Denmark photograph

Denmark

Use attributes for filter !
Capital Copenhagen
Population5. 749 million (2017)
Currency Danish krone
Recognised regional languagesGerman
Did you knowDenmark has the sixth-highest number of Nobel laureates per capita (24. 329 laureates / 10 million people).
Date of Reg.
Date of Upd.
ID734640
Send edit request

About Denmark


Denmark is a Scandinavian country comprising the Jutland Peninsula and numerous islands. It's linked to nearby Sweden via the Öresund bridge. Copenhagen, its capital, is home to royal palaces and colorful Nyhavn harbor, plus the Tivoli amusement park and the iconic “Little Mermaid” statue. Odense is writer Hans Christian Andersen's hometown, with a medieval core of cobbled streets and half-timbered houses.

What Europe's royals could teach King Charles

What Europe's royals could teach King Charles
Apr 29,2023 8:00 pm

... From Denmark - how to deal with a pushy mediaThe Scandinavian press is a far cry from the British tabloids...

Algae that blights our seas is harvested to make useful products

Algae that blights our seas is harvested to make useful products
Jan 22,2023 9:21 pm

... These are carried into the sea by the rivers of the surrounding countries - Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden...

What message will King Charles's first trips send?

What message will King Charles's first trips send?
Oct 2,2022 4:30 pm

... In terms of a new start, however, some members of the family might be looking rather anxiously at the example of a " slimmed-down" monarchy in Denmark - where Queen Margrethe has removed titles from four of her grandchildren...

Copenhagen shooting: Gunman to face judge for questioning

Copenhagen shooting: Gunman to face judge for questioning
Jul 4,2022 1:45 pm

...A 22-year-old man suspected of killing three people at a shopping centre in Denmark s capital Copenhagen is due to appear before a judge for questioning...

Ukraine may soon get US long-range MLRS rocket system

Ukraine may soon get US long-range MLRS rocket system
May 30,2022 2:45 pm

... In an extra move to defend Ukraine s key Black Sea port - Odesa - Denmark has supplied Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles, with a range of about 130km (70 nautical miles)...

Bafta TV Awards 2022: The winners and nominees

Bafta TV Awards 2022: The winners and nominees
May 8,2022 10:10 pm

......

Unrest in Sweden over planned Quran burnings

Unrest in Sweden over planned Quran burnings
Apr 17,2022 6:45 pm

... In 2020, Paludan - who was for offences including racism in Denmark - has also attempted to plan similar burnings of the Quran in other European countries, ...

Denmark says sorry to children of failed experiment

Denmark says sorry to children of failed experiment
Mar 9,2022 9:06 pm

...Six people who were part of a failed 1950s social experiment have won compensation from Denmark s government and have received a face-to-face apology from the prime minister...

Denmark says sorry to children of failed experiment

Mar 4,2022 6:34 pm

Six people who were part of a failed 1950s social experiment have won compensation from Denmark 's government and have received a face-to-face apology from the Prime Minister .

" What you were subjected to was terrible; it was inhumane, it was unfair, and it was heartless, " Mette Frederiksen told the six Inuit Greenlanders at a ceremony in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

They were among 22 Inuit children sent to Denmark from Greenland in 1951 to learn Danish. It was part of a scheme to raise " model" Greenlanders to help bridge Danish and indigenous cultures.

However, The Children remained separated from their families, lost their Mother Tongue and struggled with identity issues.

Faced with legal action, the Danish government settled and agreed to pay damages of 250,000 Danish kroner ($38,000; £28,000) to each of the six. The Other 16 people involved have since Passed Away .

'Further and further away'

Kristine Heinesen, 76, remembers vividly The Day she was taken from her family, aged five.

" My Brother rowed me out to The Ship , " she recalls as she thumbs through A Collection of old black-and-white photographs. " The MS Disko. "

At first she was excited, she says, as she thought she was going on a sailing trip. " But we went further and further away, and it became clear that I was not Coming Back . "

BBC

The Children , all aged four to nine, were first placed in a care home And Then lived with Danish foster parents.

The Project was prestigious. It featured in magazine spreads, and The Children were even visited by The Queen of Denmark .

A year and a half later, 16 of them returned to Greenland, while six were adopted.

But back in Greenland's capital, Nuuk, The Children were not reunited with their families.

Instead they were placed in an orphanage and attended a Danish-language school.

" We were not allowed to play with Greenlandic children and we were not allowed to speak Greenlandic, " Ms Heinesen says. " We were supposed to be The Elite . "

But, unable to speak The Local language, they were marginalised in their homeland.

" I missed My Family , the language, the culture. All this, I haven't had during My Childhood , " she tells The Bbc .

Lost identities

Gabriel Schmidt, now 77, went to Denmark when he was six. He was a teenager when he met his Father again.

" I Remember When the [orphanage] headmistress told me: 'Today We Are going to see your Father . ' I asked: 'Do I have a Father ?'"

His Father was crying when they met, he recalls. They walked together along a harbour, but couldn't communicate.

" He spoke in Greenlandic. I didn't understand Anything and replied to him in Danish, " says Mr Schmidt. " It was very sad. "

BBC

Though The Experiment took place decades ago, the consequences have been far-reaching.

A 2020 report, commissioned by the previous government, found that half The Children later experienced Mental Health problems or alcohol abuse. There were cases of homelessness and " rootless lives". Most died relatively early And One took their own life.

" They sort of lost their identity, " says Einar Lund Jensen, one of the co-authors of The Report .

The thinking behind The Experiment

Today, Greenland is a self-governing territory within The Kingdom of Denmark , but earlier it was A Colony .

After World War Two, European colonialism began to unravel, but Greenland remained in Danish hands, and during the 1950s plans were rolled out to speed up its development.

" The policies changed towards modernisation and westernisation, " says Ebbe Volquardsen, Associate Professor of Cultural History at the University of Greenland in Nuuk.

" The aim was to assimilate Greenlanders' lifestyles into the Danish model, " he says, but local traditions and culture were not treated respectfully.

Denmark was Under Pressure from the UN, the Danish public and Greenlandic politicians to improve living conditions there, says Mr Jensen. " Danish Language and knowledge of Danish European culture were seen as a means to get equality. "

It's against this backdrop that the 1951 project was drawn up.

From The Beginning it was called " The Experiment " and The Children were referred to as " vanguards" says Mr Jensen. " These are words that we found in the documents of that time. "

The Children were supposed to be orphaned, but for most that wasn't the case. In fact there were doubts whether all parents understood the implications.

Later the programme was seemingly forgotten or ignored.

" We can't really find The Answer . " Mr Jensen tells The Bbc . " We have no documentation. "

The Experiment was largely unknown until the 1998 publication of a book - (In The Best Meaning ) - by Danish broadcaster and Social Worker Tine Bryld .

For some of The Children , This Was the First Time they learned why this had happened to them.

'Dark chapter' for Denmark

The Experiment remains an important issue in Greenland today.

" It still evokes grief and trauma, " Mr Jensen says. " Not least because many Greenlanders have had similar experiences of displacement".

He points to adoptions between the 1950s and 1970s, when thousands of Greenlandic children were sent to Danish boarding schools.

Until recently, Danish policies from that era were seen as " generally benevolent" says Mr Volquardsen. " This perception is beginning to change, because there have been many more measures that fall into the same context as The Experiment does. "

" It still has an effect on The Relationship between Greenland and Denmark today, " says Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, an MP from the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, one of several Greenlandic politicians who campaigned for an apology.

" A lot of people feel like they're less of a person if they are too Greenlandic, " she explains. " That's why it's important for us to keep our identity, language and culture. "

Successive Danish governments have argued that What Happened belonged to The Past . Calls for an apology were turned down several times.

In 2020, however, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sent written apologies to the six people involved.

She told parliament: " We cannot change what has happened, but we can take responsibility and apologise to those we should have taken care of, but failed to. "

Last November, a request for compensation was rejected. Then, shortly after Christmas, legal action was launched.

Lawyer Mads Pramming argued that The Experiment had violated his clients' Human Rights .

" They ended up being not from Greenland, not from Denmark - they sort of didn't belong anywhere. And so it has had a huge impact on their lives, " he told The Bbc earlier.

Then, last week, the government agreed to the pay-out.

In a statement, Astrid Krag , Denmark 's Minister for Social Affairs and the Elderly, said: " The Move of The Children to Denmark is a dark chapter in the common history of Greenland and Denmark - and it's a chapter that we should not turn a Blind Eye to. "

Meeting the Prime Minister

For Kristina and Gabriel, it was a huge relief they would not have to face a court battle, but they both felt the lawsuit had to be taken seriously.

The six survivors received an official apology from Ms Frederiksen on Wednesday. Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede also attended The Ceremony .

" Your stories have touched us deeply and this is why Denmark today says the only word that is right to say: Sorry, " Ms Frederiksen said.

Next week, Ms Frederiksen will travel to Greenland, and will apologise there too.

" The only thing I hope, is that I can help all those who have Passed Away , " says Gabriel. " I will think about them That Day . "



Source of news: bbc.com

Related Persons

Next Profile ❯