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The Schleswig Example
In today`s Europe, the question of minorities is an important part of the integration process. It is a question that has given governments anxious moments. It is at the root of the problem in the Balkans. Perhaps there is no other region in Europe that has solved its minority problems as effectively as Schleswig. Shivani Rawat (from Flensburg and Aabenraa) shows us the Schleswig example.
By Shivani Rawat(from Flensburg and Aabenraa)
In today’s Europe, the question of minorities is an important part of the integration process. It is a question that has given governments anxious moments. It is at the root of the problem in the Balkans. Perhaps there is no other region in Europe that has solved its minority problems as effectively as Schleswig. Shivani Rawat (from Flensburg and Aabenraa) shows us the Schleswig example. The region, at the border between Germany and Denmark, is an example for Europe and the rest of the world in peaceful and constructive co-existence. Soon after the war of independence in Schleswig-Holstein in 1848, then British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston is said to have remarked- “Only three people in Europe understood the Schleswig-Holstein question. The first was Albert, the Prince Consort of Queen Victoria, and he is dead. The second is a German professor, and he is in an asylum, and the third was myself - luckily, I have forgotten it.” At the beginning of the 21st century, the question is of little importance. For the people on both sides of the German-Danish border have accepted the reality of the frontier between them. In fact, they have worked their way around the border. As the German Foreign Minister, Dr Klaus Kinkel, said on the 40th anniversary of the Bonn-Copenhagen declaration in 1995, “The way in which the German-Danish border has lost its character as a boundary is exemplary!”
The present border came about in 1920 when the plebiscite under the Treaty of Versailles divided Schleswig into North Schleswig in Denmark and South Schleswig in Germany. The division left a Danish minority, almost 50,000-strong now, in Germany and a smaller, roughly 20,000-strong German minority in Denmark. Through the years, the minorities on both sides faced discrimination, even persecution, especially after the end of the Second World War. This was true particularly in case of the German minority in Denmark that was caught amidst cries for judgement and punishment. But a new day dawned with the signing of the Bonn-Copenhagen declaration by Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Prime Minister H. C. Hansen on March 29, 1955. The declaration paved the way for the governments of Denmark and Germany to take care of their respective minorities on the two sides of the border.
The question of identity
To an outsider, the question of identity is a confusing one. But to the residents of the region, it is simply a matter of personal choice. Gerhard Maas, chairman of the Danish group in the Flensburg city government, is a German by origin. “I like the Danish way of life and that is why I’m part of the Danish minority,” he says. Siegfried Matlock, Chief Editor, Der Nordschleswiger- the German minority newspaper published in Aabenraa - is also the Secretary of the German minority group at Copenhagen while his brother, Joagen Matlock, is part of the Danish minority in Flensburg. The young generation finds little reason for fuss over the question. “It is a pleasure to have two homes,” says Tobias Eberlein, whose father is German and mother Danish. The reason behind the popularity of the German Gymnasium across the border in Aabenraa is the same- education in two languages. Additionally, the school enjoys the perception of offering a better standard of education with better facilities. For instance, the students in the 11th grade have just been issued a laptop each. They will use them for the last three years in school. Right now, its just e-mailing and chatting for the students, but there is a desire to learn more about computers. The better facilities can be explained by the availability of more funds. Besides the funds coming from the German government, the school benefits from the liberal Danish education policy that supports education in a major way. Regional cooperation
With time, attitudes have rationalised. The town halls of Pattborg and Bov on the Danish side reached an agreement with the Flensburg city government two years ago that allows an accident victim in the border region to be taken to the nearest hospital irrespective of his nationality. A far cry from the times when a Danish victim considered it better to die in Denmark than be taken to a German hospital! Similarly, the hospital in Flensburg, which has facilities for chemotherapy, now also receives cancer patients from across the border. The European Union programmes too promote cross-border cooperation. Part of one such programme, the Institute of Information Technology, ITAI, based in Tonder and Niebüll, counsels companies on new technologies, besides imparting education in information technology. Two high schools in Tonder and Neibüll, that were split by the drawing of the new border in 1920, are trying to create a European class in the last three years of studies. German teachers go to Denmark to give lessons to Danish students studying German and vice-versa. An example for Europe
Today, the region is an example for many other regions with minorities in Europe. Indeed, it was the symbolism of the area that prompted the setting up of the European Centre of Minority Issues in Flensburg in 1996. The Centre works towards the early monitoring, study and resolution of ethnic tension and potential conflict in all regions of Europe. “Denmark and Germany are proud of their minorities solution. They use them as an export in human dimension. Going by our experience, it is possible to find peaceful solutions,“ says Matlock. But he cautions, “You can’t take this situation and export it to Romania, Hungary or the Balkans. Every situation is special. You can use some of our experience but can’t copy it.” “I don’t like the word ‘model’ because then you forget the historical perspective. But our ‘model’ says if I want to be part of the Danish minority, then you must not question it. You have to say - you are still part of the society and you can have your own cultural rights. That’s progressive,“ says Spoorendonk. That does not mean there are no problems. But the minorities know they belong here. They know the border is not going to shift again. Moreover, with Denmark entering the Schengen space in March 2001, the border is going to fall. And it can only ring in better times!
In today’s Europe, the question of minorities is an important part of the integration process. It is a question that has given governments anxious moments. It is at the root of the problem in the Balkans. Perhaps there is no other region in Europe that has solved its minority problems as effectively as Schleswig. Shivani Rawat (from Flensburg and Aabenraa) shows us the Schleswig example. The region, at the border between Germany and Denmark, is an example for Europe and the rest of the world in peaceful and constructive co-existence. Soon after the war of independence in Schleswig-Holstein in 1848, then British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston is said to have remarked- “Only three people in Europe understood the Schleswig-Holstein question. The first was Albert, the Prince Consort of Queen Victoria, and he is dead. The second is a German professor, and he is in an asylum, and the third was myself - luckily, I have forgotten it.” At the beginning of the 21st century, the question is of little importance. For the people on both sides of the German-Danish border have accepted the reality of the frontier between them. In fact, they have worked their way around the border. As the German Foreign Minister, Dr Klaus Kinkel, said on the 40th anniversary of the Bonn-Copenhagen declaration in 1995, “The way in which the German-Danish border has lost its character as a boundary is exemplary!”
The present border came about in 1920 when the plebiscite under the Treaty of Versailles divided Schleswig into North Schleswig in Denmark and South Schleswig in Germany. The division left a Danish minority, almost 50,000-strong now, in Germany and a smaller, roughly 20,000-strong German minority in Denmark. Through the years, the minorities on both sides faced discrimination, even persecution, especially after the end of the Second World War. This was true particularly in case of the German minority in Denmark that was caught amidst cries for judgement and punishment. But a new day dawned with the signing of the Bonn-Copenhagen declaration by Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Prime Minister H. C. Hansen on March 29, 1955. The declaration paved the way for the governments of Denmark and Germany to take care of their respective minorities on the two sides of the border.
The question of identity
To an outsider, the question of identity is a confusing one. But to the residents of the region, it is simply a matter of personal choice. Gerhard Maas, chairman of the Danish group in the Flensburg city government, is a German by origin. “I like the Danish way of life and that is why I’m part of the Danish minority,” he says. Siegfried Matlock, Chief Editor, Der Nordschleswiger- the German minority newspaper published in Aabenraa - is also the Secretary of the German minority group at Copenhagen while his brother, Joagen Matlock, is part of the Danish minority in Flensburg. The young generation finds little reason for fuss over the question. “It is a pleasure to have two homes,” says Tobias Eberlein, whose father is German and mother Danish. The reason behind the popularity of the German Gymnasium across the border in Aabenraa is the same- education in two languages. Additionally, the school enjoys the perception of offering a better standard of education with better facilities. For instance, the students in the 11th grade have just been issued a laptop each. They will use them for the last three years in school. Right now, its just e-mailing and chatting for the students, but there is a desire to learn more about computers. The better facilities can be explained by the availability of more funds. Besides the funds coming from the German government, the school benefits from the liberal Danish education policy that supports education in a major way. Regional cooperation
With time, attitudes have rationalised. The town halls of Pattborg and Bov on the Danish side reached an agreement with the Flensburg city government two years ago that allows an accident victim in the border region to be taken to the nearest hospital irrespective of his nationality. A far cry from the times when a Danish victim considered it better to die in Denmark than be taken to a German hospital! Similarly, the hospital in Flensburg, which has facilities for chemotherapy, now also receives cancer patients from across the border. The European Union programmes too promote cross-border cooperation. Part of one such programme, the Institute of Information Technology, ITAI, based in Tonder and Niebüll, counsels companies on new technologies, besides imparting education in information technology. Two high schools in Tonder and Neibüll, that were split by the drawing of the new border in 1920, are trying to create a European class in the last three years of studies. German teachers go to Denmark to give lessons to Danish students studying German and vice-versa. An example for Europe
Today, the region is an example for many other regions with minorities in Europe. Indeed, it was the symbolism of the area that prompted the setting up of the European Centre of Minority Issues in Flensburg in 1996. The Centre works towards the early monitoring, study and resolution of ethnic tension and potential conflict in all regions of Europe. “Denmark and Germany are proud of their minorities solution. They use them as an export in human dimension. Going by our experience, it is possible to find peaceful solutions,“ says Matlock. But he cautions, “You can’t take this situation and export it to Romania, Hungary or the Balkans. Every situation is special. You can use some of our experience but can’t copy it.” “I don’t like the word ‘model’ because then you forget the historical perspective. But our ‘model’ says if I want to be part of the Danish minority, then you must not question it. You have to say - you are still part of the society and you can have your own cultural rights. That’s progressive,“ says Spoorendonk. That does not mean there are no problems. But the minorities know they belong here. They know the border is not going to shift again. Moreover, with Denmark entering the Schengen space in March 2001, the border is going to fall. And it can only ring in better times!