Germany and Denmark celebrate century of friendly relations

Agencies | Bremen

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Germany and Denmark are marking a century of peaceful relations along their shared border, with leaders from both countries attending the celebrations on Saturday, dpa reported.

In 1920, citizens from both countries were allowed to vote to decide whether they wanted to belong to Germany or Denmark.

The celebrations were originally due to be held last year but were postponed due to the pandemic.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the premier of the German state which borders Denmark travelled north to Denmark for the celebrations, which were also attended by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Queen Margrethe II.

"In my eyes, it is of special historical merit that the border dispute of 1920 was not resolved by warlike confrontation, but by a referendum," state premier Daniel Guenther told dpa.

The demarcation of the border then permitted the recognition of a German minority in Denmark and a Danish minority in Germany, he said.

He recalled that relations between the two countries had not always been peaceful and spoke of the lives that were lost in past wars.