The Wendish Research Exchange - Richter, Michael: Three Episodes from the Bilingual Area of Upper Lusatia during the Second World War

Lětopis Abstract 2017 1: Richter, Michael: Three Episodes from the Bilingual Area of Upper Lusatia during the Second World War

When considering the Second World War we conjure up images of the Eastern Front, the genocide of the Jews, concentration camps, the bombing of German towns or the flight from the eastern provinces of Prussia. However, there were also less significant events on the margins of these dramatic happenings, which help us to understand the many facets of the war better. What happened in the war cannot be reduced to the fighting between the 16th April and the 8th May 1945, as is illustrated by three selected episodes. The first episode gives an insight into the formation of the Hitler Youth (HJ) in the Sorbian area, as well as the subtle methods of the Nazi regime to observe and influence Sorbian farmers, using members of the HJ at the beginning of the war. This is followed by a description of the support given to teachers, using funds for the “furtherance of German culture”, in communities in the Lower Silesian district of Rothenburg, which contained a high proportion of Sorbs. This sketch contains important data about the composition of the bilingual district in 1941 and 1942. Thirdly, friction between the Upper Lusatian population and members of the Italian air force, who were stationed at the Litten airfield from August to October 1944, is described.