Friday 18 April 2014

DYBBØL BANKE

Today is the 150th anniversary of the Danish defeat in 1864 at Dybbøl Banke. At the time, and despite the fact that Denmark held Prussia at bay for longer than either Austria in 1866 or France in 1870, the defeat (and the eventual peace terms) was a catastrophic event, which destroyed any pretensions the country might have had of Great Power status, and consigned it for ever to the ranks of small countries. Yet in the long run, it was the making of the country. Whereas Prussia's victories led to the German Empire, the horrors of two world wars, and its eventual abolition by the Allied Powers, Denmark turned inward, forging a strong national identity, staying out (in the main) of the wars of the twentieth century, and becoming ever more prosperous.

Today's ceremony, attended by the Danish Queen, is the first of many occasions that will mark the events of 1864. They include what will be DR's most expensive ever television series this autumn, which will be followed by a consolidating film. By the end of the year, every Danish schoolchild should know what happened 150 years ago.

Walter Blotscher

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