Schleswig Plebiscite

It's interesting to see 'pro-other countries' messages coming from Germany, seeing as they had such a nationalist mentality especially in the 30's and 40's. I've also notgeld like this from the city of Bremen, they depicted New York, Santiago and San Francisco if I remember right.

Keep in mind that coins and notes help learning about history only if you keep an eye on the historical context. ;) The region (basically the Duchy of Schleswig) went "back and forth" for many years. In 1864 for example, Prussia and Austria annexed it, only to fight against each other shortly afterwards, and then that area became Prussian. (And thus, a few more years later, part of the German Empire.) The population was kind of mixed, and particularly with the rise of nationalism in the late 19th/early 20th century, many Danes in that area did not want their cities to be German, and vice versa.

That 1920 referendum was one that, according to international treaties (Peace of Prague), Prussia should have done by 1870 or so. Except that no such referendum was held ... until 50 years later when Prussia/Germany was not really in the position to prevent it any more. Warnitz/Varnæs, where that note is from, voted mostly "pro-Denmark", so it does not come as a surprise that this note would "celebrate" the outcome. Note that it was issued in the "interim" period between the referendum and the date (in June 1920) when the area became Danish.

Today the area is part of the Sønderjyllandâ€"Schleswig Euroregion, by the way. The Danes in Northern Germany, just as the Germans in Southern Denmark, have certain minority rights. The SSW, a party that represents the Danish minority in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, is now even part of the state government ...

Christian