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