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The Schleswig plebiscites were two plebiscites, organized according to section XII, articles 109 to 114 of the Treaty of Versailles of June 28, 1919, in order to determine the future border between Denmark and Germany through the former duchy of Schleswig. The process was monitored by a commission with representatives from France, the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden. The plebiscites were held on 10 February and 14 March 1920, and the result was that the larger northern portion (Zone I) voted to join Denmark, while the smaller southern portion (Zone II) voted to remain part of Germany. == Background== The Duchy of Schleswig was a fiefdom of the Danish crown since the Middle Ages, but was conquered by Prussia and Austria in the 1864 Second War of Schleswig along with the Danish-ruled German provinces of Holstein and Lauenburg, which had both been part of the Holy Roman Empire. Between 1864 and 1866, Prussia and Austria ruled the entire region as a condominium, and formalised this arrangement in the 1865 Gastein Convention. The condominium was terminated due to the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. Article 5 of the Austro-Prussian Peace of Prague (1866) stipulated that a plebiscite should be held within 6 years to give the people of the northern part of Schleswig the possibility of voting for its future allegiance, allowing regions voting for Danish rule to be restored to Danish administration. The idea of a plebiscite had been presented earlier. During the early phases of the First Schleswig War, the secessionist government of Schleswig-Holstein had unsuccessfully suggested a referendum in parts of Schleswig, but this had been rejected by the Danish government,〔(''Fredsforslag 1848'', Peace Concept by the Government of Schleswig-Holstein 1848 (Danish) )〕 and during the 1863 London Conference's attempts to defuse the Second Schleswig War, one of the suggestions of Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck was a referendum in North Schleswig.〔(''Myter om Slesvig'', About the abandoned opportunities to hold plebiscites in 1848 and 1864 (Danish) )〕 Bismarck's initiative was not adopted by the conference, primarily since the option had not been included in the instruction to the Danish delegation. The inclusion of the promise of a plebiscite in the 1866 Austro-Prussian Peace of Prague was a diplomatic concession to Austria, but was not implemented. The reference to it was subsequently dropped in the 1877 Gastein Convention between Austria and Germany. The 1864 border was confirmed in the 1907 German-Danish Optant Treaty, but Danish North Schleswigers continued to argue for a plebiscite citing the 1866 Peace of Prague. Danes campaigning for implementation of the plebiscite promise, in the hope that it would result in the area being restored to Danish rule, often made a comparison with the French demand for return of Alsace-Lorraine. This comparison was regarded sympathetically by French public opinion and, although Denmark had not taken part in the First World War, there was considerable backing in France for taking up the Danish claims as part of the post-war settlement. After Germany's defeat in 1918, the Danish government asked the Allied Powers and the Versailles Conference of 1919 to include a plebiscite in the disputed North Schleswig region based on Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points as part of the Allied Powers' peace settlement with Germany, and this request was granted by the Allies. == Defining the plebiscite boundaries == The plebiscites were held on 10 February and 14 March 1920 in two zones that had been defined according to the wishes of the Danish government,〔(''Abstimmungsgebiet'', Plebiscite Zones and how they were defined (German), Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte (Society for History of Schleswig-Holstein) )〕 and based on lines drawn in the 1890s by Danish historian Hans Victor Clausen.〔(''Clausen-linien'', The Clausen Line and its background (Danish), Grænseforeningen )〕 During the 1880s and 1890s, Clausen had travelled extensively on both sides of a possible future Dano-German border, for which he published two suggestions. Clausen's first line delineated a coherent territory that he expected would vote Danish in a future referendum, and the second line (about further south) included a thinly-populated rural region in Central Schleswig, which Clausen believed had potential for assimilation into Denmark, as the population of Central Schleswig was pro-German in allegiance, but also Danish-speaking. In 1918, Clausen published a pamphlet "Før Afgørelsen" (''Before the Decision'') in which he strongly advocated that Denmark annex the zone delineated by his northernmost ("first") line, arguing that the territory north of this line was indisputably pro-Danish and should be considered indivisible.〔Clausen, H.V., Før Afgørelsen (the Decision )), Gyldendalske Boghandel Nordisk Forlag, Copenhagen, 1918, p. 23 (Danish).〕 At the same time, he effectively abandoned his second line, as the population of Central Schleswig remained pro-German, and as he considered it vital that the future border should be based on the self-determination of the local populace.〔Clausen, H.V., Før Afgørelsen (the Decision )), Gyldendalske Boghandel Nordisk Forlag, Copenhagen, 1918, p. 16 (Danish).〕 In the 1920 referenda, Clausen's first line was closely imitated in what became the referendum's Zone I, while his second line became the basis of Zone II, although the referendum zone was extended to include the city of Flensburg and the town of Glücksburg. Clausen had excluded both from his two lines.〔Clausen, H.V., Før Afgørelsen (the Decision )), Gyldendalske Boghandel Nordisk Forlag, Copenhagen, 1918, pp. 24–25 (Danish).〕 Zone I was based on Clausen's estimations of the local population's national self-identification. When in doubt, Clausen primarily relied on the wishes of the rural communities, which he considered autochtone (indigenous), in contrast with the North Schleswig towns, which he considered largely irrelevant due to their smallness and their less-autochtone population, notably the demographics of the town of Sønderborg (Sonderburg) which had become strongly influenced by the presence of a large German naval base. In addition, Clausen believed that it would minimize the risk of future conflict if the future border in the marshy West Schleswig followed either the Vidå river or a dyke. This caused resentment on the German side, as this implied that the town of Tønder (Tondern) would be included in Zone I. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Schleswig plebiscites, 1920」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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