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157 CHAPTER SEvEn Of Mind and Matter A Conclusion The history of Sleswig demonstrates the diversity of identity formation. For centuries , the duchy bridged the divide between Germany and Scandinavia. Through its origins and its rulers, it was tied to the Danish realm. Within this dynastic conglomerate , Sleswig together with Holstein formed a distinct subdivision called the duchies. This entity was governed through the German Chancellery in Copenhagen , reflecting the status of Sleswig as one of the German provinces in the Danish composite monarchy. Below the level of German provincial governance, there were further partitions. Administratively, Sleswig was divided into royal and ducal regions. Linguistically, Sleswig contained Danish, German, and Frisian districts. Finally, the vernacular division was partially reflected in the use of German or Danish in church, school, and court. The dividing lines sometimes coincided, but more often they did not. In the northernmost districts, the Danish vernacular tradition was echoed in the widespread use of Danish in the public arena. In central Sleswig, on the other hand, the status of the duchy as one of Denmark’s German provinces favored the German language also in regions with a historically Danish vernacular tradition. This led to a functional bilingualism, in which the South Jutland dialect dominated in everyday life, whereas the language of religion and education was German. In the nineteenth century, the new ideology of nationalism challenged such composite polities as Sleswig. At first, both national movements lay claim to the entire duchy. They anchored their image of Sleswig in those aspects that supported their own historical interpretation. The bicultural duchy transformed into the historic Danish border province of South Jutland on the one hand and the northern section of united German Sleswig-Holstein on the other. The respective minorities were destined for toleration at best, assimilation at worst. Following political setbacks, both national movements eventually appreciated that secure control of half the duchy was preferable to an illusive claim to the whole. Like many other composite territories in an era of mass politics, Sleswig 158 ◆ CHApTer SeVeN was torn apart by cultural differences. A yet vaguely defined line developed into a substantive boundary. The international border between Germany and Denmark came to separate two clearly demarcated majority populations. Notwithstanding decades of european cooperation, the integrated border region of Sleswig continues to be more disjunct than its historic predecessor two centuries prior. Yet this politicization of culture did not constitute the only path to identity formation in Sleswig. Not everyone derived his sense of self from objective cultural parameters. At various points in time, segments of the Sleswig population developed subjective self-ascriptions that deviated from their cultural origins. This disconnection between personal language use and national affiliation could express itself in favor of both Denmark and Germany. The Danish side showed remarkable strength in Flensburg. The largest city in Sleswig had become a center of Low German speech centuries before the rise of nationalism. Among its native citizens, Danish held no relevant position, although it played a role for communication with the Danish heartland and the city’s Danish-speaking surroundings. In spite of this German linguistic character, Flensburg developed an ambiguous national orientation. Attachment to the composite monarchy long persisted. Conditions in Flensburg were countercaricatured by the rural districts of central Sleswig. In those regions, the South Jutland dialect historically dominated , although the public language was German. When the royal government tried to reinforce Danish by making it the language of education and the church in the mid 1800s, popular discontent further eroded Danish dialect use. even those areas where Danish speech survived frequently identified with a Germanoriented Sleswig-Holsteinism. Identities in the German-Danish borderlands displayed many variations, corresponding to divergent theoretical models. A core population on both sides of the border gave credence to ethnocultural and instrumentalist approaches. Under the impact of intellectual elites, these regional majorities transformed their established cultural background into a modern political identity. The persistence of Danish identity in prussian-ruled North Sleswig shows the resilience of cultural allegiances. In spite of half a century of increasingly onerous foreign domination, the minority held on to most of its membership and actually deepened its commitment . Decades earlier, the political mobilization of German speakers in Sleswig and Holstein had challenged the Danish composite monarchy. Next to this traditional identity rooted in politicized culture, the borderlands brought forth a more subjective sense of self. Giving true meaning to renan’s image of the nation as a daily plebiscite, a minority of Sleswigers formed...

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