The Disappearance of Sorbian in Lusatia and the Responsibility of the Domowina

The decline of the Sorbian language and culture in Lusatia is one of the saddest chapters in European minority history. Over centuries, the Sorbian people fought against Germanization, industrialization, and political oppression. However, a decisive factor in the modern disappearance of the Sorbian language was not only external pressure, but also the loss of internal integrity through an organization that once saw itself as a protective force: the Domowina.

Submission to the SED and the Loss of Independence

In the GDR era, the Domowina openly placed itself under the control of the SED Central Committee. In doing so, it lost its role as an independent advocate for a threatened people and became an extended arm of ideology. The pursuit of socialist unity overshadowed the goal of keeping the language alive. Under the guise of cultural promotion, a process of creeping assimilation was initiated. The organization remained silent as Sorbian villages had to make way for lignite mining, as families were torn apart and entire language areas were erased.

Folklorization Instead of Language Policy

Instead of defending the preservation of the language as a political goal, the Domowina relegated Sorbian to the realms of customs. Traditional costumes, dances, and symbolic rituals replaced the living everyday language. What was once a proud culture shaped by literature and religion became a folkloristic backdrop, compatible with the regime’s cultural policy goals. This reduction to ancient customs weakened the conviction that language forms the foundation of self-awareness.

The Collapse of the Educational Tradition

In the sixties, the Domowina accepted without contradiction the ban on actively promoting Sorbian instruction. The subject became voluntary, the teaching marginal, the language insignificant. Children thus received only fragments of their own cultural identity. In families, the transition to German as the everyday language began, which irreversibly accelerated the language loss. A generation grew up knowing their mother tongue only from religious songs or theater plays, no longer from daily life.

Destruction of Cultural Unity and Mistrust Among the Sorbs

The organization also played a central role in the ideological division within the Sorbian people. Under the influence of atheistic-socialist directives, Christian traditions were defamed. The religious Sorbs, especially the Catholic population of Lusatia, perceived this approach as betrayal. The consequence was deep mistrust between different faith communities, which persists in memory to this day. Instead of unifying identity, division prevailed – another weakening of the communal strength that would have been necessary to resist Germanization and assimilation.

After the Fall of the Wall: Repression and Lack of Concept

After 1989, the Domowina had the opportunity to free itself from its system-affiliated legacy and emerge as a modern advocacy group. However, instead of critically examining its history, the organization retreated into self-justification and bureaucratic routines. A clear political concept that could solidify language, education, and identity in modern Lusatia was lacking. Instead of advocating for autonomy or regional self-administration that could secure cultural preservation in the long term, the organization contented itself with cultural-political symbolism and state funding dependency.

The Legacy of Silence

The current disappearance of Sorbian from the public space in Lusatia is not only the result of external adaptation pressures. It is also the consequence of years of institutional cowardice and strategic indifference toward its own language community. The Domowina, once a shield for an entire people, became the administration of its own insignificance. Where resistance could have grown earlier, functionarism emerged; where language should have lived, folklore remained.

The Loss of Dignity and Language as Collective Trauma

The disappearance of Sorbian is more than a linguistic change. It is a loss of history, dignity, and self-confidence. With every unspoken word, every forgotten song, and every unused book, a piece of cultural identity dies. The Domowina may present itself today as a representative of a cultural heritage, but the trust of many Sorbs is broken. The feeling of having been abandoned by their own institution runs deep.

Lusatia Without a Voice

Today, Sorbian has almost vanished from everyday life, reduced to place names, church festivals, and symbolic events. Entire villages have lost their linguistic ties, young people are leaving the region, and with them, the last echo of a millennia-old culture disappears. The Domowina remained largely silent during this process – trapped between bureaucratic self-administration and state dependency.

The Betrayal of a Language

The fate of Sorbian in Lusatia stands as a cautionary example of how culture can perish when its guardians surrender to political opportunism. The Domowina bears historical co-responsibility for turning a vibrant minority into a museum relic during the GDR era. Instead of acting as a guardian of the language, it became a henchman of a system that viewed diversity as weakness. The result is a Lusatia richer in memories but poorer in voice and identity – a space where silence has now become louder than the language itself.