South Jutland county is also known as
Northern Schleswig (
Danish:
Nordslesvig,
German:
Nordschleswig). The name refers specifically to the southernmost of the Danish part of the
Jutland Peninsula that formerly belonged to the former Duchy of
Schleswig (
Danish:
Slesvig or
Sønderjylland), a
Danish fief under the Kings of Denmark. Denmark lost the
Duchy of Schleswig, as well as the German Duchies of
Holstein and
Lauenburg, to
Prussia and
Austria in 1864 in the
Second Schleswig War. Following Austria's defeat in the
Austro-Prussian War in 1866, all three provinces were annexed to Prussia. After the
October Revolution in Russia,
Workers' and Soldiers' Councils were organized all over Germany following the example of
soviets in revolutionary Russia. South
Jutland was part of Germany until 1920 and such councils were established in several towns. In most places there was very little unrest or revolutionary activities and the councils helped to maintain calm and order. Following the defeat of Germany in
World War I, the Allied powers organised
two plebiscites in Northern and Central Schleswig on 10 February and 14 March 1920, respectively. In Northern Schleswig 75% voted for reunification with
Denmark and 25% for remaining in
Germany. Though there is no historical census, it is estimated that the percentage of ethnic Germans in Northern Schleswig was less than the 25% that had voted for remaining in Germany. From 1920 to 1939, Johannes Schmidt-Vodder was elected as the sole ethnic German representative in the Danish Parliament with consistently 13 to 15% of the North Schleswig votes, providing an indication of the actual percentage of ethnic Germans in the region. In Central Schleswig the situation was reversed with 80% voting for
Germany and 20% for
Denmark. No vote ever took place in the southern third of Schleswig, as the result was considered a foregone conclusion. Today, they both form a part of the German state of
Schleswig-Holstein. On 15 June 1920, Northern Schleswig was officially reunited with
Denmark. It is the only one of the transfers of German territory after World War I that the Nazis did not dispute. A small ethnic German
minority still lives in South Jutland county, predominantly in and near the towns of
Tønder and
Aabenraa (
German:
Tondern and
Apenrade). A relatively larger
Dane minority lives in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
1970 borders As reconstituted in 1970, South Jutland County had slightly different borders to the area gained from Germany in 1920: the towns of Hejle, Taps and Vejstrup (which were Danish throughout the period 1864 to 1920) were included in its jurisdiction, whereas Spandet, Roager and Hviding (German from 1864 to 1920) were included in the neighbouring 1970–2006 county of
Ribe. ==Insignia==