The Belarusian Language in the Sphere of Education on the Territory of Ober Ost, 1915-1917

Abstract

This article examines the organization of education in the Belarusian language in the area of the Supreme Commander of All German Forces in the East (Ober OST). During WWI, the Kaiser's armed forces occupied the Western territories of the Russian Empire. At that time, they encountered numerous challenges in the “discovering” of local communities, including Belarusians. To safeguard the rear zone of the active army, the German authorities set out to explore the local population. In their view, any territory and its people could be classified and integrated into the German worldview. For this purpose, it was considered particularly important to identify and support local languages and schools. Several factors contributed to the organization of education in the Belarusian language. The German bureaucratic machinery had a totalitarian character and covered all ethnic communities in the occupied territory. The exploration of the previously unknown Belarusian community, for its further integration into the unspoken ethnic hierarchy, by German intellectuals also played a significant role. Finally, some kind of cooperation between the Germans and Belarusian national activists in the occupied territory took place. The latter actually tested the norms of the future literary Belarusian language at school, trying to develop a national culture as well. The results of this process appeared to be ambiguous but in some ways were a breakthrough for both sides. For the Germans, the study of the Belarusians contributed to their appearance on the German “mental map”. For Belarusian intellectuals it became possible to test their educational programs. In the 1920s, this experience was applied during the “Belarusization” process in the USSR as well as in interwar Poland.