Arnošt Bart-Brězynčanski

Arnošt Bart (around 1925)

Arnošt Bart-Brězynčanski ( German  Ernst August Barth ; born August 29, 1870 in Litten near Kubschütz , † February 15, 1956 in Briesing near Niedergurig ) was a Sorbian politician and national activist. In 1912 he was one of the founders of the Sorbian umbrella organization Domowina and was its first chairman.

His nickname Brězynčanski comes from the name of his place of residence Briesing ( Sorbian Brězynka ).

Life

Arnošt Bart came from a Sorbian peasant family. From 1885 to 1888 he completed an apprenticeship at the commercial school in Bautzen . He then went on a long journey through Europe, which took him to France , Russia and Austria-Hungary , among others . On the way, young Bart enthusiastically learned French, Russian and Czech.

After returning to his home in Upper Lusatia , Bart joined Maćica Serbska in 1890 . In 1911 he was elected to the last state parliament of the Kingdom of Saxony . As a non-attached member of parliament, he primarily advocated the cultural and social concerns of the Sorbian rural population. Bart represented conservative Christian beliefs. His main concern was to support the Sorbian small and medium-sized farmers. At times he joined the faction of the Saxon Conservatives as an intern.

In 1912, Bart was a co-founder of the Sorbian umbrella organization Domowina . As first chairman, he wanted to develop the new association into a strong representation of the interests of the Sorbian people. The outbreak of the First World War prevented this, not least because many nationally active Sorbs were drafted into the military.

After the November Revolution in Saxony, Arnošt Bart was one of the founders of the Sorbian National Committee in November 1918 . With reference to the 14-point program of US President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, the National Committee also called for the Sorbs to have more self-determination rights and political autonomy. For months it remained unclear whether Bart and his colleagues wanted to achieve Sorbian autonomy within the German Empire or by joining Lusatia to the newly founded Czechoslovak state . In December 1918, Bart negotiated with the government in Dresden and high officials in Upper Lusatia about more rights for the Sorbs; at the same time he made contacts with the Czechoslovak government , from which he hoped to gain support for Sorbian issues. However, the National Committee was able to win only a few supporters for its political goals within the Sorbian population.

Grave of Arnošt Bart in the Niedergurig cemetery

In January 1919, Bart traveled to the Paris Peace Conference via Prague . There he tried to persuade the Czechoslovak delegation to negotiate on behalf of the Sorbs. He stayed in Prague until the beginning of April without achieving anything decisive. When he returned to Germany, he was arrested for treasonous activities and sentenced in 1920 by the Imperial Court in Leipzig to three years imprisonment, half of which he had to serve.

After his release from prison, Bart became involved in the Lusatian People's Party . In 1933 the Nazis imprisoned him for a short time. In 1935 he was banished from his homeland in Lusatia, and in 1944/45 he was in Gestapo custody.

After the end of the war, Bart took part in the reconstruction of the Sorbian institutions in Lusatia. As a conservative who did not value socialism too much, it no longer played a political role for the Sorbs in the newly founded GDR.

literature

• Hartmut Zwahr : Arnost Bart-Brězynčanski. Z dokumentaciju wo cesćenju. 2nd edition Bautzen 1981.

Web links

Commons : Arnošt Bart  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Edmund Pech: Ernst Bart (1870-1956) . In: Institute for Saxon History and Folklore (Ed.): Saxon Biography .
• Arnošt Bart's estate in the Sorbian Cultural Archives (PDF)
• Barth, Ernst August. In: Historical minutes of the Saxon state parliament. Saxon State Library - Dresden State and University Library , accessed on February 18, 2020 .