Sydslesvigs danske Ungdomsforeninger – SdU (Danish minority of Southern Schleswig,  Germany)sdu

Contact info

Norderstraße 76
D-24939 Flensburg
phone: +49 461 14408-0
fax: +49 461 14408-222
e-Mail: kontoret@sdu.de
webpage: www.sdu.de
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Founded 1923
Joined 1984

Minority

Dans in Germany

Number of Minority Members

50 000

About the minority

In the 18th and 19th century the German-Danish border region was a hard-fought area.
In the course of the plebiscite in 1920 the inhabitants of the border area had to decide, whether they wanted to be part of Germany or part of Denmark. By reason of the voting the minorities came into existence: the German minority in Denmark (North Schleswigans) and the Danish minority in Germany (South Schleswigans).
Today around 50.000 people see themselves as part of the danish minority.

Traditions

“De danske årsmøder”: The annual meeting of the Danish minority. Approximately 20.000 people from South Schleswig and Denmark are taking part a gather to celebrate living the danish culture.

TIME OFF – ACTIVITIES ON

The main objective of Sydslesvigs danske Ungdoms- foreninger (the Danish youth organisations of Southern Schleswig) is to promote the Danish children and youth work in Southern Schleswig. Through sports, cultural and pedagogical services, we create meaningful experiences for our members – resulting in a wide range of events.
SdU is an organisation in constant development. Our close contacts with Denmark, our local society and the rest of Europe give us the opportunity to constantly stay on the beat.
SdU is the umbrella organisation of the Danish
sports and youth associations in Southern Schleswig with about 12.000 members divided into 65 associations offering activities from badminton to model aircrafting. From scouting to international political work. The associations have between 10 and 1.000 members.
SdU is responsible for 11 children and youth
centers all over Southern Schleswig, the seminar centre Christianslyst, the Aktivitetshuset (a project- and culture-house) in Flensburg, two sports halls, several sports facilities and much more.

Fun facts

„Sydslesvigsk“ is a mixture of the Danish and the German language. It is no approved minority language. The words, that occur by spontaneous translations from one language to the other, actually don’t really exist. For non-South Schleswigans „ Sydslesvigsk“ can be hard to understand.

Famous people from the Minority

Karl Otto Meyer (former politician and national hero)
Hanne Bay Lührsen (jewellery designer)

Photos