The ethnic "straight jacket" bilingual education and grassroots agency in the soviet occupied zone and German Democratic Republic, 1945-1964

Between 1952 and 1964, communist leaders of the German Democratic Republic championed Sorb culture and language in the region of Lusatia. Ironically, the state's promotion of bilingual education in German and Sorbian met with grassroots opposition from Sorbs and non-Sorbs alike. By emphasizing Sorb cultural difference from other Germans, the state's efforts to promote Sorb identity unintentionally fueled ethnic German nationalism. This opposition, largely neglected by existing scholarship, led the state to reverse its bilingual education policies. Based on oral histories and archival sources, this article demonstrates the power of popular ethnic sentiments to shape state policy in East Germany.