An Introduction to Danish Culture by Berdichevsky Norman

Author:Berdichevsky, Norman [Berdichevsky, Norman]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Published: 2011-09-18T16:00:00+00:00

Patriot and Danish Nationalist

Grundtvig is remembered as a Danish patriot and spokesman for the Danes left behind the border in occupied Slesvig. He was not, however, a narrow-minded nationalist. He argued for the right of self-determination and proclaimed in a poem that “All belong to a people who so regard themselves.” This characterization of modern, non-exclusive nationalism has been frequently cited in the current debate over immigration policy and how society should be open to the acceptance of immigrants from other cultures and lifestyles. Those who believe that it is incumbent on new immigrants to actively seek integration and acceptance point out that the following verse calls for the requirement that all should have “an eye for its history and an ear for its language.” He inspired Slesvigers with the will to resist and taught that coercion could never triumph over freedom.

During the years that followed the loss of Slesvig, the Danish people turned inwards and found pride and inspiration in Grundtvig’s approach to national feeling that included a more lenient church, a fundamental optimism with regard to the capacity of ordinary people, love of the Danish language and a romantic attachment to the past.

His poem below on the diametrically opposed national character of the Danes and Germans in Slesvig inspired the national movement to recover the lost territory:

Som paa Fattig-Kirkeegaarden

Strengt er efter Maale-Snoren

Al den tyske Ret og Orden

Danskens Lyst er Rosen-Floren

Med alt Mildt det Lattermilde

Friheds Drik af Glædens Kilde!

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