The Importance of the Schleswig-Holstein Conflicts in German
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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN CONFLICTS IN GERMAN UNIFICATION: A PRIMORDIAL CASE STUDY, 1839-1871 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science By Christian Anthony Ahlers In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Major Department: History, Philosophy & Religious Studies May 2018 Fargo, North Dakota North Dakota State University Graduate School Title THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN CONFLICTS IN GERMAN UNIFICATION: A PRIMORDIAL CASE STUDY, 1839-1871 By Christian Anthony Ahlers The Supervisory Committee certifies that this disquisition complies with North Dakota State University’s regulations and meets the accepted standards for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Dr. John Cox Chair Dr. Marcela Perett Dr. Thomas Isern Dr. Thomas Ambrosio Approved: May 24, 2018 Dr. Mark Harvey Date Department Chair ABSTRACT Considerations of German Unification usually center on Otto von Bismarck and Prussian power politics, the German Confederation, and Austria along with the Franco-Prussian War. Often overlooked are the important events that brought together certain northern German speaking states. But these conflicts were also the conclusion of a continuous feud between the Germans in the Schleswig and Holstein Duchies and the Danish. The feud, a series of wars which led to the creation of the Norddeutsches Bund in 1867, centered around the ‘Schleswig- Holstein Question’: the rightful rule of the Schleswig Duchy. Successional questions involved various intermarriages, personal unions, competing ambitions, the Danish Lex Regina (totalitarianism), and the German Primogeniture (the exclusion of female rule). The historical patterns emerging through this feud involve questions of legal, cultural and military history. They show not only the importance of Schleswig-Holstein but also of a kind of nationalism that can be called dynamic. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge: • The Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation Program and Caitlin Conci for funding my education, research and advisement, • The Center for Heritage Renewal and Dr. Thomas Isern for funding my education and advisement, • Dr. John Cox, Advisor; Dr. Marcela Perett and Dr. Thomas Ambrosio, Committee Members, for their time, efforts and advisement, • Dr. Thomas Bell for song and proverb translations, • Ashlee Gray, my fiancé, for the countless hours of continuous grammar and wording support. iv DEDICATION Zu jenen Dithmarschen Kriegern, die im Schatten der Geschichte vergessen wurden. Deine Nachkommen haben dich nicht vergessen. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 LITERATURE ................................................................................................................................ 3 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................ 9 Der Anfang (The Beginning) ...................................................................................................... 9 Die wilden Dithmarschen (The Ferocious Dithmarschen) ........................................................ 12 Die Karolingerzeit (The Carolingian Era) ................................................................................. 18 Die Blutlinien von Bornhöved (The Bloodlines of Bornhöved) ............................................... 19 Die Verträge des 15. Jahrhunderts (The Treaties of the 15th Century) .................................... 22 Die turbulenten Jahrhunderte (The Turbulent Centuries) ......................................................... 23 INTEREST .................................................................................................................................... 30 Marrying into Madness ............................................................................................................. 30 “Denmark to the Eider” ............................................................................................................. 36 The Rise of Prussian Influence.................................................................................................. 39 THE FIRST SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN CONFLICT ................................................................. 43 Buildup to War .......................................................................................................................... 43 Personnel ................................................................................................................................... 47 Course of the War ..................................................................................................................... 51 Rendsburg .............................................................................................................................. 51 Sundeved and the Als ............................................................................................................ 52 First Armistice ....................................................................................................................... 54 vi Eckerförde ............................................................................................................................. 55 Isted ....................................................................................................................................... 57 The End of the War ................................................................................................................... 58 THE DANO-PRUSSIAN WAR ................................................................................................... 59 Precursor to War........................................................................................................................ 59 Personnel ................................................................................................................................... 63 Course of War ........................................................................................................................... 66 The Danewerk ........................................................................................................................ 67 Sundeved and the Als ............................................................................................................ 72 Jutland and Fredericia ............................................................................................................ 73 The London Conference ........................................................................................................ 74 The End of the War ................................................................................................................... 75 ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................... 78 Primordialism? Ethno-Symbolicism? Constructivism? ........................................................... 78 Dynamic Nationalism ................................................................................................................ 82 Influence and Unification .......................................................................................................... 85 Liberalism.................................................................................................................................. 86 Power Politics ............................................................................................................................ 88 Military Innovations .................................................................................................................. 90 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 92 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 94 Primary Sources ........................................................................................................................ 94 Secondary Sources .................................................................................................................... 95 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Family Ruling Areas. ........................................................................................................ 26 viii INTRODUCTION The 1848 Three Years War and the 1864 Prussian-Danish War were conclusions to a lengthy dispute between Denmark and the German Schleswig-Holstein Duchies. The dispute covered the legality of Danish succession in governing the Duchies. Ancient treaties signed before and through the 15th century, which were later amended in the 18th century, created a dispute that was exacerbated by treaty misinterpretations.