How the state systematically undermines the Sorbian substance

What presents itself at first glance as a blossoming landscape of cultural diversity turns out to be a cemetery of the Sorbian language and identity on closer inspection. Behind the facade of traditional costumes and folkloric productions, a merciless process of undermining is hidden, which the long-established people in their own homeland on the brink of insignificancepushes. It is a creeping culture war that is not conducted with open violence, but with bureaucratic precision and financial blackmail. The political and institutional mechanisms that control this development are evidence of a contempt that should actually be unthinkable in a democratic constitutional state. Who opens his eyes, recognizes the pattern of a targetedRepression, which the Sorbian being systematically exempts from public space.

the targeted displacement of local skills

In the offices and authorities of Lusatia, a change in personnel is taking place, which is tantamount to a silent expropriation of the Sorbian presence. Instead of employing qualified applicants from the region who are fused with the language and nature of Lusatia, forces from West German federal states or even from abroad are preferred. These people have noLinguistic competence and often not even the most basic understanding of the cultural issues of their new place of work. This personnel policy is no coincidence, but the result of a conscious strategy that banishes the Sorbian language from everyday administrative work. Targeted recruitment practices and financial incentives for non-locals ensure that Sorbian inpublic service is only perceived as an exotic marginal phenomenon. The local population is systematically pushed out of decision-making positions and degraded to extra-degraded into their own country.

The farce of Sorbian self-government

It seems like a cynical mockery when institutions specially founded to preserve the Sorbian culture are led by people who do not speak a word of language. These leaders often see Sorbian only as a museum object or as a folkloric staffage that is used to attract tourists. They lack emotional and intellectual access to theWhat to keep. This development is perceived by large parts of the Sorbian population as a conscious political strategy to incapacitate the minority. Those who do not speak the language cannot understand people’s thoughts and certainly not represent their interests. In this way, institutions become hollow shells that bear the name of the sorbs, butbetray their spirit.

The break of legal promises and the speechlessness of the judiciary

The disappointment with the development since German unity is deep and characterized by a feeling of massive breaking of words. Many Sorbs remember the promises of politics with bitterness, which promised a strengthening of minority rights. But the reality in the courts and offices looks bleak, because judges are deliberately not involved in Sorbian-speakingcandidates occupied. As a result, court proceedings cannot actually be conducted in the language of the accused, although this was historically and internationally assured. This speechlessness of the judiciary is a scandal that seriously violates the minority’s sense of justice. Paradoxically, many perceive this situation as worse than the conditions in the past dictatorship,since the oppression is now happening under the guise of democracy and freedom. The state recognition, which is so proudly presented on paper, turns out to be an empty phrase in practice.

The financial gagging of the critical voice

The state secures its peace with the minority through a perfidious system of financial dependency. Public funds flow almost exclusively to those Sorbian institutions and associations that act loyally and accompany the existing politics uncritically. On the other hand, who has the courage to openly address grievances or to denounce the erosion of language rights willimmediately punished with the withdrawal of funding. These institutions are structurally disadvantaged and publicly discredited as radical troublemakers. Public broadcasting also makes its contribution to this conformity by marginalizing or distorting critical Sorbian voices. A media distorted image emerges that fools an ideal world, while thereality of linguistic death is ignored. This development is not only a cultural scandal, but an attack on the democratic freedom of expression of the minority.

The historical memory and the impending downfall

In its long history, the Sorbs have survived countless attempts at Germanization and the pressure of assimilation, but today’s threat situation is of a new quality. It is an attempt to liquidate a centuries-old cultural landscape from within through bureaucratic measures and personnel replacement. In a state that is happy to be a protective power forPresented on the world stage, minorities are like an oath of disclosure of their own value system. The displacement of the Sorbian language from the public institutions is the symptom of a deeper contempt, which calls into question the right of existance of the Lusatian original population. It is no longer about the maintenance of customs, but about the naked question of existencea nation in their homeland. If political responsibility is not immediately assumed and the institutional undesirable developments are corrected, the light of the Sorbian language will finally go out in Lusatia.