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The Schleswig plebiscites were two
plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...
s, organized according to section XII, articles 100 to 115 of the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...
of 28 June 1919, in order to determine the future border between
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
through the former
Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
. The process was monitored by a commission with representatives from
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
. The plebiscites were held on 10 February and 14 March 1920, and the result was that the larger northern portion (Zone I) voted to join Denmark, while the smaller southern portion (Zone II) voted to remain part of Germany.


Background

The Duchy of Schleswig had been a
fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...
of the Danish crown since the Middle Ages, but it, along with the Danish-ruled German provinces of
Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...
and Lauenburg, which had both been part of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
, was conquered by Prussia and Austria in the 1864
Second War of Schleswig The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. ...
. Between 1864 and 1866, Prussia and Austria ruled the entire region as a
condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
, and they formalised this arrangement in the 1865
Gastein Convention The Gastein Convention (german: Gasteiner Konvention), also called the ''Convention of Badgastein'', was a treaty signed at Bad Gastein in Austria on 14 August 1865.Wolfgang Neugebauer (ed.): ''Handbuch der preußischen Geschichte''. Band 2: ''Da ...
. The condominium was terminated due to the
Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
in 1866. Article 5 of the Austro-Prussian
Peace of Prague (1866) The Peace of Prague (german: Prager Frieden) was a peace treaty signed by the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire at Prague on 23 August 1866. In combination with the treaties of Prussia and several south - and central German states it eff ...
stipulated that a plebiscite should be held within the ensuing six years in order to give the people of the northern part of Schleswig the possibility of voting for the region's future allegiance by allowing regions voting for Danish rule to be restored to Danish administration. The idea of a plebiscite had been presented earlier. During the early phases of the
First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswi ...
, the secessionist government of
Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...
had unsuccessfully suggested a plebiscite in parts of Schleswig, but this had been rejected by the Danish government, and during the 1863 London Conference's attempts to defuse the
Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...
, one of the suggestions of
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
n Prime Minister
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...
was a plebiscite in North Schleswig. Bismarck's initiative was not adopted by the conference, primarily since the option had not been included in the instruction to the Danish delegation. The inclusion of the promise of a plebiscite in the 1866 Austro-Prussian Peace of Prague was a diplomatic concession to Austria, but was not implemented. The reference to it was subsequently dropped in 1877 by Austria and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
. The 1864 border was confirmed in the 1907 German-Danish Optant Treaty, but Danish North Schleswigers continued to argue for a plebiscite citing the 1866 Peace of Prague. Danes campaigning for implementation of the plebiscite promise, in the hope that it would result in the area being restored to Danish rule, often made a comparison with the French demand for return of Alsace-Lorraine. This comparison was regarded sympathetically by French public opinion and, although Denmark had not taken part in the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, there was considerable backing in France for taking up the Danish claims as part of the post-war settlement. After Germany's defeat in 1918, the Danish government asked the Allied Powers and the
Versailles Conference The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed ...
of 1919 to include a plebiscite in the disputed North Schleswig region based on
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
's
Fourteen Points U.S. President Woodrow Wilson The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms ...
as part of the Allied Powers' peace settlement with Germany, and this request was granted by the Allies.


Defining the plebiscite boundaries

The plebiscites were held on 10 February and 14 March 1920 in two zones that had been defined according to the wishes of the Danish government, and based on lines drawn in the 1890s by Danish historian . During the 1880s and 1890s, Clausen had travelled extensively on both sides of a possible future Dano-German border, for which he published two suggestions. Clausen's first line delineated a coherent territory that he expected would vote Danish in a future plebiscite, and the second line (about further south) included a thinly-populated rural region in Central Schleswig, which Clausen believed had potential for assimilation into Denmark, as the population of Central Schleswig was pro-German in allegiance, but also Danish-speaking. In 1918, Clausen published a pamphlet "Før Afgørelsen" (''Before the Decision'') in which he strongly advocated that Denmark annex the zone delineated by his northernmost ("first") line, arguing that the territory north of this line was indisputably pro-Danish and should be considered indivisible. At the same time, he effectively abandoned his second line, as the population of Central Schleswig remained pro-German, and as he considered it vital that the future border should be based on the
self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a '' jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It sta ...
of the local populace. In the 1920 plebiscites, Clausen's first line was closely imitated in what became the plebiscite's Zone I, while his second line became the basis of Zone II, although the plebiscite zone was extended to include the city of
Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...
and the town of
Glücksburg Glücksburg (; da, Lyksborg) is a small town northeast of Flensburg in the district Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and is the northernmost town in Germany. It is situated on the south side of the Flensborg Fjord, an inlet ...
. Clausen had excluded both from his two lines. Zone I was based on Clausen's estimations of the local population's national self-identification. When in doubt, Clausen primarily relied on the wishes of the rural communities, which he considered autochtone (
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
), in contrast with the North Schleswig towns, which he considered largely irrelevant due to their smallness and their less-autochtone population, notably the demographics of the town of
Sønderborg (; german: Sonderburg ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 27,766 (1 January 2022),naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that u ...
. In addition, Clausen believed that it would minimize the risk of future conflict if the future border in the
marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found ...
y West Schleswig followed either the
Vidå The Vidå (german: Wiedau, North Frisian ''Widuu'') is a creek in The Jutland region of, Denmark. The creek starts east of Tønder and flows to the west, ending in the North Sea. In places the Vidå marks the border between Denmark and Germany (' ...
river or a dyke. This caused resentment on the German side, as this implied that the town of
Tønder Tønder (; german: Tondern ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,505 (as of 1 January 2022), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality. History The first mention of Tønder might ...
(Tondern) would be included in Zone I.


Plebiscite preparations

In 1918 and early 1919, the leading Danish political parties argued that the future allegiance of North Schleswig should be decided by a plebiscite, in which the entire region should be counted as one indivisible unit, i.e. vote ''en bloc''. This wish was conveyed to the Paris Peace Conference in
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
, and became the basis for the plebiscite's Zone I. During 1919, political wishes in Denmark grew for the extension of the plebiscite area, and the issue became a topic of confrontation between the Social Liberal government and its parliamentary support, the
Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
, both parties opposing an extension the area, versus the
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
and
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
opposition which both supported an extension of the plebiscite area. As a compromise, it was decided to request the Allied Powers to extend the plebiscite until Clausen's second line, which was adapted to include
Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...
and
Glücksburg Glücksburg (; da, Lyksborg) is a small town northeast of Flensburg in the district Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and is the northernmost town in Germany. It is situated on the south side of the Flensborg Fjord, an inlet ...
. In this smaller Zone II, each town – or, in the rural areas, each
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
– was to decide its own allegiance. Two other requests were made, which were only partially followed by the Allied Powers. Firstly, Denmark requested that the plebiscite area's German civil administration be replaced by an international administration. The Allied Powers replaced the German garrisons with a small international force, of 400 French soldiers disembarked from the cruiser ''
La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...
'', but the civil administration was only partially replaced in Zone I, and not at all in Zone II. Secondly, Denmark had requested that persons previously expelled from the region should be allowed to vote in the plebiscite. This was intended to allow previously expelled "optants" to vote, i.e. the families of locals who had opted to retain their Danish citizenship and who had consequently been expelled from the area by Prussian authorities. The Allied Powers granted this request but extended it, consequently entitling anyone who had previously lived in the region to vote in the plebiscite. Since a large number of German officials (notably railway officials) had been temporarily stationed in the area, this extension implied that these officials as well as their wives and any children of legal age were entitled to vote in the plebiscite. Since many of the expelled pro-Danish "optants" had emigrated to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, the net result of this extension was a slight increase for the German results, and it was much more likely for a pro-German emigrant living in Germany to return to the region for the plebiscite than for a pro-Danish expellee who had emigrated to the United States to do the same.


Plebiscite voting and results

On 10 February 1920 the plebiscite was held in ''Zone I'', the later
Northern Schleswig South Jutland County ( Danish: ''Sønderjyllands Amt'') is a former county ( Danish: ''amt'') on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of A ...
, where 74.9% (75,431 votes) voted to become Danish, while 25.1% (25,329 votes) voted to stay German. In three of the four major towns, especially in the southern region directly at the border with Zone II, German majorities existed, with a German majority as large as 70 to 80 percent in and around
Tønder Tønder (; german: Tondern ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,505 (as of 1 January 2022), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality. History The first mention of Tønder might ...
(plus southerly Udbjerg) and Højer. It was mostly this area that caused controversy after the voting, especially as these towns had been included north of Clausen's first line. Although Clausen correctly estimated Tønder to be vastly pro-German, he considered the town to be economically dependent on its pro-Danish rural uplands, and placed both the town and its uplands north of his first line. Local majorities for Germany also existed elsewhere: In the small town of
Tinglev Tinglev (german: Tingleff) is a town with a population of 2,731 (1 January 2022)Sønderborg (; german: Sonderburg ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 27,766 (1 January 2022),Aabenraa Aabenraa (; , ; Sønderjysk: ''Affenråe'') is a town in Southern Denmark, at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, north of the Denmark–Germany border and north of German town of Flensburg. It was the seat of Sønderjyl ...
. Like Tønder and Højer, Tinglev directly bordered Zone II. Both the latter cities, however, lay kind of "isolated" in pro-Danish surroundings. The vote in Central Schleswig (''Zone II'') took place on 14 March 1920, where 80.2% (51,742 votes) voted to stay German, while 19.8% (12,800) voted to become Danish. Since a Danish majority in this zone was produced in only three small villages on the island of
Föhr Föhr ( ''Fering'' North Frisian: ''Feer''; da, Før) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr is the second-largest No ...
, none of which were near the coming border, the ''Commission Internationale de Surveillance du Plébiscite au Slesvig'' decided on a line almost identical to the border between the two zones. The poor result for Denmark in Central Schleswig, particularly in
Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...
, Schleswig's largest city, triggered Denmark's 1920 Easter Crisis. A plebiscite was not held in the southernmost third of the province (''Zone III'' which included the region south of Zone II until the
Schlei The Schlei (; da, Slien, also ''Slesvig Fjord''e.g. in: Adolph Frederik Bergsøe: ''Den danske stats statistik'', Kjøbenhavn 1844, p. 156) (more often referred to in English as the Sly Firth) is a narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-H ...
,
Danevirke The Danevirke or Danework (modern Danish spelling: ''Dannevirke''; in Old Norse; ''Danavirki'', in German; ''Danewerk'', literally meaning '' earthwork of the Danes'') is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This his ...
, and the city of
Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
) as the population was almost exclusively pro-German. The Allied Powers had offered to include this region in the plebiscite, but the Danish government had expressly asked for Zone III to be excluded. The small part of the historical province located south of Zone III was not included in plebiscite plans among the Allied Powers, and the same applied in Denmark, since the extreme south of the former duchy was considered to be a completely pro-German area. Selected results in detail:


Settlement of the Danish-German border

Directly after the announcement of the results from Zone I, an alternative draft for the frontier was made by the German administrator Johannes Tiedje. The proposed frontier would have incorporated
Tønder Tønder (; german: Tondern ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,505 (as of 1 January 2022), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality. History The first mention of Tønder might ...
/Tondern, Højer/Hoyer,
Tinglev Tinglev (german: Tingleff) is a town with a population of 2,731 (1 January 2022)Southern Jutland Southern Jutland ( da, Sønderjylland; German: Südjütland) is the name for the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called da, Nør ...
, although the latter name is also the historiographical name for the entire
Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
region.


Gallery

File:Afstemningsplakat3.PNG, A pro-German campaign poster. "We have been Schleswigers for 1,000 years. We will remain Schleswigers. That's why we vote for Germany." File:Afstemningsplakat4.PNG, A pro-Danish campaign poster in North Frisian "Should we leave this land to the Prussian?" File:Afstemningsplakat2.png, Pro-Danish post card. Mother Denmark greets South Jutland File:StevningGenforeningssten.JPG, Memorial in Stevning. "Reunification 1920. By 314 to 7 we voted us home to Denmark". File:ØsterLindetGenforeningsstenBagside.jpg, Memorial in Øster Lindet. "10 February 1920, 96% of the population of this parish voted for Denmark". File:Kulturdenkmaeler Wyk Große Straße 006 2016 06 03.jpg, Memorial in Wyk,
Föhr Föhr ( ''Fering'' North Frisian: ''Feer''; da, Før) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr is the second-largest No ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
. A reinterpretation of the
Deutschlandlied The "" (; "Song of Germany"), officially titled "" (; "The Song of the Germans"), has been the national anthem of Germany either wholly or in part since 1922, except for a seven-year gap following World War II in West Germany. In East German ...
. "... Only in misfortune, will the love f your countryshow if it is strong and true." File:Erik Henningsen - Danske soldater på march efter indtoget i Nordslesvig - 1920.png, Painting of Danish soldiers returning to Northern part of Schleswig


See also

* Easter Crisis of 1920 *
Schleswig-Holstein Question Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schl ...
* Danish minority in Southern Schleswig *
North Schleswig Germans Approximately 15,000 people in Denmark belong to an autochthonous ethnic German minority traditionally referred to as ''hjemmetyskere'' meaning "domestic Germans" in Danish, and as ''Nordschleswiger'' in German. This minority of Germans hold Da ...
* History of Schleswig-Holstein *
Southern Schleswig Southern Schleswig (german: Südschleswig or ', da, Sydslesvig; frr, Söödslaswik) is the southern half of the former Duchy of Schleswig in Germany on the Jutland Peninsula. The geographical area today covers the large area between the Eid ...
* 1920 Danish constitutional referendum


References

{{Post-WWI plebiscites Foreign relations of the Weimar Republic 20th century in Schleswig-Holstein Referendums in Denmark Referendums in Germany 1920 referendums 1920 in Denmark 1920 in international relations February 1920 events March 1920 events North Schleswig Germans Danish minority of Southern Schleswig Duchy of Schleswig Border polls National unifications Aftermath of World War I in Germany