Dybbøl

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Dybbøl Skanser - history, development as a place of commemoration and reflections on the future development

The history
The latest war in which Denmark participated was the German-Danish war in 1864.
Most of the fightings took place at the battlefield of Dybbøl in Schleswig, the southern part of the present Danish state. Dybbøl is situated only two kilometres outside the town of Sønderborg. Denmark lost the war three times. First a military defeat on the battlefield of Dybbøl, then a diplomatic defeat at the London Conference. The German negotiators proposed a division of Schleswig into two parts in accordance with a plebiscite. However, the Danish negotiators at the peace conference refused this proposal. After another military defeat at the island of Als Denmark had to accept the peace of Vienna. Both duchies were to be ceded to Prussia and Austria. Denmark had to surrender 1/3 of its territory and 40% of its population and was reduced to a small insignificant state.

Places to commemorate at the battlefield of Dybbøl
The battlefield with the fortifications was incorporated in Prussia after the German victory and was under German rule until 1920. During the two first decades after the1864-war Dybbøl was still considered to be of strategic significance. Large new German fortifications were constructed on top of the remaining Danish fortifications, as part of Festung Sonderburg-Düppel. By 1884, the German Empire had grown very strong and there was no longer any fear of an attack from Denmark. Therefore Festung Sonderburg-Düppel was dismantled, leaving only the earthworks. At the battlefields at Dybbøl and Als were a large number of places of commemorations both for the Germans and for the Danes. For many Danes this area became a symbol of the loyality of the local population and a place that symbolised Danish heroism and the hopes for a future reunion with Denmark. The windmill at Dybbøl hill was owned by a Danish patriot. It was burnt down in both wars and each time it was rebuilt. This windmill and the fortifications became obligatory destinations for excursions for most Danes visiting Schleswig.
For the Germans as well Dybbøl became a national symbol. The victorious capture made Dybbøl a symbol of Prussian figting spirit and bravery. In 1865 a cemetery for the German and Danish dead was established, and a number of memorials were erected in the fortifications and around Dybbøl Hill to commemorate fallen German officers. Two German victory monuments Sieges-Denkmäler were erected in Dybbøl and at the island of Als. The victory monuments, the fortifications and the memorials dedicated to the fighting became a place of pilgrimage for many Germans and a favourite among tourist attractions throughout the Kaiser Zeit. Every year thousands of Germans visited the place. The route from nationalism to tourism is often amazingly short.
In a school book on the history of Schleswig-Holstein from 1914 the German Empire is considered to have born with the conquest of Schleswig and Holstein, and the school book ends with this patriotic statement:
Ohne Düppel kein Königgrätz,
Ohne Königgrätz, kein Sedan,
Ohne Sedan, kein deutsches Kaiserreich.

Not only the Danes and the Germans had important places of commemorations at Dybbøl. For the local population in Dybbøl, too, this was a very important place. The population was strongly danishminded and they insisted on their Danish identity and language. In the northern part of Schleswig this was the typical reaction in spite of the Prussian rule during 56 years.
After the First World War a plesbiscite was held. In the northern part of Schleswig 75% voted for Denmark, and in the middle part of Schleswig 80% voted for Germany. In Dybbøl about 90% voted for Denmark. According to the referendum the duchy was divided into two parts, and the northern part of Schleswig was incorporated in Denmark and has been Danish ever since. The Dybbøl Fortifications and battlefield was now situated in Denmark. After the reunification Dybbøl Hill and the battlefield on Als were still topped by the 22-metre-high monuments of the German victory. In 1920, there were talks about delivering them to Germany, but the proposal was dismissed by the German side. Memorials should remain on the spot where they were erected. Now the Danes began to turn the battlefields in to Danish places of commemorations. All over the former battlefields at Dybbøl and Als memorials were set up in the 1920s and 1930s to honour Danish soldiers fallen in the battles. To day there are registered a total of 570 gravestones and memorials, most of them are Danish. In 1930, a large obelisk was set up to commemorate the Scandinavian volunteers in the two Danish-German wars.
In the second World War Denmark was occupied by Nazi-Germany for five years. The two German Sieges-Denkmäler were popular places for excursions for German soldiers and places of commemoration for the German minority in Northern Schleswig who wished to be reunited with The third Reich. Many Danes hated these monuments as a symbol of German dominance. After the Liberation of Denmark in May 1945, the German victory monuments were blown away by unidentified persons. Since then the battlefield of Dybbøl and Als feature a predominance of Danish memorials, there are still a number of German gravestones and smaller memorials, but not any Sieges-Denkmäler.
The musealisation of the two Danish-German wars started in 1914 with a big exhibition arranged by the Heimatmuseum in Sønderborg to honour the 50th anniversity for the German victory. The exhibition told about the conflict from a German point of view. Only six years later the northern part of Schleswig was reunited with Denmark after the plesbicite, and from now on the perspective in the museum gradually changed to be Danish. There still is a German minority of about 5 % of the population in this area and a museum for the German Minority. The famous windmill at Dybbøl was grinding corn until 1990, then grinding corn was no longer profitable to smaller mills. Since then the Sønderborg Museum has used the mill for three permanent exhibitions
- The history of the Dybbøl Mill and its role in the two wars
- The Dybbøl fortifications as a national symbol for Germans and for Danes
- The Field of honour - Graves and memorials in Northern Schleswig.

Reflections on the future
As a new way of strengthening efforts to recount the historical events of 1864, and to tell about the landscape in which dramatic national events took place, the Dybbøl Visitors' Centre or Battlefield Center was opened in 1992. This is located in part of the protected area nearby the fortifications. It casts light upon these hostilities using film and diorama display sets. It is not a museum with original artifacts rather it is a kind of story telling house with reconstructions. The staff are often wearing uniforms of the time and are telling the story of the battle in a dramatic way in order to make it more interesting. However this centre which has cost about 10 mio. DM. has not been as big an attraction for tourists as expected.

In order to attract more visitors the director last year made a proposal to build a shooting range, a full scale reconstruction of a part of a Danish fortification and a big playground for smaller children. Many individuals and institutions such as historical associations and the Museum in Sønderborg Castle have protested vehemently against these proposals of turning the Battlefield of Dybbøl into a touristattraction. The director of the Visitors= Centre claims that he wants to achieve a disgust of war. The critics claim that he is using the wrong media for his purpose. They also claim that it must never be a purpose to entertain at a battlefield center. The aim should be to give an objective and honest review of the background and history of the wars and to tell about the consequences in the short and the long run. If one tries to tell this story heroically and dramatically, the visitors often identify themselves with the Danish soldiers in 1864, and they adopt their ancestors= hostile images of the Germans. The route from tourism to nationalism can be amazingly short.
The debate about the expansion of the Battlefield Center has been utterly sharp, and a German collegue has charaterized the discussion as the Danish-Danish fight at Dybbøl. The conflict is still going on. But the politicians have just decided to incorporate the Visitors= Centre in the Sønderborg Museum in 2003. Then we must find out what to do with the big plasterbuilding in postmodern style in the middle of the battlefield. Probably we will concentrate on giving information of the unique landscape with fortifications, grave and memorials from the two wars and three nations Denmark, Prussia and Austria. The Dybbøl Hill with the fortifications is a protected yet public area of some 100 acres. The landscape is of exceptional beauty, but the wonderful views are obstructing for the understanding of the terrible and frightful acts of war, which have taken place there. Secondly I have suggested to cooperate closely with the German museum Istedhalle in Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. It is a museum placed in a battlefield from the first Danish-German war. A big decisive battle took place here in 1850. The Schleswig-Holstein army lost this battle. Both battlefield-museums are located on the spots of defeat, not victory. If the former enemies could cooperate on exhibitions and commemorations this would give a good perspective for the future.
Museums and memorial places shall neither moralize nor shall they inflame the national sentiments. We shall tell frankly and as objectively as possible about the national upsettings in the 19th and 20th centuries. The role of the museum in a democratic state is to give all kinds of facts and let the visitors make their own conclusions. But we do have an obligation for the 21 century. That is to commemorate in a way which doesn=t revive old animosity of the nabourstates.

Inge Adriansen
Museumsinspektør, Ph.D.
Museet på Sønderborg Slot
DK-6400 Sønderborg