Deep within the borders of modern-day Germany lies a region that doesn't speak German as its native tongue. Welcome to Lusatia (Lausitz), home to the Sorbs - the last survivors of a Great Slavic migration that once reached the banks of the Elbe. In this video, we trace the 1,000-year struggle of the Sorbian people. From their defiance of the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish-German border wars to surviving the "Germanization" of Prussia and the linguistic suppression of the 20th century. How did this "Slavic Island" survive in the heart of a Germanic powerhouse? We also dive into the unique Sorbian language: a West Slavic tongue that preserves ancient features lost in Polish and Czech.
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00:00 The Secret Slavs of Germany
01:31 Mapping the "Serbja" Enclave
02:42 The Slavic Migration Origin
03:20 Imperial Conquest: The HRE Enters
03:55 The Polish Occupation
04:39 Forced Germanization & Bohemian Law
05:50 The League of Six Cities
06:21 The Saxon-Polish Power Struggle
07:55 Prussian Rule & Ethnic Erasure
08:58 The Sorbian Cultural Insurgency
10:42 1919: The Failed Independence Bid
12:03 Modern Sorbia: A Living Relic
12:38 Linguistic Breakdown: Dual Numbers & Dialects
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