Christian X.
Christian X. - born Prince Christian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm of Denmark and Iceland - (born September 26, 1870 in Charlottenlund Palace , Gentofte ; † April 20, 1947 in Amalienborg Palace , Copenhagen ) from the house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg was King of Denmark from 1912 to 1947 and, as Kristján X, King of Iceland from 1918 to 1944 .
Youth and education
Prince Christian of Denmark was born on September 26, 1870 as the first child of the Danish Crown Prince Friedrich (from 1906 Friedrich VIII.) And his wife Louise of Sweden-Norway at Charlottenlund Palace . The ruling king of Denmark was his paternal grandfather Christian IX.
On 31 October 1870 he was in the chapel of Christiansborg by the Bishop of Zealand and Primate of the Danish People's Church Hans Lassen Martensen to the full name Christian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm baptized.
Until 1889 Christian attended a Danish grammar school and then began an officer career in the 5th Dragoon Regiment . In the years 1891/92 he graduated from the Danish Military Academy in Randers , served in various regiments of the bodyguard and rose to major general in 1908 . On January 29, 1906, after the death of his grandfather Christian IX. and the accession to the throne of his father's new heir to the throne.
Marriage and offspring
On April 26, 1898, Christian married the German Princess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg , eldest daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III, in Cannes . von Mecklenburg and his wife Anastasia Michailowna Romanowa .
The connection resulted in two sons:
- Prince Frederik (born March 11, 1899 - January 14, 1972), as Frederik IX. King of Denmark ∞ Ingrid of Sweden
- Prince Knut (* July 27, 1900 - June 14, 1976), Hereditary Prince of Denmark ∞ Caroline Mathilde of Denmark
On the occasion of the wedding, the Danish people gave the bride and groom Marselisborg Castle . Christian and Alexandrine also used Sorgefri Palace as a summer residence and an apartment in Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen .
As King (1912 to 1947)
With the death of his father Friedrich VIII on May 14, 1912, he was proclaimed King Christian X. Together with his wife, he traveled to all parts of the country and also visited the Danish outskirts of Greenland , Iceland and the Faroe Islands . The royal family's annual tour of Denmark on the yacht Dannebrog , which still takes place today, was founded by Christian and Alexandrine.
After the outbreak of World War I , the Danish government declared the country neutral. The king supported the neutrality policy through his participation in the Epiphany on December 18, 1914 in Malmö, Sweden . In a joint declaration, the three Scandinavian monarchs Gustav V of Sweden , Haakon VII of Norway and Christian X affirmed the strict neutrality of their states during the war.
The Union Treaty of December 1, 1918 recognized Iceland's independence from Denmark, while Christian remained King of Iceland as Kristján X through a personal union . Iceland received its own flag and coat of arms, Denmark only took over the island's external relations and defense. The validity of the treaty was set up to a referendum after 25 years, in which the final independence from Denmark should be decided.
Easter crisis
In April 1920, King Christian triggered the 1920 Easter Crisis - perhaps the most important event in the development of the Danish monarchy . After Denmark had lost the area of the former Duchy of Schleswig to Prussia in the German-Danish War (February 1 to October 30, 1864) , it claimed this area until the end of the First World War . In the Versailles Peace Treaty , it was stated that Schleswig would be a member of the state in two referendums : one in North Schleswig (the later Danish Sønderjyllands Amt ), the other in Mittelschleswig (the northern part of what is now South Schleswig in Schleswig-Holstein). No referendum was planned to the south of this, as it was inhabited by a German majority and, according to the opinion of the time, should remain with Germany.
In the first vote in the northern zone, 75% were in favor of joining Denmark and 25% in favor of remaining with Germany. In the second zone (Mittelschleswig) the result was the opposite: 80% voted for Germany and 20% for Denmark. Subsequently, the government of Prime Minister Carl Theodor Zahle decided to promote the integration of North Schleswig, while Central Schleswig should remain under German control. In agreement with many Danish nationalists , King Christian ordered his prime minister, despite everything , to promote a connection from Central Schleswig in order to win the economic center of Flensburg for Denmark. Zahle, however, refused to obey, as he did not want to provoke border disputes with Germany in view of the clear German majority in Central Schleswig. Seven days later, he resigned after a heated argument with the king.
The king then dismissed the rest of the elected government and replaced it with a conservative interim cabinet . This led to demonstrations in Denmark and almost to a revolutionary mood; For a few days the future of the monarchy seemed in doubt. Negotiations followed between the king and members of the Social Democratic Party . Given the danger of overthrow and the impending proclamation of a republic, Christian X gave in, dismissed the new government and set up a compromise government until elections could be held later in the year.
This was the last time a reigning Danish monarch tried to assert himself against his parliament. After this crisis, Christian accepted his drastically reduced role as head of state .
Occupation time
On the morning of April 9, 1940, the " Operation Weser Exercise " started at 5:15 am . Christian X. had considered this invasion unthinkable, as did his brother, the Norwegian King Haakon VII. Although he had been warned by the Danish ambassador in Berlin , he had not believed the news. On the eve of the invasion, knowing that a large German naval force had headed north, Christian visited the royal theater . The next morning Denmark received from Germany the ultimatum to place itself under the protection of the Reich or to be overrun. Denmark was completely inadequately armed and therefore unable to offer any serious resistance or to defend itself. British help was not to be expected either, the expeditionary force had set sail for Norway. The Danish Commander-in-Chief William Wain Prior called for symbolic resistance, but was soon silenced by Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning and Foreign Minister Munch. The king consequently refused to order mobilization .
At the conference in Amalienborg Palace , the German general and negotiator Leonhard Kaupisch had a bomber squadron fly over the palace. The ultimatum was accepted. According to Kaupisch, Christian was “morally broken”, but retained his dignity and demanded that German bases be set up and that there should be no German interference in Denmark's internal affairs. This would later allow Christian X to cover the Danish resistance movement and deport 7000 Jews to neutral Sweden ( rescue of the Danish Jews ).
In contrast to his brother Haakon in Norway, he did not leave the country, but stayed in Denmark and became a symbol of resistance. His rides through the streets of Copenhagen became legendary as a challenging reminder of his presence until he was finally placed under house arrest by the German occupying forces in 1943 .
Anecdotes from the occupation
Christian X became known for his courage after the occupation of Denmark on April 9, 1940 by Hitler Germany . Every morning he rode demonstratively through the streets of Copenhagen, unarmed and without a bodyguard, and thus became a symbol of the Danes' rejection of their German occupiers.
In 1942 the king's behavior even led to a serious crisis with Germany. The honorable responded in writing to Hitler's exuberant congratulatory telegram on King Christian's 72nd birthday with a dry thank you very much. Chr. Rex , which Hitler perceived as a personal insult, immediately expelled the Danish ambassador to Germany and called back the German ambassador in Copenhagen, Cécil von Renthe-Fink , who was considered a hesitant diplomat, and replaced him with Werner Best . In addition, under German pressure, the Danish Prime Minister Vilhelm Buhl had to resign in favor of the supposedly more German-friendly Erik Scavenius .
It is reported - and generally believed to be true - that King Christian fought vigorously when the National Socialist flag was about to be hoisted at Christiansborg Palace , the seat of the Danish Rigsdag (Reichstag). The king is said to have ordered a general of the occupation army to remove the flag. When the general refused to do so, the king declared: “A Danish soldier will remove the flag.” The German officer said that such a soldier would be shot. King Christian, the tallest Danish king in history at 1.99 meters, replied: “I don't think so. Because I will be that soldier. ”Thereupon the general ordered the flag to be removed immediately.
Christian X's demonstrative resistance to the occupiers, probably also in connection with the rescue of the Danish Jews in October 1943, gave rise to the legend that does not correspond to reality that the Danish king was wearing a Star of David in protest against the persecution of the Jews in the country Jacket ridden through the city. This legend is also taken up in the film Exodus . A variant of this legend describes the reaction of the king to the order of the German occupiers that all Jews should wear a yellow star. Christian X. replied that one Dane is just as good as the other. Therefore he will be the first to wear the star and expect every loyal Dane to follow his example. The German order was revoked the next day. Both legends are not true, as the Jews in Denmark were never forced to wear the Star of David. The German occupying power granted the occupied country great autonomy in internal affairs since Operation Weser Exercise .
post war period
Christian X died on April 20, 1947 in Copenhagen. He was buried in the traditional burial place of the royal family in Roskilde Cathedral. His eldest son Frederik followed him as King Frederik IX. on the throne.
Freemasonry
Christian X. was initiated into the Freemasons' union in 1889 . There he held the office of master of the order in the Danish Masonic Order . The Swedish teaching system , which is mainly practiced in the Scandinavian countries, is also worked on in Germany by the Great State Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany .
ancestors
| Friedrich Wilhelm of Schleswig-Holstein (1785–1831) | |||||||||||||
| Christian IX King of Denmark (1818–1906) | |||||||||||||
| Luise Karoline of Hessen-Kassel (1789–1867) | |||||||||||||
| Frederick VIII King of Denmark (1843–1912) | |||||||||||||
| Wilhelm of Hesse (Rumpenheim) (1787–1867) | |||||||||||||
| Louise of Hesse (1817–1898) | |||||||||||||
| Louise Charlotte of Denmark (1789–1864) | |||||||||||||
| Christian X. King of Denmark | |||||||||||||
| Oskar I, King of Sweden (1799-1859) | |||||||||||||
| Charles XV King of Sweden (1826–1872) | |||||||||||||
| Josephine von Leuchtenberg (1807–1876) | |||||||||||||
| Louise of Sweden-Norway (1851-1926) | |||||||||||||
| Friedrich Prince of the Netherlands (1797–1881) | |||||||||||||
| Luise of Oranien-Nassau (1828–1871) | |||||||||||||
| Luise of Prussia (1808-1870) | |||||||||||||
Web links
- Newspaper article about Christian X. in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Grethe Jensen: Danmarks dronninger. In: Danske dronninger i tusind år. Edited by Steffen Heiberg, Gyldendal Verlag, Copenhagen 2000, ISBN 87-00-45504-0 , p. 92.
- ↑ See snopes.com
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↑ The historian Vilhjálmur Örn Vilhjálmsson writes in The King and the Star - Myths created during the Occupation of Denmark :
“The above-mentioned myths and fabricated stories about King Christian X and the Danish Jews during World War II were originally introduced for the sole purpose of improving the reputation of occupied Denmark abroad. The tales certainly did not and most likely were not intended to improve the situation of the Jewish population in Denmark. Out of all these stories about the Danish King and Jews, the myth about the King and the Star grew to be the favorite. It was believed to have been created in the US due to the great good-will Denmark had received overseas for the rescue of Danish Jewry in 1943. Fortunately, most Danish Jews never bore the yellow racial badge. Those Danes who were forced to wear the yellow star on their garments were for instance Jews deported from Denmark to Theresienstadt in 1943, as well as many Jews born in Denmark who, in their time of need, were not admitted back into their native country by the Danish authorities. " Vilhjálmur Örn Vilhjálmsson: The King and the Star: Myths created during the Occupation of Denmark. ( Memento from August 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) - ↑ Bo Lidegaard: Overlever. (= Dansk Udenrigspolitics Historie. IV) Copenhagen Gyldendal 2003, pp. 540–549, 614–615
- ↑ In a radio interview, the diplomat and journalist Bo Lidegard stated: “... there was a conversation between the Prime Minister and the King in 1942, where they discussed exactly this question: What do we do when the Nazis start, the Danish Jews to pursue and force them to wear the yellow star? And then the king said, then we all have to wear the yellow star. So this quote, which the Prime Minister found in his diary, is the origin of the myth. ”Cf. Matthias Hanselmann : "This whole thing didn't turn out to be particularly mysterious": How Denmark brought the country's Jews to safety from the Nazis , interview with Bo Lidegard, Deutschlandfunk Kultur , October 1, 2013
- ↑ Eugen Lennhoff, Oskar Posner, Dieter A. Binder: Internationales Freemaurer Lexikon. 1980. Reprint from 1932, Amalthena-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-7766-2478-6 , Lemma Denmark
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Frederick VIII |
King of Denmark 1912–1947 |
Friedrich IX. |
| to Denmark |
King of Iceland 1918–1944 |
Republic of Iceland |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Christian X. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | King of Denmark |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 26, 1870 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Charlottenlund Palace , Denmark |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 20, 1947 |
| Place of death | Copenhagen , Denmark |