Mecklenburg Folklore Center

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The Mecklenburg Folklore Center (MFZ) in Rostock was a state institution of the GDR for the three northern districts of Rostock, Neubrandenburg and Schwerin to maintain the Low German language and regional traditions. The center was founded in 1978 and until the end of the GDR was part of the district cabinet for cultural work in Rostock. In July 1990 the People's Culture Institute for Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania was formed from the MFZ . This has been part of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania regional association in the Kulturbund eV since 1991

founding

The Secretariat of the Central Committee of the SED and the Council of Ministers of the GDR decided on February 3, 1977 and February 22, 1977, respectively, "Measures for the promotion of artistic national creativity". With these resolutions, the Rostock district council was commissioned to establish a center for the care of Mecklenburg folklore in cooperation with the councils of the Schwerin and Neubrandenburg districts by 1978 . The relevant resolution was passed in Rostock on March 31, 1978. The founding statute was signed by the members of the Council for Culture of the three northern districts. The aim was to enforce the appropriation and maintenance of the cultural heritage as part of the socialist cultural policy of the GDR. The center should contribute to the research, preservation and appropriation of Mecklenburg folklore, but also "aggressively lead the ideological argument about the abuse of German folklore by imperialism ".

The foundation was prepared in a working group that was constituted in Rostock at the end of 1976 under the direction of Hans-Joachim Theil . At that time Theil was a research assistant to the general manager of the Rostock Volkstheater. The provisional working group included the council members of the cultural departments of the three districts or representatives appointed by them, employees of the three district cabinets for cultural work and experts from the three northern districts. Among them were the linguist Hans-Joachim Gernentz and Arnold Hückstädt , the director of the Fritz Reuter Literature Museum in Stavenhagen . In addition, there were representatives of the district working groups of Low German theaters and other people who were familiar with the maintenance of Low German traditions either professionally or because of their artistic inclinations. Rostock was appointed to the headquarters of the MFZ because of its proximity to important research facilities such as B. the university, the folklore department of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR and the Mecklenburg dictionary . The MFZ was embedded in the SED's cultural policy. In a newspaper interview, Theil said: “With this in mind, we consider it necessary to make the efforts of all those institutions that care about the promotion and care of Low German and that strive to further develop the progressive Low German heritage for our socialist society and make it usable doing, concentrating and designing effectively. ” After it was founded in the spring of 1978, Irmgard Müller took over the management of the MFZ. An MFZ advisory board chaired by Theil included representatives of working groups of artistic folk art collectives, academic institutions, universities and folklore museums and archives. Most recently, the MFZ was under the direction of Marion Schmidt. The last chairman of the scientific-artistic advisory board was the folklorist Heike Müns , her predecessor the actor Uwe-Detlev Jessen from the Rostock Volkstheater .

Act

One focus of the work of the MFZ was the study of the dialect , the Low German language, especially the Low German literature. The MFZ supported Low German writers, Low German theaters, groups of friends of the Kulturbund and literary working groups in the field of extra-curricular popular education. Low German author and stage days, the talent competitions “Wi snacken platt”, Low German song festivals and other traditional regional events were organized . The MFZ developed concepts for stage programs and for the maintenance and further development of manners and customs, but with the party-loyal claim to a "socialist celebration and celebration". Regional folklore festivals were organized in Stralsund in 1980 and in Schwerin in 1985. The MFZ also became effective through a large number of publications with instructions for folklore care.

cooperation

In the context of a German-German city ​​partnership between the Hanseatic cities of Rostock and Bremen , which was sealed in August 1987, there was also cooperation between the Mecklenburg Folklore Center and the Institute for Low German . It was made possible by the express permission of the GDR State Council Chairman Erich Honecker personally and had previously been agreed on July 1, 1987 in a conversation between Bremen Mayor Klaus Wedemeier and Honecker. The cooperation between the two institutions led to the first mutual visits in 1988. In March the two managing directors from Bremen took part in the Low German Author Days in Rostock. In June the people of Bremen received an MFZ delegation from Rostock with a “large train station” and visits to Hamburg , Glückstadt , Ratzeburg and Heide . The cooperation was under observation from the beginning by the Rostock District Administration of the State Security , which used the IME "Monika Turm", Marion Schmidt, head of the MFZ, as the preferred source. The Fritz Reuter Literature Archive Hans-Joachim Griephan Berlin has an extensive documentation and material collection (chronicle of the INS / MFZ cooperation) .

Publications (selection)

  • Reise, Quartier in Gottesnaam , 1981, literary event material
  • Karl Baumgarten : Small Mecklenburg Farmhouse Primer , 1981
  • Embroidery templates: Mecklenburg embroidery , 1982
  • För lütt Lüd: Mecklenburg games, stories, songs and dances for children , 1983
  • Harvest customs then and now , 1984
  • Mecklenburg recipes , 1985
  • Uppen Dörpen bün ick buren, Merk-Würdheiten in Mecklenburg: biographical sketches on regional literary history , 1987

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BStU , MfS , BV Rostock, Section VI ZMA, No. 825, pp. 6-11
  2. ↑ Norddeutscher Leuchtturm, weekend supplement of the Norddeutsche Zeitung, No. 1230, December 10, 1976.
  3. ^ Lothar Probst, Johannes Saalfeld: The city partnership Bremen - Rostock. Origin, history, balance sheet. Bremen 2010.
  4. ↑ Quickborn, Hamburg, year 78, 1988, issue 3, p. 237.
  5. ↑ Focus, No. 45, November 2, 1998, p. 114.