A Ballot Box as a Witness to History

A simple wooden box, built around 1900, bears a German inscription, which translates: "Ballot box parish of Uberg and Seth". Today, Uberg and Seth are two small villages in Denmark. But that was still to come at the time of the plebescite. In the 1920 referendum, the inhabitants were asked to decide whether they wanted to belong to Germany or Denmark. Both villages voted with a large majority for the German side. However, since the overall result of the North Schleswig region was the determinig factor, the municipalities still fell to Denmark. What remained, were national minorities on both sides. The box was still used in elections until 1985 and is now on display in the German Museum of North Schleswig.