April 26, 1919

While I am frequently told that I exaggerate its importance, that the future of Schleswig and above all the canal is a local problem and one that should be left to the Danes to cope with, I persist in thinking that its future is vital to the peace of Europe and indeed to world security. The Kiel Canal and the surrounding districts that control it should be returned to the Danes from whom the land was stolen in 1866 and their possession of it should be guaranteed by the Powers. Clearly, like Alsace which is to be returned to its rightful sovereignty, the canal and the southern district of Schleswig is a tempting springboard of invasion. It should not be left in the possession of men who are pirates on land as well as on the seas.

But I must admit that many of the Danes here, notably their minister to France, M. Bemhoft, who is their principal delegate, are not ardent supporters of this plan, at least not without certain reservations and conditions. Today the minister called and these are some of the things he said:

“Undoubtedly in 1866 the population of these regions was largely, perhaps overwhelmingly, Danish. Certainly our claim is more fully justified than the claim so often advanced that the population of Alsace in 1871 was exclusively French. The region where the canal was built, and its advanced post and sentinel, the island of Heligoland, had been under our sovereignty (although England seized it a century ago) for many generations, and the people were contented with our rule.

“But we should not lose sight of the actual situation today. Our people have been expelled from the annexed territory in great numbers and others have left of their own accord. As a result, it cannot be denied that the racial complexion of South Schleswig has undergone a radical change in the last sixty years. The prolific Germans have come in in large numbers and the few Danes who remained on their ancestral farms have suffered great hardships. Perhaps another complication of the situation is that many of the inhabitants today who are really Danes, for self-protection pretend to be of German stock; but be this as it may, many, very many Germans are there. We know we cannot assimilate them and most certainly we do not want them within our territory. The Germans outside our frontiers give us trouble enough. We have no desire to come in closer contact. That would be disagreeable for us and undoubtedly most unwelcome to them.”