National identity

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The common state

From the 18 century and until 1864 the Danish realm was a common state consisting of the kingdom, Norway (until 1814), Island, the Faroe Islands duchies Slesvig and Holstein. The realm was mulitlingual and multinational. The capital Copenhagen was bilingual: Danish and German. German was considered to be more fashionable than Danish. "You speak Danish to your servants and dog," as someone said. And German was spread all over the administration of the absolute monarchy.There was a tradition of engaging foreigners - especially from the North German countries - as civil servants. In the middel af the 18th century about 25 p.c. of the civil servants was born outside the realm.

That is way it hardly gives any sense to talk about a particularly Danish nationalism or national identity before 1800. However there were some traces of a sort of "national" consciousness. But chiefly they were expressions of loyalty for the king, the state - or as the experience of a local or regional nationality. This kind of consciousness can be seen as a "common state patriotism" - a consequence of the cosmopolitanism of the Age of Enlightenment. It emphasized some general common traits about the people but it layed the main emphasis on the specific for instance the language and the ethnicity. The common-state-patriotisme was "cultivated" in limited circles of citizens, civil servants, officers and academics in the towns. An important element in the "common state patriotism" was the support to the kings dream of the recapture of Scania from Sweden.

The Danish king, Christian 7. (1766-1808), was mentally sick. In 1768 a german physician, Johann Friedrich Struensee (1737-72), was appointed as the kings personal physician. Struensee managed to get a huge influence on the king so he in reality become the ruler of Denmark - until he was removed and executed.

The fact that Struensee - a German - had taken power created the first really nationalistic wave among the bourgeois and the noble élite. The new government wanted to prevent that foreigners like Struensee to get influence. The result was that Denmark - as the first country in the world - introduced citizenship. So now only Danes could become officials and Danish become the only language in the central administration.

The National Romanticism

Denmark was only on a limit extent involved in the Napoleonic wars but the wars had serious consequences for the Danish Common State. In 1801 we fought a naval battel with the English - we lost. In 1807 the English demanded the Danish fleet. The king refuseed but he had to give in when the English bombed Copenhagen. In 1814 Denmark was forced to give up Norway to Sweden. Of cause theese events created the concept of the English and the Sweedes as enemies an increased a national consciousness.

At the Congress of Vienna (1815) the absolute powers tried to create a peace based on an European balance of power. In spite of the separtion of Norway the preservation of the Danish Common State was an important element in this strategy, but it was desided that the duchy Holstein must be a member of the German Confederation which was created at the Congress of Vienna.

One of the aims of the Congress of Vienna was to put down the budding national and liberal ideas. For some years it succed - at least in the periode where the nationalistic ideas got a special shaping as national romanticism which immediately do not was a threat to the absolute powers.

Like in other countries the national romantic currents in Denmark brought into focus a more og less mythical past to seek or to put together the orgin of the nation. Danish national romantics found material from the pre-historic Denmark, legends and myths and from the pre-christian mythology. Also the formidable Vikings come into worthiness and honour because in the time of the Vikings there were Danish heroes and grandeur - in spite of the realms pressent smallness they were comforting ideals.

The national romanticism was "cultivated" by the élite and it was a closed discussion which did not involve ordinary people. Still the national romantics strongly took up the rural population. The farmers were seen as unspoiled representatives of the roots of the nation. Some national romantics started to gather folksongs - deliveries of character of the national mind (Herder). Also the national romantics invented national costumes from each part of the country. Later the national costumes are seen as important expression of Danishness and national identity.

If any the vicar, the writer and the politican N.F.S. Grundtvig (1783-1872) expressed the particularly about the Danish self-perception and mentality. He talked about the people and the (unassuming/common) national as an ideal. He not only bolstered up the farmers self-esteem he also drawed up the special "code" for gentle understatements which at the same time show a nearly jingoistic superior worth - since a typical expression of Danish self-concept.

Grundtvig talked about the "spirit of the people" as a synonym with national identity, and this spirit was not a prerogative of a cultured élite. And its most genuine version - the pure and unspoiled Danishness - was found in the villagers, a social group whose culture of all was least confused by foreign influence. But the spirit of the people had to be waken and stimulated. In the 1830th Grundtvig produced the idea of the Danish folk high school where the villageres were trained as citizens. The high schools were to be a new kind of schools where the foundation of the enlightment was the history, the language and the narratives. Today many point out the high schools as somthing typically Danish.

The National Liberalism, The Scandinavism and Slesvig

In the 1830th and the 1840th the national and liberal ideas got a new strenght and National-Liberal movements arose. And the absolute powers had still more difficulties to put them down. In the Danish Common State two National-Libeal movements developed: A Danish and a Slesvig-Holstein. The Danish National-Liberal realized that the duchy Holstein was German an was to be seperated from the realm and be incorporated in the German Confederation. On the other hand the duchy Slesvig was to be incorporated in the kingdom. This arrangement was neither the German Confederation nor the Slesviger-Holsteiner satisfied with because half of the population in Slesvig speaked German and the language was an important indicator of nationality. Some of the National-Liberal Slesviger-Holsteiner imagined that the two duchies were to be one independent state and other wanted both Slesvig and Holstein to join the German Confederation.

With the development of the national ideas in the Nordic countries - particulary in Denmark and Sweden - an image of a Nordic sense of community, the Scandinavism, developed. In the begining the Scandinavism was predominantly cultural and literary and expressed by writers, students and others from the intelligentsia. The historical legitimacy was looked for in the Viking Age and in the Nordic mythology. The long periods with contrasts and bloody conflicts between the Nordic countries were carefully avoided. In the 1840th a political Scandinavism emerged. People talked about building up a Nordic national consciousness and this consciousness was to form a basis for a Nordic union. Particularly among the Danish National Liberal the idea of a Nordic union was meet with sympathy, and they imagined a common Nordic state which included Slesvig and with a southern border at the river Ejderen.

Slesvig was the matter at issue between the Danish and the Slesvig-Holstein National Liberal. During the 1840the the conflict became critical and in the wake of the revolutions of 1848 the Slesviger-Holsteiners rebeled. The Danish army tried to defeat the weakly armed rebels but Prussian troops and soilders from the German Federation helped the Slesviger-Holsteiners. And so the first of the socalled Wars of Slesvig - the "Three Years War" - was going on. The Big Powers dictated the peace. On grounds of the European balance the Danish Common State - as it was defined at the Congress of Vienna - was preserved. In that way the question of Slesvig remained unsolved.

During the "Tree Years War" the Danish army - which got a modest help from Sweden - had often got the worst of it. And only in the end of the war the Danish army had a few victories. Widely this idea arose: In fact Denmark - with the help of the Nordic brothers - had defeated the powerful German army - or at least would had done it if the Big Powers had not invented in the conflict. This imagination - or the "Spirit of 48" - strengthend the nationalist opinion and it blinded every attempt to real political clear-sightedness. The concequens was that Denmark was steering towards the second war of Slesvig in 1864. Preussia and Austria intervented and Denmark suffered a total defeat. The Danish common state was closed down and Slesvig and Holstein did not become an indepentent state but were incorporated in Preussia.

The National State

The defeat in 1864 involved several fundamental changes in Denmark and for the development af Danish identity. It put an end to the attempts of using power to achieve political aims. The wars aginst Sweden in the 17th century had cost 1/3 of the Danish territory. And the loss of the duchies implied a 40 p.c. reduction of the realm. The defeat put an end to the multinational and problematic common state. Instead the Danish National State was foundated - a genuine national state without national minorities. And the existence and fate of the huge Danish minority in Slesvig strengthened the national consciousness in Denmark.

The school ("Folkeskolen") played an important part in the building up of a Danish consciousness and identity. In the spirit of Grundtvig the subjects Danish and History were important. Historical narratives were the means of building a strong and jingoistic nationalism and Germany and the Germans were perfect enemy images.

The German occupation of Denmark (1940-45)

In spite of thorough researches still the German occupation holds a lot of unclarified questions: Was the occupation i fact a conseqence of secret agreement between Denmark and Germany? In comparison with other occupied country the conditions in Denmark were so mild that you hardly can call it an occupation - at least in the begining. The Danish constitutional state, the political system and the authorities remained unchanged and the German occupying power did not intervene in Danish matters. Perhaps in the expectation of a German victory the Danish government pursued an active policy of co-operation with Germany.

After a period a resistance movement came into existence. The Danish authorities claimed that the sabotages were hooliganism and encouraged the people to report the perpetrators. The resistance movement did more and more succesfull actions and the occupying power forced the Danish authorities to take strong measures against the saboteurs. When the occupying power in 1943 demanded death penalty it became to much and the government resigned. The last years of the occupation was marked by the more and more rough behavior of the occupying power and its Danish supports towards to resistance movement. Among the inhabitants it created an increased aversion to the occupying power. But the number af active resisters never surpassed 6-8.000. That is to say about the same number who - with the acceptance of the Danish government - joined "the Free-Corps Denmark" and other SS-units which were brought in action in the fight against the Sovjet Union.

The national feelings increased during the period of the occupation. The Danes conviced each other that it was a hard time but we would manage if we stood together, using every oppertunity to hoist the Dannebrog, held community singing and payed tribute to the king, Christian 10., who - inspite of his lack of common touch - became a national symbol of unity. In this way the foundation of the myth about the national solidarity during the occupation was created. According to the myth the greater part of the Danes - from the resisters to the collaborator-politicans - had contributed to the fight against the occupying power. After the liberation at the collapse of Germany May 1945 the Danes got busy demonstrating the right Danish dispostion.

But what about the Allied? How did they see Denmarks role during the war? To the last the Sovjet Union claimed that Denmark supported Germany. Perhaps caused by high political circumstances, perhaps the resistance movement has the credit. Anyway Denmark managed to be accepted as an allied.

The way to EU-rope

After a referendum in 1972 Denmark joined the European Union January 1th 1973. The debate before and after the referendum tells something about the Danes ideas of themselves, their country and their relationship with Europe. The Yes-side’s most important argument for the membership was the trade-political and economic advantages Denmark would obtain by joining the EU. Another - but less prominent - argument was that Denmark belonged to the democratic countries which naturally ought to co-operate for the sake of the peace and the security. The majority of the population wanted to keep the status of Denmark as an independent country. That is why the adherents played down the question of transfering sovereignty to the EU. And they assured that the welfare-state, the employment, the protection of the environment and other conditions where Denmark was on a higher level - at any rate in the opinion of most of the Danes - continuing was desided in the Danish Parlament (Folketinget) - and not in Bruxelles. Just like the original and the overall objective - as it already emerged from the Treaty of Rome - a continuously closely political co-operation between the member countries - was tried kept out of the debate. Also after Denmarks affiliation EU was emphasized as an organisation which only purpose was to be good for the economic development in the sovereign member-states. After the adoption of the single European market in 1987 the at that time Danish prime minister, Poul Schlüter, declared: "The Union is stone-dead."

The opposition to the membership of the EU was big. In 1972 33 p.c. woted no, and for the coming number of years the opposition increased. According to opinion pools about 1980 it was more than half of the population. There were opponents all over the political spectrum. However it was mostly pronounced in the left wing. Up to the referendum and many years after the most important accusation of the leftist against the EU was that it was a project which was turned against the working-class and it was only for the benefit of the international Big Business and the imperalism. The Danish capitalist - often symbolically depicted as small fattish men with big hats and Danish flags - was temted into the galley. The teme was for instance picked up in the early 70th by Skousen & Ingemann in their anti-EU-blues. The refrain goes like this: "Down in the Europe they have got a fixed idea. They call it the EEC!"

The patriotic tone was also striked in the campaign of the opposition. On posters you could see pictures of children and texts like: "When I grow up I will be a Dane" and "For my sake, Mother. Wote no". It was connected with the accusation that the EU was a bureaucratic and anti-democratic organisation which was "inconsistent with the Danish Constitution and a threat to our democracy". On the whole the whole arsenal of national symbols like for instance "Holger Danske" and "Dybbøl Mølle" were used in the no-campaign. Even DKP (The Danish Communist Party) introduced an election poster showing a map of South Jutland and a text: "Here is the border!". Also the opponents claimed that the EU was a threat to the Nordic co-operation. On posters you could cee the five Nordic swans but the fifth - the Danish - was teared off.

Like this the opposition to the EU caused a new wave of nationalism which can be find agin in the late 90th. The left wing took up conservative national symbols and it became "in" to uphold traditional Danish customs. There was often a clear connection between art and culture and the opposition to the EU and the new nationalism. For instance an artist exhibited a row of jam glasses each containing a Dannebrog. Several popular mucisians puplished songs which expressed love to the Danish and Denmark - some of them with self-ironical distance like Shu-Bi-Duas "Denmark". The first stranza goes like this:

"There exist other people than those who are Danes

they live in caves and fight all the day.

This we have never ever done.

The warm countries are a load of shit."

The message in other songs was a call to the Danes to wake up in proporation to a threatening (EU)rope. An example was Sebastians small-chauvinistic song "Denmark - foolish and lovely":

"Denmark - you are a foolish and lovely girl

It is tempting to take you when you are asleep.

Denmark - when you wake up from dozing

you are screwed up with Deutsche-dollars."

In spite of the fact that Denmark has been a member of the EU for more than 25 years there is still scepticism and actual opposition in proportion to the EU-project. A sceptical attitude which cover the whole political spectrum from the extreme left to the extreme right and in fact has only at little to do with the traditional political affilations. This Scepticism appeared at the referendum about the Maastricht-Treaty in 1992 where a slim majority woted no. A month later Denmark won the European Championship in football - and the patriotic feeling was flourishing! When Denmark was allowed to add four reservations to the Maastricht-Treaty it was adopted in 1993.

Anyway only a small minority wants Denmark to leave the EU for good. But many - perhaps the majority has the opinion that the integration in the EU must stop - or at least slow down. And they would not aprove to give up more sovereignty to the EU at the expense of the national parlament. That is to say many Danish see the EU as a potential threat to the Danish national intrinsic. You saw it when the county counsil of the South Jutland and the German authorities tried to launch a trans-boundary and EU-supported co-operation, "Region Slesvig". It provoked big protest demonstrations. The demonstrators claimed that the co-operation would lead to the integration of the South Jutland ind Germany.

Only a few Danes want the EU to develop to a sort of a federal state. And it is characteristic for the Danish attitude that the endeavours of the EU to create an European identity "from the top" in the whole have been ignored in Denmark. An example is the decision to appoint the socalled Adonnino-committee taken on the EU-summit in Fontainbleu in 1984. The purpuse of committee was to start a campaign for an Europa of the People and it resulted among other things the EU-hymn (Beethoven 9th symphony) and the EU-flag. In Denmark - where you by the way use the Dannebrog on every occasion - the EU-flag ranks with the banners at a service station.

In general the Danes are glad of Denmark and most of the Danes regard Denmark as the best place in the world to live. An EU-inquiry from 1996 shows that the Danes are the mostly contented nation in the EU - and at the same time the most EU-critical nation. I will try to sum up in a little self-ironically and typically Danish way.

As mentioned we are critical of the bureaucracy and of the development of the EU. At the same time we like to thing of ourselves as a country which quickly implements the directives from The EU in our national legislation. On the whole we like to appear for Europe - in fact for the whole world - as a nation of paragons of virtue with exemlary great morals. And we are not afraid of let other nations know when we don’t think they are living up to our moral standards which was the case in connetection with criticism on Chinas relaxed relationship with the human rights. In connection with the EU we like to look on ourselves as the vanguard in the struggle for more democracy, openness and de-bureaucratization, the environment and the employment. We fight the swindle with the EU-funds and we are convinced of that other people - particularly the South Europeans - swindeling a lot with the implied agreement of their goverments.

In Denmark there are not abysmal differences between high and low. We are on first name with the boss and are familiar with the prime minister. And queen Margrethe herself goes shopping on Strøget (a row of shopping streets in central Copenhagen) - almost like ordinary people. And we do not have serious scandals - neither among the politicans nor in the royal family. We are a peaceable and kind nation. We do not make revolution if it is raining or if there are coffee and cakes on the table. On the whole the greater social changes took place bloodless - for instance the abolition of the absolute monarchy in 1848. In other European countries this change was very bloody.

Denmark is a lovely country. And without the EU-approved law preventing foreigners to buy holiday cottages in Denmark, they - the foreigneres (particularly the Germans) would have bought every square metre. Now we just have to sumit to a lot of Germans on our bathing beaches.

In Denmark we are good at dealing with the disabled people. Our fine wellfare- and health services can and ought to be exported to other countries - if they by the way can make it out. The safe conditions in Denmark are naturally the main reason why many foreigners want to settle down in Denmark. Particularly the economic refugees which to an alarming extent are flooding Denmark and have become a threat to the Danishness. At least that is the opinion of some Danes. "Vote Danish!" was the words on an election poster belonging to the right wing and immigrant-hostile "Danish Peoples Party" at the municipal election november 1997, and the party got about 10 p.c. of the votes. To feel happy perhaps a little nation like the Danish need a concept of an enemy, and perhaps refugees and Islam are playing this role - if you do not belong to those who still belive that Bruxelles and the EU mean the disappearance of Denmark.