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The Danish Waistcoat


By Marie Ørstedholm

The "Danish Waistcoat" was an illegal way for Swedish emigrants to avoid the long-winded application procedure to obtain the emigration permission that was needed in order to shape their course for the promised lands.


Without the necessary papers from the local police authorities the ticket for America was worthless. For young Swedish men of call-up age the process was particularly difficult as they had to obtain permission from up to several military authorities. Usually their departure meant cancellation or interruption of their military service. In the early 20th century Swedes constituted by far the largest group of emigrants from the Nordic countries.

A Precious Waistcoat
In order to avoid such procedures many Swedes chose instead to go to Copenhagen where they visited special addresses to buy what may seem like an ordinary waistcoat. However, in the inside pocket contained the direct way to the land of their dreams in the shape of false emigration documents.

A large part of the Swedish emigrants travelled on to England from where many transatlantic liners – including the Titanic – departed. The humble piece of clothing with the precious contents was known far and wide even by the emigration unit of the Swedish government: "All you have to do is go to Copenhagen and buy a waistcoat. The documents are in the pocket!" The vast majority of the emigrants travelled, however, with legal documents. In Denmark emigrants’ obligation to have a passport was only introduced in the 1920’s. Until then everybody were at liberty to emigrate.

Emigrant Profit
The Danish Waistcoat was one of many examples of earning possibilities that industrious Danes found in the traffic of emigrants that went through Copenhagen. In Nyhavn, emigrant hotels stood side by side with special stores selling the necessary equipment for the long journey. Here the travel agencies of the big shipping lines were also situated, among others the White Star Line and the transatlantic line of DFDS which since the foundation in 1898 had been the only Scandinavian passenger route across the Atlantic.

Closed Country
The wave of emigration to America petered out with the more rigorous American immigration provisions after World War I. Hereafter only a fraction of the emigrants was let into the country. On longer terms it meant the end of the glory days of regular transatlantic services and of transit emigrants leaving their mark on the Copenhagen townscape.


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