APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110016-6
incursion. As noted above, it lost nearly a third of its total territory and 200,000 ethnic Danes when obliged to cede Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg to Prussia in 1864. The diffusion of persons of Danish and German ethnic origin within the large area had been the underlying cause of the 1864 war between Denmark and Prussia allied with Austria-Hungary.
Notwithstanding the huge initial transfer of territory in 1864 and the subsequent return to Denmark of north Schleswig, following an internationally supervised plebiscite in 1930, sizable ethnic minorities still remain on either side of the border. In 1971 the bloc of Danish voters in Germany was over 25,000, of German voters in Denmark, some 7,000. Although enjoying minimal representation in their respective parliaments through the 1950s, neither group is politically that strong today. The Schleswig splinter party in Denmark last won a seat in the 1960 general election. Its constituency has declined from a peak of 10,000 in 1953, partly as a result of considerate and fair treatment under Danish rule once the anti-German passions engendered by Nazi occupation in World War II subsided. The Danish Government now guarantees civic and cultural rights, including the optional teaching of primary classes in German. Membership in and support for the German minority Schleswig Party will probably continue to decline as broader national issues assume an increasing importance to the ethnic Germans themselves. Such issues may only be effectively addressed through casting one's ballot for a major Danish party.
The Danish Government restricts itself to asking for similar cultural guarantees for the minority Danes living on the West German side of the border; self-determination through a plebiscite is no longer being pressed. Such guarantees, on the whole, have been forthcoming from Bonn. Nonetheless, until Denmark's accession to the EC in January 1973, which could have a bearing on the relationship, the status and the future of the Danish minority in West Germany have sporadically have been an issue in Danish politics. Funds were still voted by the Folketing in 1971 to strengthen cultural "Danishness" among this expatriate minority.
Further easing tensions had been the effort by West Germany, while Denmark was still on the outside, to obtain privileged treatment for Danish goods entering the Common Market area. In 1972, before Denmark's EC accession, West Germany was already on par with the United Kingdom and Sweden as a principal trading partner. By the latter 1960s the flow of people across the common boundary had become phenomenal. In 1968 it was estimated that the West Germans were making some 8 million visits to Denmark each year, and Danes were making some 5 million visits to West Germany, a number larger than the total population of Denmark. Another measure of the reconciliation that has already taken place is the periodic introduction of West German NATO troops to hold exercises on Danish soil. When first attempted in 1965, small leftist elements caused some disturbances, but even these dissipated in the ensuing years.
In official statements Danish leaders have termed German reunification the greatest and most serious of the unsolved questions splitting East and West. The Danes support a reunited Germany on the basis of self-determination but have taken the position that it may only come to pass after a marked reduction over a period of years in East-West tensions. In the meantime, a divided Germany not being a wholly unwelcome sight to the Danes, they took advantage of the Bonn-initiated Ostpolitik to mend their own fences eastwards. After several preliminary steps, Copenhagen recognized the East German regime in January 1973 with the apparent approbation of Bonn.
Relations with the British traditionally have been close, resulting from a rather long history of common political and commercial interests, as well as from cultural affinities. Historically aware Danes may take cognizance of the ethnic ties, stemming from the migration of large numbers of Danes to the British Isles during the Viking period. The Dane, Knut the Great, ruled England as part of his Northern Empire from 1016 to 1035. After the Viking tide subsided, cultural and commercial relations continued to the modern era - more often amicable than hostile. One traumatic intrusion was the British bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and "preventive" capture of the entire Danish fleet, lest it fall into Napoleon's hands. And then in 1864, the United Kingdom permitted Denmark to go to war alone against Prussia and Austria-Hungary over Schleswig-Holstein. But by the turn of the century and thereafter the affinities then prevailed. A large number of Danes speak English, admits British character traits, and deeply respect the monarchical tradition that the two peoples share. There is a tendency among some Danes to regard the UK role in world politics as more stable, mature, and reliable than that of the United States. The United Kingdom was for a protracted period in the 20th century Denmark's principal trading partner, but now shares the first rank with West Germany and Sweden.
Danish relations with France are characterized by a long-term regard for French cultural and political contributions to the mainstream of European civilization. When forced into an alliance with Napoleon in 1807 because of the UK preemptive seizure of the Danish fleet, Denmark was simply
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110016-6
