60 Jahre Gesetz zur Wahrung der Rechte der sorbischen Bevölkerung

Summary

Through their association Domowina the Sorbs managed to utilize certain political spaces which remained liberal in the early postwar years of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). As a result, the Parliament of Saxony passed the first Sorbs Law (which in Brandenburg was only adopted by governmental decree) in 1948, and this granted the Sorbs a certain autonomy in the areas of culture, education and language. The facts created in this period could not be ignored by the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany), which, from 1950/51 onwards, instrumentalised the Domowina for their own ideological aims. As part of the socialist development of society the GDR nevertheless supported Sorbian culture and language. As the GDR became more centralised from 1952 onwards the significance of the Sorbs Law diminished. Since 1989 the Sorbian rights have been reinstated through laws and the constitutions of Brandenburg and Saxony, but the existence of Sorbian institutions is now threatened by reductions in State subsidies.