiscites were held in two zones that were defined by Denmark<ref>[http://www.geschichte-s-h.de/zeitreiseindex.htm ''Abstimmungsgebiet'', Plebiscite Zones and how they were defined (German), Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte (Society for History of Schleswig-Holstein)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513051709/http://www.geschichte-s-h.de/zeitreiseindex.htm |date=2009-05-13 }}</ref> according to the ideas of the Danish historian Hans Victor Clausen. The northern Zone I was |
In 1920, in the aftermath of [[World War I]], two [[Schleswig Plebiscites]] were held in the northernmost part of the Prussian [[Province of Schleswig-Holstein]] (the northern half of the former [[Duchy of Schleswig]]). The plebiscites were held in two zones that were defined by Denmark<ref>[http://www.geschichte-s-h.de/zeitreiseindex.htm ''Abstimmungsgebiet'', Plebiscite Zones and how they were defined (German), Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte (Society for History of Schleswig-Holstein)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513051709/http://www.geschichte-s-h.de/zeitreiseindex.htm |date=2009-05-13 }}</ref> according to the ideas of the Danish historian Hans Victor Clausen. The northern Zone I was delineated according to Clausen's estimation of where the local rural population identified itself as Danish, a survey published in 1891.<ref>[http://www.graenseforeningen.dk/leksikon/c/all/4549 Clausen-linjen, Grænseforeningen (Danish)]</ref> Clausen travelled extensively on both sides of the eventual border, in an attempt determine which communities that would vote for a return to Danish rule, and concluded that this was the case north of the [[Skelbæk]]ken creek, where most rural communities were both Danish-speaking and pro-Danish, while the communities south of this line were overwhelmingly pro-German (though some of these communities were also primarily Danish-speaking). Near Tønder, he deviated from this system, and included the German-majority towns of [[Tønder]] and [[Højer]] into the northern sector for economic purposes, and to achieve a line following a [[Levee|dyke]], consequently this line followed the dyke south of Højer. |
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[[File:Former German territories.svg|200px|thumb|North Schleswig and other German territories lost in both World Wars are shown in black, present-day Germany is marked dark grey on this 1914 map.]] |
[[File:Former German territories.svg|200px|thumb|North Schleswig and other German territories lost in both World Wars are shown in black, present-day Germany is marked dark grey on this 1914 map.]] |
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The northern Zone I voted ''en bloc'', i.e. as a unit with the majority deciding, and the result was 75% for Denmark and 25% for Germany, consequently resulting in a German minority north of the new border. In the southern Zone II, each parish/town voted for its own future allegiance, and all districts in Zone II showed German majorities. The eventual border was |
The northern Zone I voted ''en bloc'', i.e. as a unit with the majority deciding, and the result was 75% for Denmark and 25% for Germany, consequently resulting in a German minority north of the new border. In the southern Zone II, each parish/town voted for its own future allegiance, and all districts in Zone II showed German majorities. The eventual border was delineated virtually identically with the border between Zones I and II. |
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In the northern Zone (Zone I), 25% of the population, i.e. around 40,000 people voted to remain part of Germany, the German North Schleswigers having their centres in the towns of [[Tønder]], [[Aabenraa]], and [[Sønderborg]], but also in a rural district between Tønder and Flensburg near the new border, most notably in [[Tinglev]]. Smaller German minorities existed in [[Haderslev]] and [[Christiansfeld]] (both towns with Danish majorities). Sønderborg and Aabenraa were strongly dominated by both nationalities (c. 55% Germans and 45% Danes). In Sønderborg, the German majority was partially due to a local military garrison, and the German element in this town decreased sharply in the 1920s, after the German garrison had been withdrawn and replaced with a Danish one. Tønder had a vast German majority (c. 80%) but was included in the northern Zone for geographical and economic reasons, and because of the small population of this (and the other) North Schleswig towns. |
In the northern Zone (Zone I), 25% of the population, i.e. around 40,000 people voted to remain part of Germany, the German North Schleswigers having their centres in the towns of [[Tønder]], [[Aabenraa]], and [[Sønderborg]], but also in a rural district between Tønder and Flensburg near the new border, most notably in [[Tinglev]]. Smaller German minorities existed in [[Haderslev]] and [[Christiansfeld]] (both towns with Danish majorities). Sønderborg and Aabenraa were strongly dominated by both nationalities (c. 55% Germans and 45% Danes). In Sønderborg, the German majority was partially due to a local military garrison, and the German element in this town decreased sharply in the 1920s, after the German garrison had been withdrawn and replaced with a Danish one. Tønder had a vast German majority (c. 80%) but was included in the northern Zone for geographical and economic reasons, and because of the small population of this (and the other) North Schleswig towns. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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{{Portal|Germany|Denmark}} |
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* [[Denmark–Germany relations]] |
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* [[Potato Germans]] |
* [[Potato Germans]] |
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* [[Danish minority of Southern Schleswig]] |
* [[Danish minority of Southern Schleswig]] |
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* [[Germans in Finland]] |
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* [[Germans in Sweden]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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*{{cite book |last1=Thaler |first1=Peter |title=Collective Identities and Post-War Violence in Europe, 1944–48: Reshaping the Nation |date=2022 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-78386-0 |pages=253–274 |language=en |chapter=A Glass Half Full or Half Empty? The Post-war Treatment of the German Minority in Denmark}} |
*{{cite book |last1=Thaler |first1=Peter |title=Collective Identities and Post-War Violence in Europe, 1944–48: Reshaping the Nation |date=2022 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-78386-0 |pages=253–274 |language=en |chapter=A Glass Half Full or Half Empty? The Post-war Treatment of the German Minority in Denmark}} |
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*Thaler, Peter, ed. ''Like Snow in the Sun? The German Minority in Denmark in Historical Perspective''. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter, 2022. ISBN |
*Thaler, Peter, ed. ''Like Snow in the Sun? The German Minority in Denmark in Historical Perspective''. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter, 2022. {{ISBN|978-3-11-068194-9}}. |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
Latest revision as of 16:53, 18 August 2024
This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2010) |
Total population | |
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15,000-20,000 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
North Schleswig, Copenhagen, Bornholm, throughout Denmark | |
Languages | |
Low Saxon, Danish (South Jutlandic) | |
Religion | |
Christianity (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism), Judaism, Irreligious | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Germans, Danes, Frisians, Dutch people, Norwegians, Faroese people |
Approximately 15,000 people in Denmark belong to an autochthonous ethnic German minority traditionally referred to as hjemmetyskere, meaning "Home Germans" in Danish, and as Nordschleswiger in German.[1] They are Danish citizens and most self-identify as ethnic Germans. They generally speak Low Saxon and South Jutlandic Danish as their home languages.
Unrelatedly to the North Schleswig Germans, there are also a substantial number of citizens of Germany who live in Denmark under the aegis of the Schengen Area and have no connection to the historical German inhabitants of the Duchy of Schleswig.
History
[edit]In 1920, in the aftermath of World War I, two Schleswig Plebiscites were held in the northernmost part of the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein (the northern half of the former Duchy of Schleswig). The plebiscites were held in two zones that were defined by Denmark[2] according to the ideas of the Danish historian Hans Victor Clausen. The northern Zone I was delineated according to Clausen's estimation of where the local rural population identified itself as Danish, a survey published in 1891.[3] Clausen travelled extensively on both sides of the eventual border, in an attempt determine which communities that would vote for a return to Danish rule, and concluded that this was the case north of the Skelbækken creek, where most rural communities were both Danish-speaking and pro-Danish, while the communities south of this line were overwhelmingly pro-German (though some of these communities were also primarily Danish-speaking). Near Tønder, he deviated from this system, and included the German-majority towns of Tønder and Højer into the northern sector for economic purposes, and to achieve a line following a dyke, consequently this line followed the dyke south of Højer.
The northern Zone I voted en bloc, i.e. as a unit with the majority deciding, and the result was 75% for Denmark and 25% for Germany, consequently resulting in a German minority north of the new border. In the southern Zone II, each parish/town voted for its own future allegiance, and all districts in Zone II showed German majorities. The eventual border was delineated virtually identically with the border between Zones I and II.
In the northern Zone (Zone I), 25% of the population, i.e. around 40,000 people voted to remain part of Germany, the German North Schleswigers having their centres in the towns of Tønder, Aabenraa, and Sønderborg, but also in a rural district between Tønder and Flensburg near the new border, most notably in Tinglev. Smaller German minorities existed in Haderslev and Christiansfeld (both towns with Danish majorities). Sønderborg and Aabenraa were strongly dominated by both nationalities (c. 55% Germans and 45% Danes). In Sønderborg, the German majority was partially due to a local military garrison, and the German element in this town decreased sharply in the 1920s, after the German garrison had been withdrawn and replaced with a Danish one. Tønder had a vast German majority (c. 80%) but was included in the northern Zone for geographical and economic reasons, and because of the small population of this (and the other) North Schleswig towns.
Between 1920–1939, the North Schleswig Germans elected Johannes Schmidt-Vodder as their representative in the Danish Parliament with c. 13–15% of the North Schleswig votes,[4] indicating that the share of North Schleswigers that identified as Germans had decreased when compared with the 1920 referendum.
Since 1945, the North Schleswig Germans have been presented by Bund Deutscher Nordschleswiger, a cultural organisation, and continued to elect a member of Parliament until the 1950s.
The North Schleswig Germans are currently represented in the municipal councils of Aabenraa, Tønder, and Sønderborg. Bund Deutscher Nordschleswiger estimates the current number of North Schleswig Germans to be around 15,000,[5] i.e. around 6% of the North Schleswig population of c. 250,000. This is a far smaller group than the 50,000 Danes who live in Southern Schleswig, where, for instance, Flensborg Avis, a newspaper in Danish, is printed every day.
See also
[edit]- Denmark–Germany relations
- Potato Germans
- Danish minority of Southern Schleswig
- Germans in Finland
- Germans in Sweden
References
[edit]- ^ Nordschleswig
- ^ Abstimmungsgebiet, Plebiscite Zones and how they were defined (German), Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte (Society for History of Schleswig-Holstein) Archived 2009-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Clausen-linjen, Grænseforeningen (Danish)
- ^ Johannes Schmidt-Vodder, Grænseforeningen (Danish) Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bund Deutscher Nordschleswiger (German) Archived 2013-03-16 at the Wayback Machine
Further reading
[edit]- Thaler, Peter (2022). "A Glass Half Full or Half Empty? The Post-war Treatment of the German Minority in Denmark". Collective Identities and Post-War Violence in Europe, 1944–48: Reshaping the Nation. Springer International Publishing. pp. 253–274. ISBN 978-3-030-78386-0.
- Thaler, Peter, ed. Like Snow in the Sun? The German Minority in Denmark in Historical Perspective. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter, 2022. ISBN 978-3-11-068194-9.