The history of South Schleswig

For centuries, South Schleswig was closely connected to the Danish kingdom. At times, the southern border reached as far as Hamburg-Altona. The population of Schleswig spoke local dialects rooted in Danish, German, and Frisian, and people often felt more attached to the region itself than to any particular national identity.

The 19th Century and National Conflicts

In the 19th century, national movements emerged across Europe. In Schleswig, people increasingly began to see themselves as either Danish or German. This led to conflicts over language, schooling, and political allegiance. Two wars shaped this development: the First Schleswig War (1848–1851), in which Danish and Schleswig-Holstein troops fought each other, and the Second Schleswig War of 1864, after which Denmark lost the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg to Prussia and Austria.

After 1864, the border ran along the Kongeå river. Denmark lost around one third of its territory and population, and for many Danes, 1864 symbolised the loss of their country.

The 1920 Plebiscite

After World War I, the border changed again — for the last time. The Treaty of Versailles stipulated that the populations of North Schleswig and South Schleswig should vote on their national affiliation.

Zone 1 (North Schleswig): 75% voted to join Denmark.
Zone 2 (South Schleswig): Around 80% voted to remain in Germany.

The result was the border we know today.

The Emergence of the Minorities

The plebiscite created new national minorities on both sides of the border. In North Schleswig, the German minority emerged; in South Schleswig, the Danish minority. Both groups consisted of people who had been “outvoted” and now had to live in a state they had not chosen themselves.

The first years were difficult. The minorities faced scepticism and sometimes hostility, and the interwar period was marked by political tensions. Gradually, however, paths toward coexistence were found.

World War II

After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, the Danish minority was officially allowed to continue. For individuals, however, membership in a Danish association or institution could mean discrimination in everyday life. In addition, young men — who generally held German citizenship — were conscripted into the German military and had to participate in the Nazi regime’s wars. Some of those who stayed behind joined the local resistance. These experiences of living under a brutal dictatorship continue to shape the values of the Danish minority today.

Immediately after Germany’s defeat, many in South Schleswig hoped for political reunification with Denmark. It was no longer only members of the Danish minority who wished to belong to Denmark; many in the German majority, whose families often had roots both north and south of the border, had also had enough of Germany. Denmark, however, declined quickly — primarily out of concern about taking in a large German minority. Still, the influx into the Danish movement continued in the post-war years, driven in part by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of German refugees from the former eastern territories, with whom the local population felt they had little in common.

Support for the minority declined again over the course of the 1950s as conditions in Germany stabilised. What remained, however, was a strengthened minority that had built new schools, a political party, and other institutions.

The Bonn–Copenhagen Declarations

In 1955, Denmark and the Federal Republic of Germany signed the so-called Bonn–Copenhagen Declarations. These guaranteed rights to the Danish minority in South Schleswig and the German minority in North Schleswig, including mutual recognition of school qualifications. This laid the foundation for a gradual normalisation of relations in the border region. Minority and majority increasingly lived peacefully side by side, although the older generation continued to define their identity strongly in contrast to the other: being Danish was often seen as the opposite of being German.

The Border Today

Today, the border is part of the Schengen Area, crossed daily by people going about their lives. Yet history remains alive — in the culture, in families, and within the two minorities. For many South Schleswigans, living with two languages and two cultures is entirely natural, yet also an inheritance of the region’s long and often dramatic border history.

Since the 1990s, the minority has experienced renewed momentum, reflected not least in election results. Denmark and Germany have ratified two international conventions — the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Both strengthen the rights of minorities in concrete ways. This has led to political improvements and has helped reinforce the view of minorities as an enrichment and a resource for society.

The political influence of the minority has also grown. For decades, the SSW held only one seat in the state parliament, but at times it has been represented by up to four MPs. From 2012 to 2017, the minority party was even part of the Schleswig-Holstein state government for the first time.

Relations between Danes and Germans have relaxed, as the confrontational attitude of older generations fades and cooperation between the majority populations in Southern Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein has increased. Today, many within the German majority view the minority as an added value. Together with the Frisian minority on the west coast, this diversity gives the region its distinctive character.