ESPERANTO

Sortly before the 1WW, a small, previously neutral region in Belgium wanted to establish its own state and make Esperanto its national language. Today, this region belongs to the German-speaking Community of Belgium. The best protected minority in Europe.

"Esperanto" describes the area of the German-speaking minority in Belgium.

Right on the Belgian language border, between the French-speaking and the Flemish part, lies a German-speaking special area with its own government and far-reaching autonomy.

As early as 1900, the small, previously neutral region of "Neutral Moresnet" wanted to establish its own microstate here and make Esperanto the national language. The First World War put an end to this political experiment.

Today's region is a land of former borders. In recent history, it belonged to Prussia, the German Empire, Belgium and France.

My work initially consisted of lengthy research work and now describes the existing German traditions in a fragmentary way, as they were able to develop in the protective atmosphere of a mini-state lavishly financed by the Belgian state and the European Union.

I was interested in the question of how a German-speaking community, a few kilometres away from the home state, lives its own interpretation of Germany and how a region that has experienced multiple border shifts and wars deals with its past.

 Consisting almost exclusively of small towns and villages, with hardly any unemployment and a mostly affluent population, a kind of picture-book Germany has developed here.

In the rural region between Holland and Luxembourg, traditions that have long had a hard time in Germany are cultivated. For example, shooting clubs, bachelor clubs or the Catholic Church. Carnival is celebrated here by everyone, and as exuberantly as in Cologne.

 On the other hand, in contrast to Germany, the past wars are constantly commemorated with official ceremonies and veterans' reunions.

Work on the project has not yet been completed.