Společnost přátel Lužice

Seat of the Společnost přátel Lužice in the former Wendish seminary in Prague

The Společnost přátel Lužice (in German: Society of Friends of Lusatia ; Sorbian : Towarstwo přećelow Serbow ) was founded on March 20, 1907 as the Czech-Wendish Association Adolf Černý in Prague.

Adolf Černý , professor of Slavic Studies and Lecturer for Sorabic Studies at the Charles University in Prague , acted as the most important Czech expert on Sorabic Studies at the time, not only as the name giver, but also as the protector of the association. In 1932 the association was renamed Společnost přátel Lužice (Society of Friends of Lusatia). Equal working languages of the association are both Czech and Sorbian. Today the SPL is an associated member of Domowina and has its seat in the building of the Wendish Seminary on Prague's Lesser Town .

Contribution to the Sorbs question

The association is committed to the cultural and scientific exchange between the Sorbian and Czech people. Particularly after the First World War, there were intensive contacts to support the Sorbs in their striving for cultural autonomy. Such was their protector Černý as ministerial and expert on Sorbs adviser to the Czechoslovak delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference for the Sorbs question . It was a declared aim of the delegation to campaign for the protection and rights of the Slavic Sorbs minority in Lusatia. The maximum demand was an autonomous Lusatia, as also demanded by the Wendish National Committee in 1919 and the Wendish People's Party that emerged from it during the Weimar Republic. A far more realistic attempt was made to obtain a minority protection for the Sorbs comparable to the minority protection treaty between the Allied and Associated Main Powers and Poland . However, this could not be achieved, only a general protection of minorities anchored in the Versailles Peace Treaty , which was reflected in Article 113 of the Weimar Constitution .

After the National Socialists came to power, the Society of Friends of Lusatia published a memorandum on May 4, 1933 under the title For the rescue of the culture of the Sorbian people . In it she sharply criticized the German government for its Sorbian policy, which was in contradiction to the guaranteed protection of minorities in Art. 113 . This memorandum was heard across Europe through the network of friendship societies of the Sorbs, but it moved into the political background in view of the transfer of power in 1933 .

Friendship societies of the Sorbs abroad

With the support of the Society of Friends of Lusatia in Prague, further Sorbian societies were established in the 1920s and 30s.

year	Seat	(historical) country of founding	Surname	Proof in
1923	Warsaw	Poland 1919 Poland	Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Narodu Serbołżyckiego Warszawa	410
1924	Paris	Third French Republic France	Association Les Amis de La Lusace Paris	440
1925	Vienna	Austria Austria	Friends of the Lausitzer Wenden	444
1926	new York	United States 48 United States	Society of Lusatian Frieds Ney York	449
1927	Zagreb	Yugoslavia Kingdom 1918 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes	Društvo prijatelja Lužičkih Srba Zagreb	450
1928	Ljubljana	Yugoslavia Kingdom 1918 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes	Drušstvo prijatelov Lužiskih Srbov Ljubljana	452
1928	Belgrade	Yugoslavia Kingdom 1918 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes	Društvo prijatelja Lužičkih Srba Beograd	457
1930	Poses	Poland 1928 Second Polish Republic	Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Narodu Łużyckiego Poznań	468
1932	Lviv	Poland 1928 Second Polish Republic	Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Narodu Łużyckiego Lwów	472
1933	Warsaw	Poland 1928 Second Polish Republic	Akademickie Koło Przyjaciół Łużyc Warszawa	474
1933	Poses	Poland 1928 Second Polish Republic	Akademickie Koło Przyjaciół Łużyc Poznań	475
1936	Katowice	Poland 1928 Second Polish Republic	Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Narodu Łużyckiego Katowice	477

Web links

Website of Společnost přátel Lužice (Czech)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Siegmund Musiat: Sorbische, wendische clubs. 1716-1937. A manual (= publications of the Sorbian Institute . No. 26 ). 1st edition. Domowina-Verlag , Bautzen 2001, ISBN 3-7420-1835-3 , p. 292-295 .
↑ ^a ^b Friedrich W. Remes: The Sorbs Question 1918/1919 . Investigation of a failed autonomy movement (= writings of the Sorbian Institute . No. 3 ). 1st edition. Domowina-Verlag, Bautzen 1993, ISBN 3-7420-1500-1 .
↑ Martin Kasper: History of the Sorbs . From 1917 to 1945. Volume 3 (= Institute for Sorbian Folk Research . No. 41 ). Domowina-Verlag, Bautzen 1976, p. 129 .
↑ Siegmund Musiat: Sorbian, Wendish associations. 1716-1937. A manual (= publications of the Sorbian Institute . No. 26 ). 1st edition. Domowina-Verlag , Bautzen 2001, ISBN 3-7420-1835-3 .

[Freunde_der_Lausitz-1] Siegmund Musiat: Sorbische, wendische clubs. 1716-1937. A manual (= publications of the Sorbian Institute . No. 26 ). 1st edition. Domowina-Verlag , Bautzen 2001, ISBN 3-7420-1835-3 , p. 292-295 .

[Sorbenfrage-2] Friedrich W. Remes: The Sorbs Question 1918/1919 . Investigation of a failed autonomy movement (= writings of the Sorbian Institute . No. 3 ). 1st edition. Domowina-Verlag, Bautzen 1993, ISBN 3-7420-1500-1 .

[Geschichte_der_Sorben-3] Martin Kasper: History of the Sorbs . From 1917 to 1945. Volume 3 (= Institute for Sorbian Folk Research . No. 41 ). Domowina-Verlag, Bautzen 1976, p. 129 .

[Freundschaftsgesellschaften-4] Siegmund Musiat: Sorbian, Wendish associations. 1716-1937. A manual (= publications of the Sorbian Institute . No. 26 ). 1st edition. Domowina-Verlag , Bautzen 2001, ISBN 3-7420-1835-3 .