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South Schleswig at Crisis Points: Identity Change in a
Border RegionEurocorecode CRP-workshop, Alba Iulia, 8-9 March 2013
Martin Klatt, ph.d., Dept. of Border Region Studies
Schleswig (-Holstein) identity
Border zone Regional distinctiveness (neither part of Denmark
nor core-Germany, separate institutions) Cultural affinity to German culture (but that can
be applied to all pre-1940 Denmark)
Topographical divide:MarshGeestHill-lands (W to E)
Language, 1840Danish spoken language on the retreat – German as standard language of elementary education, and exclusive in higher education and administration
1920-Plebiscite – Region or nation?
Schleswig-Holstein=Germany
Denmark: no regional symbols
Longue Durée perspective
Era of the Region: Schleswig (-Holstein) as a region since the 1100’s
Region within the conglomerate state (empire?) Post 1800: From region to nation?
Identity Crisis – the region’s last stand?
1. Crisis of 1929-35 Economic crisis, especially in agriculture
2. Crisis of 1945-50 Post WWII ”Zusammenbruch”
Crisis of democracy – attraction of the far right
Rural areas Protestant Petty bourgeoisie
Schleswig-Holstein: the smaller the town, the higher the share of NSDAP-votes (Heberle)
Agrarian crisis – peasants become apolitical, oppose the “system”
Reichstag-elections in South Schleswig*
31 July 1932 6 November 1932
5 March 1933
NSDAP 115,839
61.9 %
96,807 56.3 % 116,164 63.1 %
DNVP 15,709 8.4 % 19,875 11.6 % 23,016 12.6 %
Other German parties
54,241 29.0 %
52,459 30.7 % 43,554 23.8 %
Den slesvigske Forening
1,367 0.7 % 1,544 0.9 % Not allowed to candidate
*Counties of Südtondern, Flensburg Land, Flensburg Stadt, Husum, Eiderstedt, Schleswig
Schleswig-Holstein counties with liberal majority in 1919 and NSDAP-majority
later*Counties
DDP Landespartei
Together
NSDAP
1919 1919 1919 1928 1930 1932 I
Flensburg
17.3 44.8 62.1 1.7 21.8 70.0
Schleswig
33.8 26.8 60.6 3.8 35.6 70.2
Husum 39.1 23.5 62.6 1.9 36.8 68.6
South Tondern
46.6 12.2 58.8 1.2 25.2 64.5
Average SH
27.2 7.2 34.4 4.0 27.0 51.0
Heberle, p. 43. NB that all the counties are in South Schleswig!
NSDAP-votes, topographical regions
towns less than 2,000 inh. (Heberle, p. 97)
Strongest in the Danish Dialect area! Parallel to Masuria in East Prussia But: Dithmarscher Geest higher than ”Danish-
speaking” Geest
1928 1930 July 1032
Marsh 7.9 % 41.2 % 61.6 %
Geest 15.9 % 45.9 % 78.7 %
Hill-lands 2.0 % 24.3 % 57.1 %
Danish as home language, 1932
Regional?
The role of regional identity difficult to assess – apparently not important
Social crisis resulted in certain voting patterns But: Lack of deeply rooted national-cultural
values leading to political extremes?
Post WW II – we want to be Danish
Expectations from post WW I experience German surrender Geneology A better future
”Heimat” – movement under the Danish flag in South
SchleswigElection posters SSW, 1950
Nazis becoming Danish?Municipalities in Flensburg County with the highest share of Danish votes in 1947 and
their far right votes in July 1932
Municipality SSF in 1947 NSDAP+DNVP July 1932
Sünderup 70.4 % 48.8 %
Harrislee 56.5 % 36.3 %
Weding 52.8 % 75.8 %
Tarup 46.3 % 56.5 %
Gottrupel 41.5 % 79.0 %
Grossenwiehe 41.0 % 95.8 %
Jarplund 40.0 % 50.0 %
All Flensburg County 18.1 % (1948) 79.6 %
NB: except for Grossenwiehe, all other municipalities border Flensburg city
Identity change?
Minority larger in numbers: 50,000 today, 10,000 interwar years
Identity is a continuous process influenced by many factors
National frames of identification remain strong: identity change was from German to Danish, regional identity remains a secondary category
References
Rudolf Heberle (1963): Landbevölkerung und Nationalsozialismus. Eine soziologische Untersuchung der politischen Willensbildung in Schleswig-Holstein 1918-1932, Stuttgart Martin Klatt (2004): Nationalsozialismus und dänische Minderheit. Versuch einer Annäherung an einen zeitgenössischen Erklärungsversuch des nationalen Gesinnungswechsels in Südschleswig nach 1945, Demokratische Geschichte, 16, 171-177Gerhard Stoltenberg (1962): Politische Strömungen im schleswig-holsteinischen Landvolk 1918- 1933. Ein Beitrag zur Meinungsbildung in der Weimarer Republik, Düsseldorf