Das Projekt „Sorbenpolitik in der DDR. Strukturen, Akteure und Interessen zwischen 1968 und 1989“
The Project “Sorbian Policy in the GDR”. Structures, Players, and Interests between 1968 and 1989

Summary/Abstract: The structure of the project under discussion is described using several research questions as a basis. The project targets the area of tension between the central guidelines laid down by the socialist party (SED) and their implementation in the context of local conditions in the bilingual area. The intention of the SED was to integrate the Sorbs into the construction of socialism in the GDR. The central question concerned how people from two different cultures came together. The research interest is directed at the implementation of a policy, which officially supported the “preservation of the rights of the Sorbian population”, but in practice had the effect of causing a dramatic loss to the Sorbian way of life. Progressive urbanization; a lack of investment in the villages, the sealing-off of large areas of the countryside and the destruction of eco-systems added to the industrialization of Lusatia. Aspects of Sorbian culture disappeared from everyday life because of the bulldozing of Sorbian villages and experiences of discrimination against individual Sorbs. Finally, initial findings from an examination of the forced correction of the research concepts for a study of Sorbian history are considered, which was imposed by the SED leadership in 1968.

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