POINT OF INTEREST

Flensborg Avis

Wittenburger Weg 19, 24941 Flensburg

The Danish newspaper was founded as long ago as 1869. During and prior to the plebiscite campaign in 1920 and up to the mid-1950s, it independently supported the integration of Flensburg into the kingdom of Denmark. The newspaper views itself as the voice of the Danish minority in the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein.

The German minority in Southern Denmark has its German-language newspaper, “Nordschleswiger”, while the Danish minority in the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein has the German-Danish “Flensborg Avis”. It was first published in 1869. Throughout all the controversial events and periods, the “Flensborg Avis” (FA) was an important medium for pro-Danish people in the region: Danish self-assertion in the German Empire; the referendum campaign in 1918-1920 (from then on with its German-language supplement “Der Schleswiger”); the establishment of minorities after the border had been redrawn; Nazi dictatorship between 1933 and 1945; and the “new Danish” movement from 1945 to 1955. During the referendum campaign in 1920 and up to the 1950s, the FA, together with right-wing, nationally minded Danes, vehemently supported a Danish Flensburg and a Denmark down to Danewerk. The “headquarters” for the preparations ahead of the referendum on 14 March 1920 in Flensburg were located in the FA’s offices, where editor in chief E. Christiansen coordinated the entire planning and tactics[1]. In the Nazi era, the FA largely managed to preserve its independence despite the huge pressure exerted on it. By contrast, the “Der Schleswiger” was banned in 1937. After World War II, the FA gained many new customers. In 1964, it acquired the “Südschleswigsche Heimatzeitung”, until then an independent newspaper that was close to the SSW(South Schleswig Voters’ Association). It has been a section of the FA since 1974. Today, most of the FA’s readers (circulation in 2018: about 4,500) are in Flensburg[2]. The newspaper receives funding from the Danish state and has respected the current border for decades. “Flensborg Avis” is a joint stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft) with about 1,500 shareholders[3].