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DET KONGELIGE BIBLIOTEK DA 1.-2.S 40 II 2°

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MEMORANDUM relating to the restitution by Germany (Prussia)

of works of art or articles of a

scientifical, literary or historical character

IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE RETROCESSION

O F D A N I S H S L E S V I G

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PART from the Financial settlement between Denmark and Germany which will take place after the retrocession to Den­

mark of the Danish Slesvig* territories, another question will arise as regards a number of articles haying* a scientifical, artistical or literary yalue and which are closely associated with Danish History.

In some cases, it is a question of restitution of articles which, without any Ieg*al motive, have been taken away from Slesvig*.

In i85a, was constituted at Flensborg the " Royal Collection of Antiqui­ties of the North " which soon acquired a great importance by reason of the additions, during the years I858-I86I, of the very remarkable discoveries dating back from the time of the migrations, in the bogs of Torsbjerg, in Anglia and Nydam, in the Sundeved The results of these excavations included thousand of articles of the utmost historical value deposited in those bogs as being the booty share of the Gods. The Danish Government covered the expenses ot the excavations which were undertaken under the supervision of Danish scientists ; the latter gave a complete description of the articles found, explained their use and the circumstances in which they had been deposited. It is well known that the Scandinavian countries have, at the present time, a leading position in matters pertaining to Archeology. In the last instance, there is a perfect similarity between those articles and the other remarkable discoveries made at the same time in other parts of Denmark.

Article 14 of the Treaty of Vienna of 1864 expressly mentions the Flens­borg Collection :

The "Collection of Antiquities of Flensborg" which is closely connected with the History of Slesvig but which was scattered for the greater part during the last events, will be established again there, with the assistance of the Danish Govern­ment.

In conformity with that clause, the collection which it had been possible to reconstitute, was delivered to Prussia, but instead of being given back to the town ol'Flensborg, it was sent to Kiel where it forms now the main feature of the "Museum vaterlandischer Altertümer".

Denmark requests the return of that collection of antiquities to the Province where it was constituted and to which it belongs, in order that all

I

Antiquities.

the articles which will be proved to have been part of the Flensborg Museum in i864, according to the museum catalogues and other documents may be restored. It goes without saying that this restitution must take place when the general peace involves the revision of the Vienna Treaty. That question is not only a question of right. The public feeling in the Danish Kingdom and in Slesvig claims this request to be taken into consideration. This feeling prevailed not only in the press, but also in numerous requests addressed to the National Museum at Copenhagen, as the Collection distinctly betrays its dano-nordic origin and is the best evidence of the existence of the Danish nationality in Slesvig from the remotest antiquity.

Denmark has also the very legitimate right to demand that the German museums in the Slesvig-Holstein Province and elsewhere should deliver the articles which they have secured since 1864 and which belong to the Slesvig

districts to be restored to Denmark (1).

If, Slesvig had not been incorporated to Prussia, during the period from 1864 to 1919, the above mentioned antiquities would have found their place in the museums of the different localities of the Duchy; a number of articles, affording a more general interest, would have been sent to the National Museum at Copenhaguen.~ For Slesvig, as well as for the whole of Denmark, it is of the utmost importance that everything connected with the History and civilization of the Slesvig territories should, in the largest measure, be brought back to the Danish side of the new frontier. The expenses incurred by the German museums for the purchase of those articles will be repaid by Denmark.

The Danish and German Governments must, at the same time, come to an agreement in order to preserve from all injury the totality of the very inte­resting Danevirke-Wall as well as the ground upon which was built the ancient town of Hedeby. With the help of subsidies granted by the two States, both will be preserved for future historical and archeological studies.

II

The Hovslund Stone.

At Hovslund (Parish of Oester Lygum), north of Aabenraa, near the old road cutting across Slesvig from North to South, was seen a Runic stone, erected about a thousand years ago by the heirs of a chief in order to perpe­tuate his memory. The generations of the following centuries piously respected that stone. As far back as 1592, it is mentioned in literature. During the war of 1864, it was carried away as booty by Prince Frederic

(1) The three Runic Stones of the Slesvig-Danevirke Wall which were removed to Kiel must also be added to the collections of Runic stones which are now in the possession of Danish museums, as tliey cannot be placed in their original position. No Runic stones are found on territories which were German in the Antiquity.

Charles of Prussia and placed in the park of his hunting lodge "Dreilinden", near Berlin. Denmark claims this stone to be erected again in its original position.

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Archives.

The documents contained in the archives, from the most ancient letters to the modern reports are not only useful for scientifical studies; they have a practical use. Denmark is entitled to cla;m that any document relating, either historically or administratively to the restored territories and now in the German archives, be handed over to the Danish Government.

It goes without saying that the archives which are in the restored part of Slesvig must remain where they are, whether they belong to local offices or to the different institutions. This is so evident that the Vienna Treaty makes no mention whatever of that kind of documents. However, at the present moment, it is necessary to insist upon that point as, on one hand, the Province of Slesvig-Holstein is going to be divided and, on the other hand, the claim will have to cover part of the local archives which were transferred to the provincial Central Archives, that is to say, to the State Archives in the City of Slesvig and to the Archives of the Provincial Government. The local archives situated in the administrative circonscriptions which are going to be partitioned, will share, in principle, the fate of the locality where they are kept; however, the documents interesting those parts of a circonscription which are going to be detached, must be handed over as far as their sorting will allow; in the same manner, the City archives which were very probably entrusted to the State Archives in the City of Slesvig, must be handed over.

Apart from the local Archives, it must be decided that the documents which are in the possession of the Central administration of the Province and which have a special interest for restored Slesvig, must be given back. Those restitutions must be made, in the first instance, by the two above mentioned Archives and besides, by other Archives belonging to institutions which heretofore were common to the whole of the province (Slesvig-Holstein), or only to Slesvig; for instance, the Archives of the Bishopric of Slesvig, of the Kiel Consistory, of the Provincial Diet, of the Kiel Court of Appeal, of the Chamber of Agriculture, of the General Synod and of the « Verband der Schleswig-Holsteinische Genossenschaften ».

All the documentation in the Statistical Offices of the Empire and of Prussia, in Berlin, and supplying information upon the circonscriptions and communes of restored Slesvig must be handed over, as well as all the documents relating to the purchase and exploitation of State property. The latter are very probably to be found either in the Offices of the Board of Agriculture or in those of the Ministry of Finance in Berlin.

The documents relating to law suits before the Courts outside restored Slesvig must also be handed over.

In the last instance, as Slesvig was without any doubt, until 1864, part of Denmark, any document relating to the whole of Slesvig and formerly in the Archives, either of the Slesvig-Holstein Central Office or of the Audit-Office, or, as regards the period from i85o to 1864, at the Slesvig Ministry's and not preserved in the Archives of the town of Slesvig, must also be restored.

A decree prohibiting the destruction or the removal of any document relating to restored Slesvig now in the German Archives must be immediately published. The German authorities would make that decision known to their subordinates as soon as possible.

Indeed, we are informed that the Kiel Consistory is preparing the removal to this town of most of the important documents belonging to paro­chial archives and that they intend carrying out their scheme before the retrocession to Denmark of Danish Slesvig. For instance, they have requested that all documents relating to Free-churches, decrees referring to the German and Danish languages, to the teaching of catechism by clergymen in Danish or German, in short,, all documents relating to politico-religious subjects be sent to them. One may assume that if the Consistory authorities are anxious to prevent the Danes from investigating those documents, other authorities are probably almost equally anxious to prevent their documents being controlled. There is reason to believe that the Prefects, the Mayors and the Police Officials have been invited to send to the south of the Province any documents of a political character and even perhaps to destroy them. It is of the utmost importance both from the point of view of the practical knowledge of the conditions of the country and as regards the work of its future historians that this practice should be discontinued.

The Danish Goverment and the German Government (of Prussia and of Slesvig-Holstein) should undertake to communicate to each other upon the request of the superior administrative authorities, all documents and infor­mations relating to questions interesting both restored Slesvig and the Sles-vig-Holstein Province.

IV

Printed Matter.

What has been said as regards the archives which are now in the res­tored territories applies also to printed matter. All printed documents belong­ing to State Administrations or included in public libraries must remain untouched. Denmark requests besides, in the interest of the population of the restored Slesvig, that a copy of any printed work published since i863, north of the new frontier be handed over through the Berlin Royal Library

or through the Library of the Kiel University and the Historische-Landes-Bibliotliek of Kiel. If this request is not complied with, the Danish inhabi­tants of Slesvig will have at their disposal no collection of printed works. It must be added that such a collection would be of the utmost importance from the point of view of the intellectual culture of the population. Ev^ry day, in Denmark, a very large number of people read the newspaper fdes in the Archives and public libraries. In that respect the newspapers may be" consi­dered rather as archives than as printed matter.

V

The restoration of the Church of the Lygum Abbey.

The most important piece of architecture in Northern Slesvig is the Church of the ancient Lygum Convent. The materials used in its construc­tion and its style SIIOAV, without any doubt, that it is Danish. During the years which preceded the war, the Germans started restoration, but stopped almost entirely the work during the war. In Danish artistical circles, that restoration was viewed with some apprehension, as to begin with, the architect entrusted with the work was completely ignorant of the relation­ship of the building with the churches of the Danish mediaval period, and was only advised of it later on. There is no doubt that the work will be pro­ceeded with and completed by the Danes, but it is of the utmost importance that all the plans, photos, descriptions and other documents relating to the state of the Convent, before and during the restoration, should be handed over to and utilised by the Danish architects.

VI

The Church Bells.

During the war, the church bells all over Germany were taken down and sent to the foundry tobe used in the making of guns ; however, it seems that in most cases one bell was left in every church. Special measures were taken as regards the bells having an artistical value. The same policy Avas followed in Danish Slesvig. But a number of bells were not sent to the foundry; they were only stored. Even when they have no artistical value, they are none the less dear to the parishioners as they tolled for generations on Sundays, holidays and on the occasion of all privats religious ceremonies.

The bells which were not sent to the foundry have, in consequence, to be restored to the parishes which will refund the indemnities paid at the time of their removal, after deducting the expenses incurred.

VII

The Flensborg Lion.

About 2000 Danish soldiers who fell during the wars between the years 1848-185o and 1864 are now resting in the old Flensborg Cemetery. A monu­ment to the memory of the fallen soldiers of the first of these two campaigns was erected in 1862 after a subscription to which the whole Danish nation contributed. That monument consisted in a bronze lion resting upon a high granite pedestal. The monument is the work of a Slesvig citizen, the sculptor H. V. Bissen ; the artistical value of the work was great, but its sentimental value was still greater.

The day of the inaugural ceremony was declared a National Holiday. A German scientist described it as « the fine and noble monument. »

In February 1864, after the Prussians entered Flensborg, a mob coming from Hamburg-Altona attempted during the night to destroy that monument ; they only succeeded in damaging it. In order to prevent the complete des­truction of that work of art, the Prussian general Wrangel had it removed from its pedestal. However, after the war, it was not put back in its former position but was removed, as war trophy, to the Court-yard of the Lichterfelde Officers School, near Berlin. A number of bronze decorative designs (medallion-portraits of Danish officers), were taken to Magdeburg and hung on the walls of an Officers Club, (the Foot Artillery Regiment «Encke» n° 4)- As the representative of the Danish nation, the Danish Government possess upon that monument undisputable rights ; in consequence, they claim its restitution. Denmark will decide whether the monument will be reerected in the Flensborg Cemetery or, in case that town should be south of the new frontier, in the latter town or upon some other spot of the Slesvig territory on which are found tombs of Danish soldiers.

Let us recall that in I8I5, the Saint-Marc horses taken by Napoleon were restored to the town of Yenice and that the quadrigo which surmonted the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, which had been also taken away by Napoleon, was replaced.

The Northern Slesvig monuments which are not funeral monuments and which belong to the Prussian State (the Dybbol and Arnkilsoere monuments, in the isle of Als) will be removed from their present position and the mate­rials will be handed over to Prussia.

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Works of the Painter Frölich.

The famous Danish artist Lorenz Frölich painted in the years i854 to j858 three big canvass for the Danish Court of Appeal which was then located at Flensborg. One of these canvass represented King Valdemar the Victorious promulgating in the year m^i the Jutland Law. Another represented King Frederick IV receving, in 1721, the homage of the Slesvig Bodies ; the third represented the Temptation of Jesus Christ. The first and the last of these canvass are at present in the Flensborg Law Courts, but the « Homage of the Bodies » was taken to the city of Slesvig, where it decorates the Audience-Room of the Superior-President (Ober-Präsident) Those three pictures are the best examples of Frölich's historical painting ; there are of considerable value to Danish art while they offer no great interest to Germany. A few years ago, the canvass which hangs in the Audience Room of the Ober-Präsident was lent for an exhibition of Frölich works in Copenhagen. It would seem equitable that this canvass be given back in order to be pre­served for the town of Flensborg in case the latter becomes Danish again; otherwise, the three canvass should be restored to Denmark which will pro­bably be in a position to offer, by way of compensation, works which would be of interest to Germans. Failing such an arrangement, the appraised value of the pictures would be paid for.

IN CONSEQUENCE,

The Danish Government ask the Peace Conference of the High Allied and Associated Powers to decide that:

i° All antiquities, —the legitimate property of Denmark, — which are now in Museums south of the new frontier be restored to Denmark.

20 The Hovslund Runic stone shall be restored to Denmark.

3° The archives relating- to the restored districts of Slesvig-, or to the Duchy of Slesvig*, generally speaking-, which are at present to be found in restored Slesvig or are placed in the Archives south of the new frontier, shall be handed over to Denmark, whatever be their nature, historical or administrative. No document will be taken away from the Archives, or destroyed.

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4° All public libraries shall remain untouched at the places where they are now, in the restored part of Slesvig-.

A copy of every book, booklet or any other kind of work, printed in the districts north of the new frontier, from the year 1863, will be handed over to the Danish Government by the Royal Library in Berlin, by the Kiel University Library or by the Kiel Historische-Landes-Bibliothe k.

5° All plans and descriptions relating to the Lyg-um Abbey shall be handed over to Denmark.

6° All the church bells belonging- to the churches of restored Slesvig* which, in the course of the war, Avere removed but were not sent to the foundry, shall be returned to the churches to which they belong*.

7° The monument known under the name of « the Flensborg-Lion », the work of the sculptor V. Bissen, shall be restored to Denmark.

8° The three historical canvass painted by the Danish artist Lorenz Frölich and which are at present at Flensborg- and Slesvig (town) shall belong- to Denmark.

The Danish Government ask moreover that the Peace Conference of the Hig-h Allied and Associated Powers decide that the execution of the above mentioned claims be entrusted to a joint Dano-German Commission presided over by an arbiter appointed to that effect by the Conference.

Paris, May i5th igig.

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IMP. da journal ®cinpSi J- REITKK, 5, rue 'les Italiens, Paris.'

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