By Will Firth
BERLIN — In the south-east German region of Lusatia (Lausitz) lives a small ethnic group — the Sorbs. Also called Lusatians or Wends, the Sorbs are of Slavic descent and speak a language closely related to Czech and Polish.
Sorbs and other Slavic tribes settled eastern Germany a thousand years ago, well before the coming of the Germans. Many of the place names in this part of Germany are consequently of Slavic origin (e.g. Berlin and Dresden). But for several centuries the Sorbs have been an island in a German sea. Despite spirited resistance to assimilation, their population is around 50,000 and declining.
Sorbish language and culture have been best preserved in the hilly south of Lusatia around the city of Bautzen (or Budyin as the street signs also say in Sorbish). In northern Lusatia, around the city of Cottbus, the degree of assimilation is much greater, and decades of open-cut brown coal mining have literally undermined dozens of villages, leaving behind a moonscape.
Since German unification in 1990, Lusatia has been divided between the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. Several members of state parliament are Sorbs, as is one member of the federal parliament in Bonn, but the Sorbs have yet to establish an effective "lobby" to voice their demands for comprehensive support of their culture.
Under the East German regime, the situation was markedly different. Sorbish institutions received generous support and were used as one of East Germany's "trademarks". The regime held up its treatment of the Sorbs as a paragon of multiculturalism.
This treatment was condescending and did not prevent cases of repression against dissident Sorbs. Still, given the degree of recognition and support which the Sorbs formerly enjoyed, many Germans in the East still have a streak of jealousy and sometimes refer to the Sorbs half-jokingly as "Erich [Honecker]'s spoilt brats" and put on a wry grin when Sorbish folk traditions go on show.
The Sorbs have German passports and most speak fluent German. Many of the younger generation no longer identify with their language or with the ethnic culture, rooted as it is in a rural way of life and strong religious (particularly Catholic) tradition. This estrangement is reinforced by changes that have occurred in the wake of reunification.
Industry and agriculture in Lusatia have virtually collapsed, leading to a high rate of unemployment among industrial workers and farmers. A push-and-pull takes flexible labour power (the young generation) away to other regions; the freedom to travel is also alluring.
These and other factors are breaking down the fragile social structure of large, patriarchal rural families which for centuries were the backbone of the Sorbish way of life. Given the small and declining rm prospects for the survival of the Sorbish nation are poor unless it adapts to the new conditions.
Some Sorbish institutions have survived the plunge into the harsher climate of the new Germany: there are still primary schools and several high schools with teaching in Sorbish; the paper Serbske Nowiny (Sorbish News) still appears daily; and there is a Chair of Sorbish Studies at the University of Leipzig.
Aside from the ethnic and cultural issues, Lusatia is a region beset with problems. The ravenous open-cut energy policy is continuing although coal reserves will be exhausted in 10 years. Civil disobedience campaigns around these issues have been waged, but with limited impact.
Mass unemployment in Lusatia has been energetically exploited by fascist organisations — the region is now one of their main centres of activity, even after the banning of German Alternative and the Free German Workers' Party at the end of 1992.
"Germany for the Germans", the fascists chanted at their marches, menacing not only the many foreign workers but implicitly the indigenous ethnic minorities too. Fortunately, there have been no "eruptions" to date involving attacks on Sorbs or Sorbish institutions. Possibly this is due to the Sorbs' high degree of integration into German society and the fact that, to superficial appearances, they are "German" enough.