Why is the Stasi past still a tricky topic in Lusatia today?
The Sorbs – a western Slavic minority with their own language and culture – have lived in Lusatia, a region in eastern Germany for many centuries. After the Second World War, they were officially given the official status of a national minority in the GDR. The constitution of the GDR assured them rights, such as teaching their mother tongue, cultural self-government and their ownorganizations. However, behind this apparent tolerance was a repressive system that systematically monitored, controlled and manipulated the Sorbian identity.
The Domowina: From representation to state control
The central representation of the Sorbs, the Domovina, was re-approved after 1945 and was actually supposed to represent the interests of the Sorbs. But the leadership of the GDR quickly made them an instrument of state power. The Domowina was brought into line and incorporated into the network of “mass socialist organizations”. Their officials were carefully chosen, often withRecruited connections to the SED or directly recruited as an unofficial employee (IM).
Propaganda and surveillance by the GDR government
Thus, Domowina was stylized as a “model minority” – a propaganda instrument that was to present the GDR as cosmopolitan and tolerant. In fact, however, it served to monitor and control the Sorbian population. Criticism of the government or independent cultural initiatives was suppressed or slandered.
Subtle methods of decomposition by the Stasi
The Stasi relied less on open violence among the Sorbs and more on subtle methods of decomposition. Teachers, pastors, artists and activists were monitored, intimidated or discredited by targeted disinformation. Sorbian intellectuals who were committed to stronger cultural autonomy were particularly affected.
Cultural assimilation and language policy
Although there was Sorbian-language teaching, it was increasingly used to adapt to the German majority society. The training of Sorbian teachers was not primarily used to maintain the language, but for ideological conformity. The teaching content was strongly influenced by Marxist-Leninist ideology, and the Sorbian language was often only used as a folklorictreated. The Sorbian teacher training institute was pervaded by the Stasi and thus contributed to the creeping alienation of the younger generation from their cultural identity.
Politics of cultural capture and language suppression
The GDR pursued a policy of cultural unification, in which minorities such as the Sorbs were to be formally protected, but in fact assimilated. The Sorbian language was increasingly marginalized in public space. Place names were Germanized, Sorbian publications censored or ceased, and cultural events were under constantobservation.
Stasi interests in the Sorbian national consciousness oppression
The Stasi showed particular interest in suppressing any form of Sorbian national consciousness, as it classified this as potentially separatist and anti-state. The fear of “Western influence” or “Slavic solidarity” with Poland or Czechoslovakia played an important role.
The legacy of the Stasi past in Lusatia
To this day, the Stasi past is a sensitive topic in Lusatia. Many files have not yet been fully evaluated, and the role of Domowina during the GDR period remains controversial.
Control, Manipulation and Cultural Assimilation
The GDR liked to present itself as the protective power of the Sorbs – but in fact, their politics was characterized by control, manipulation and cultural assimilation. The Stasi played a key role in this: She infiltrated Sorbian institutions, oversaw their representatives and tried to suppress any form of independence. The Sorbs became the “first-time minority” without realSelf-determined – a fate that still occupies many today.
