South Jutland County

South Jutland County (Danish: Sønderjyllands Amt) is a former county (Danish: amt) on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark.

The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of Aabenraa (E), Haderslev (N), Sønderborg (SE), and Tønder (SW). The county was abolished effective 1 January 2007, when the Region of Southern Denmark was formed.

Following the reunification of the region with Denmark, the Church of Denmark elevated Haderslev to a diocese in 1923 and divided the region between the dioceses of Ribe (W) and Haderslev (E). This arrangement remains in effect.

South Jutland county is also known as Northern Schleswig (Danish: Nordslesvig, German: Nordschleswig). The name refers specifically to the southernmost 50 kilometers (31 mi) of the Danish part of the Jutland Peninsula that formerly belonged to the former Duchy of Schleswig (Danish: Slesvig or Sønderjylland), a Danish fief under the Kings of Denmark.

Denmark lost the Duchy of Schleswig, as well as the German Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, to Prussia and Austria in 1864 in the Second War of Schleswig. Following Austria's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War (1866), all three provinces were annexed to Prussia.

After the October Revolution in Russia, Workers' and Soldiers' Councils were organized all over Germany following the example of soviets in revolutionary Russia. South Jutland was part of Germany until 1920 and such councils were established in several towns. In most places there was very little unrest or revolutionary activities and the councils helped to maintain calm and order.

Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Allied powers organised two plebiscites in Northern and Central Schleswig on 10 February and 14 March 1920, respectively. In Northern Schleswig 75% voted for reunification with Denmark and 25% for remaining in Germany. Though there is no historical census, it is estimated that the percentage of ethnic Germans in Northern Schleswig was less than the 25% that had voted for remaining in Germany. From 1920 to 1939, Johannes Schmidt-Vodder was elected as the sole ethnic German representative in the Danish Parliament with consistently 13 to 15% of the North Schleswig votes, providing an indication of the actual percentage of ethnic Germans in the region.

In Central Schleswig the situation was reversed with 80% voting for Germany and 20% for Denmark. No vote ever took place in the southern third of Schleswig, as the result was considered a foregone conclusion. Today, they both form a part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.