Historical Denmark

A brief history of Denmark
A history of the Schleswig-Holstein Area
Denmark and the Danes
Norman Madsen's version of Danish history
The Military History of Denmark
Denmark — an in-depth description
An in-depth description of the peasant class
Denmark — 1940
The Escape to America (an emigrant story)

Denmark and the Danes
This link takes you to a page where you can explore everything about Danish culture including facts, mentality, traditions, art and culture, food, and much more. Enjoy.

Schleswig-Holstein
An in-depth look at the Schleswig-Holstein area between Denmark and Germany. If you have family from this area, you must take a look at this page by Hans Peter Voss.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/HomePages/NormanMadsen/history.htm
This link takes you to Norman Madsen's version of Danish history with special genealogical emphasis. Do not pass this up. It is a very interesting read.

The Military History of Denmark
The aim of this site is to tell you some interesting stories from our past, about the men and weapons that shaped it, and promote the interest for Danish History. You will also find information on museums, literature, monuments, and see some never before published pictures.

Denmark — an in-depth description
Denmark, a publication by The Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the editors of the Danish National Encyclopedia, gives an in-depth description of Denmark. The chapters in Denmark are written by leading Danish experts. This Internet version was updated in November 1999 and is based on the printed book Denmark, which was published in 1996. Chapters include: Introduction, Official Denmark, Production and Communications, Conditions of Life, Culture, Geography and the Environment, History, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Oh! To be Danish. An Essay, and Biographies and Companies. This site is maintained by the state department and is the official history of Denmark.

Peasant — an explanation by Lars Jørgen Helbo
The class of big landowners were established in two rounds. First there was the older Danish nobility. They established their estates during the late middle ages (12th to 14th century). It was a rather violent time, with a relatively weak monarchy and as a result of this many peasants saw an advantage in selling their farm to a strong estate-owner and then rent it from him, under the condition that they would also get protection. The second group of estates were established much later (16th - 18th century). In 1536 we had the reformation, when the Catholic church was replaced by the Lutheran. This included that the pope as head of the church was replaced by the king. In the previous centuries the Catholic church had collected a lot of land (about 40% of the country). People had donated their property to the church to get relief from their sins. But as the king took the seat as head of the church, he also took over the property of the church. During the following centuries the king sold this land or gave it as presents to people, who had done something special for him (often this included lending money to the king, who was always in need for money). This way a second group of nobility was established - often people originating from Germany. One example was a man called Fischer, who was a grocer in Læbeck. He got the job of delivering wine to the king. After some years the king owed him a lot of money for these deliveries, and instead of paying him with money, the king gave him the castle of Silkeborg, which during the reformation had been confiscated from the Catholic bishop in Århus. During the later middle ages we saw a development, where estate-owners (and the Catholic church) collected a lot of land. So where the peasants in the early middle ages had been owning their land, they were now rather living on rented land. But we never had a situation, where the peasants were 'owned' by the landlord. Therefore basically I would say that the terms bondsman or serf are misleading for Denmark. You can use them, when talking about Russia, but that is really a different world. Off course when the landlord owns all the land in the area and the peasants are renting this from him, there is a certain relationship between them. There were all the time a few peasants, who owned their land, but this was not necessarily an advantage. The problem was that those, who owned their land, would also have to pay taxes to the state or church in cash. Those living on rented land could usually pay with the things they were producing themselves or they would have to work on the estate for a certain amount of time, and this was often easier, as cash money was rare. What we did have, was stavnsbændet. This was introduced in 1733, and meant that males between 14 and 36 needed permission to leave the estate where they were born. But the main purpose of this was to secure soldiers for the army, and it is in no way comparable to slavery. In 1742 the age-limits were extended to 9 to 40 years. But in 1788 the whole thing was abandoned. After 1788 the government encouraged estate-owners to sell off the land to the peasants, and by 1840 most farmers owned their farms

Denmark — 1940
A Force More Powerful. Stories from the PBS series.
During five years of Nazi occupation, Danes' noncooperation undermines the Germans' attempt to exploit Denmark for food and war materiel, and rescues all but a few hundred of Denmark's seven thousand Jews from the Holocaust.
This note from lister Alice Gutenkauf:
The article is a wonderful one. But there must be a "but." We have to remember the status of Denmark in the eyes of the Germans because the Danes were able to 'get away' with activities that few other countries could or would do. They were able to do so because the Germans considered the Danes to be equals under their notions of "Folk" - in other words the Danes were Aryans like themselves. Had this been a country considered inferior, which was most of the rest of Europe, the reprisals would have been swift and vicious. The Germans did not want to alienate the Danes. They 'needed' them. What the population did was courageous and wonderful, what the Germans didn't do was retaliate.
And finally a note from lister Flemming Sydney:
I happen to live during the 2nd war in Denmark. Although very young. I can assure the previous writer that reprisals were occurring. For every German killed half a dozen Danes were killed. Once the Germans just started shooting machine guns in one of the busy streets in Copenhagen. No reason !! The main reason for the Germans not doing as much as other countries was the German commander in Copenhagen He knew how stubborn and patriotic the Danes could be and was simply scared of the consequenses should the Germans get too
tough. After all the Germans came to Denmark for a R & R after serving on the frontline.

The Escape to America
Nearly 150 years ago August and Ane Rasmussen said goodbye to relatives and friends in S�by parish. They had made a decision to seek political and social freedom in the United States, because of the absence of both for their social class in the old country. Many more Danes were to follow suit in years to come. (English translation by Jesper Wind).

Early days.

As long as 100,000 years ago, people lived in what is now Denmark. Great changes in the climate occurred, and the region became too cold for human life. The climate started to become warmer about 14,000 years ago, and continuous settlement began. Farming developed after 2500 B.C.

By the time of Christ, trade by sea had brought the people into close contact with leading civilizations. The contact expanded for hundreds of years. During this period, the Danes lived in small communities governed by local chieftains. About A.D. 950, all Denmark was united by King Harald Bluetooth. Harald introduced Christianity in Denmark.

About 800, Danish seafarers began raiding European coastal towns and sailing away with slaves and treasure. The Danish Vikings spread terror throughout much of western Europe for about 300 years. They conquered England in 1013, and Danish kings ruled that country until 1042.

A great power.

During the late 1100's and early 1200's, Danish power expanded along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea to Estonia, which Denmark conquered in 1219. But a long period of civil wars and struggles with north German cities, beginning in the 1240's, greatly weakened the country.

Denmark regained its power under Queen Margrete, who became ruler in 1375. Margrete was also the wife of King Haakon VI of Norway. After he died in 1380, Margrete became ruler of Norway as well as Denmark. In 1388, during political confusion in Sweden, Swedish nobles elected her ruler of Sweden, too. In 1397, Margrete united Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in the Union of Kalmar, with power centered in Denmark. Sweden broke away from the union in 1523.

In 1536, during the Reformation, King Christian III established Lutheranism as the official religion of Denmark. That same year, Christian made Norway a province of Denmark.

Wars with Sweden.

During the 1600's and 1700's, Sweden defeated Denmark in several wars fought for control of the Baltic Sea. In the Danish-Swedish War (1657-1660), Sweden won much Danish and Norwegian territory in what is now Sweden. Only pressure from England, France, and the Netherlands prevented Sweden from dividing Denmark itself. During the Great Northern War (1700-1721), Denmark tried unsuccessfully to win back the territory it had lost to Sweden.

In 1788, Denmark began freeing its serfs. These peasants had been bound to the land in which they worked. Educational reforms were begun during the early 1800's, Denmark sided with France in the Napoleonic Wars of that period, and was defeated by Sweden in 1813. In the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, Denmark gave Norway to Sweden but kept Greenland and other Norwegian colonies.

The Schleswig wars.

In 1848, the pressure of public opinion forced King Frederik VII to accept a democratic constitution for Denmark. The constitution was adopted in 1849. It granted the highest power of government to an elected two-house parliament.

Also in 1848, a revolt broke out in Holstein and Schleswig, two German states just south of Denmark. These regions were ruled by the Danish king though they were not part of Denmark. A revolutionary government of Schleswig-Holstein was set up. It wanted to throw off Danish control and join the German Confederation, of which Holstein was already a member. Danish troops defeated the rebels in 1850. In 1863, Schleswig was made a part of Denmark in 1864. They won a quick victory and took over Schleswig and Holstein.

The people.

The Danes are closely related to the Norwegians and the Swedes. The Danish language is also much like those of the other two Scandinavian nations. Denmark's only minority nationality group consists of about 30,000 people of German ancestry. They live in southern Jutland, along Denmark's border with West Germany.

About 350,000 Danes have migrated to the United States, most of them between 1870 and 1920. In 1911, a group of Danish-Americans bought the Rebild Hills area near �lborg. The next year, they gave it to the Danish government as a national park. The gift was made under an agreement providing that the government celebrate the U.S. Independence Day there each year. Ever since, thousands of Danes have observed the Fourth of July in the park. The Danish royal family attends the celebration.

Social and political reforms.

During the late 1800's, education, industry, and trade were expanded in Denmark. The Danes also developed cooperatives and improved their farming methods. At this time, the upper classes had special rights that gave them control of the upper house of the parliament. The small farmers and industrial workers formed political parties and struggled for political equality. A new constitution was adopted in 1915 during the reign of Christian X, who served as king from 1912 to 1947. The constitution ended the special rights of the upper classes.

Denmark remained neutral during World War I (1914-1918). After the war, Denmark granted independence to Iceland, a Danish colony. However, Iceland stayed united with Denmark until 1944, when it became a republic. In 1920, the Allies transferred North Schleswig to Denmark from Germany. Most people of the region had voted for the transfer.

World War II.

World War II began in 1939. On April 9, 1940, German forces invaded Denmark, and the Danes surrendered after a few hours of fighting. The Germans allowed the Danish government to continue as long as it met their demands. But resistance groups developed and blew up factories and transportation facilities. The Germans took over the government in August 1943.

In September 1943, the Danes organized the secret Freedom Council to lead the resistance movement. They also helped about 7,000 Danish Jews escape to Sweden. On May 5, 1945, after the fall of Germany, Allied troops entered Denmark and the Germans there surrendered.

Denmark became a charter member of the United Nations in 1945, and of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. During the late 1940's, the United States gave Denmark much aid. The Danes rebuilt industries that had been damaged during the war, and the nation's economy became strong again.

Recent developments.

Denmark continued its political reforms and economic expansion under King Frederik IX, who inherited the throne in 1947. In 1953, a new constitution ended the upper house of parliament. The constitution also made Greenland a province, rather than a colony, of Denmark. In 1959, Denmark and six other European countries formed the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), an economic union.

In 1966, Denmark began a $600-million development program in Greenland. This 10-year program included expanding and modernizing Greenland's fishing and food-processing industries and its towns.

King Frederik IX died in 1972. His oldest daughter, Margrethe, succeeded him to the throne.

In 1973, Denmark entered the European Community, also called the European Common Market. The community is an economic association of Western European nations. In the late 1970's and early 1980's, Denmark -- like many countries -- faced an economic recession. Unemployment increased and inflation also became a problem. The government reduced its spending to fight inflation. new political parties emerged in protest to the government's handling of the ecomonic problems. They gained some support among the voters and cut into the parliamentary majorities of successive Social Democratic and Conservative-led governments. Special parliamentary elections have been called in an effort to establish a stable legislative majority needed to carry out economic programs. In spite of the problems, Denmark's economy remains strong by world standards.