Abstract

In the nineteenth century, the hotly disputed border region between Denmark and Germany was the focus of an intricate conflict that complicates questions of ethnic and national identity even today. Beyond the Border reconstructs the experiences of both Danish and German minority youths living in the area from the 1950s to the 1970s, a period in which relations remained tense amid the broader developments of Cold War geopolitics. Drawing on a remarkable variety of archival and oral sources, the author provides a rich and fine-grained analysis that encompasses political issues from the NATO alliance and European integration to everyday life and popular culture.

“This brilliant and persuasive book clearly traces the hybridity of national affiliation—and thus the construction of identities in local border regions—in vivid detail.” • Knud Andresen, Research Center for Contemporary History, Hamburg

“This is a strong, engaging book on a fascinating and largely unexplored topic in contemporary European history. Beyond the Border brings fresh perspectives to our understanding of Western Europe during the long 1960s.” • Alan McDougall, University of Guelph

Tobias Haimin Wung-Sung is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern Denmark, Sønderborg. His research interests mainly include social and cultural developments in post-war Western Europe.