Danish Protest Pigs

It’s no revelation that the history of Europe is complex. The countries we see today are just the latest configuration of a jigsaw puzzle that has altered shapes and piece totals over thousands of years. If anything, today’s map is relatively uncomplicated compared to centuries past, before nation-states existed and tiny kingdoms, duchies, and fiefdoms populated the continent.

It would take a master historian to comprehend every fragment.

Even highlighting specific areas or conflicts can become cumbersome. Consider, for example, what historians call the Schleswig–Holstein question. This issue concerned the relations and oversight of two ancient duchies, Schleswig and Holstein. These two areas occupy the bottom third of the Jutland peninsula and have existed as far back as the Viking period. The two flip-flopped statuses often, sometimes enjoying autonomy, sometimes joined by the rule of a singular duke, and sometimes part of Denmark, the Holy Roman Empire, or the German Confederation. If Jutland served as a spectrum with Denmark on one end and Germany on the other, Schleswig and Holstein existed in that part where the overlap occurred. And, humans being humans, both big neighbors always wanted the areas for themselves. Being a mixture of the two ethnic backgrounds, neither tiny duchy ever relished a consensus on which side to join.

And, humans being humans, this situation was the perfect recipe for war. Or multiple.

Between 1848 and 1852, the German Confederation and Denmark engaged in the First Schleswig War, which led to Denmark retaining the two territories. However, following 1864’s Second Schleswig War – this time Denmark v. Prussia and Austria – the Danes lost Schleswig and Holstein. Today, Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost German state.

If that sounded confusing, you’re not alone.

Henry John Temple, Lord Palmerston, who was the Prime Minister of Britain in the 1850s and 1860s commented on the mess:

“Only three people have ever really understood the Schleswig-Holstein business – the Prince Consort, who is dead – a German professor, who has gone mad – and I, who have forgotten all about it.”

For today’s topic, all we really need to grok is that many nations wanted to control these two regions and, after the second war, they ended up under Prussian control.

Despite the end of the conflicts, the Prussians did not just take their prize and chill. As we mentioned earlier, the regions included a mixture of ethnic Danes and Germans, so the victors sought to tamp down any possible future rebellion by the Danish inhabitants. Public expressions related to Denmark were verboten, including displaying the national flag.

Though the rise of the modern idea of nation-states was relatively new, the Danish flag was famous, as it is thought to be the oldest banner used continuously by an extant, autonomous unit. The Danes have flown the white cross on a red background since 1625 (and the standard might have been used first as far back as 1219).

The Danes in Schleswig-Holstein did not much enjoy the suppression of their identities. However, they had just lost a war to a superior force and now found themselves stuck living in a new country under new, strict rules.

They didn’t have much room to express rebelliousness, so they had to get creative.

If they couldn’t fly a traditional flag, they would unfurl their patriotism with porcine banners!

Jutland was filled with pigs, including this one, known as the Angeln Saddleback:

At some point, someone decided to begin a breeding program with the Saddlebacks, selecting for the pigs whose darker parts were closer to red than black. They also attempted to cross pigs with distinct vertical and horizontal white stripes.

You can probably imagine where this was going.

Eventually, they produced the Danish Protest Pig, officially known as the Husum Red Pied or Rotbune Husumer.

Though they never got the horizontal stripe quite right, the protest pigs nonetheless stuck out to everyone; the symbolism was clear if imperfect. These pigs were a living pigsonification of the Danish flag!

Sometimes, the bottom of the pig displayed a white stripe, somewhat completing the Danish flag.

By 1954 – 90 years after the Second Schleswig War – the official governing body of pig varieties recognized Husum Red Pied as a breed. However, 90 years was enough time for the fervor of displaying a middle finger to the Prussians, who no longer existed as a nation, to die down. As a result, the popularity of the Danish Protest Pig waned. The number of known pigs dwindled. In 1968, a sow with piglets appeared at a farm show, but, afterward, they disappeared from public view. Many people wondered if the breed had gone extinct.

However, in 1984, a Danish Protest Pig turned up! Ironically, this tubby mammal was found in Berlin! Breeding associations popped up in hopes of saving the strain. Today, about 140 red and white pigs populate Earth. Surprisingly, once again, nearly all of them live in German zoos. The state of Schleswig-Holstein officially supports the preservation of the Danish Protest Pig for their cultural value.

Sometimes, old punks become part of the system!