Danish minority of Southern Schleswig

One of the most common names they use to describe themselves is danske sydslesvigere (English: Danish South Schleswigians; German: Dänische Südschleswiger).

Before the adoption of the democratic Weimar Constitution it was not allowed to teach in another language than German in school (apart from religious education lessons).

At the same time a conflict grew between German and Danish National Liberals, that culminated in two German-Danish wars in the 19th century.

[3] While after the 1920-plebiscite between 6,000 and 20,000 Danes found themselves in Southern Schleswig[4][5] and even more than 12,000 people had voted for Denmark in the second voting zone in 1920,[6] about 8,100 were organised in the Danish association (Den Slesvigske Forening) in 1924,[7] but this number declined to only about the same 3,000 under National Socialism by the end of the World War II.

Controversy over the issue divided two of the main Danish parties, and both Venstre leader and Prime Minister Knud Kristensen and Conservative leader John Christmas Møller ultimately broke with their respective parties over the issue.

A 2015 study by the University of Hamburg identified around 104,000 Danish people in northern Germany, around 42,000 of whom lived in Southern Schleswig itself.

So, membership in one of the national minorities in Northern and Southern Schleswig is not based primarily on cultural markers such as language, but on self-identification.

The SSW is not subject to the general requirement of exceeding a 5% hurdle to gain proportional seats in either the state or federal parliaments.

The SSW is also represented in several municipal councils, and in the 1949 and 2021 elections won a single seat in the national Bundestag.