CHARTER OF THE  SUDETENDEUTSCHE  LANDSMANNSCHAFT

To conduct their affairs since the expulsion, the Sudeten Germans set up the Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft (SDL), the Sudeten German Association. It is a non-partisan and non-denominational organization representing all Sudeten Germans. Its aims are as follows:

(A) to make their contribution to a European order based on justice for all nations;

(B) to bring about the recognition of the legal claim of the Sudeten Germans to their homeland, the restoration of the Sudetenland to the Sudeten Germans, and the recognition of their right of self-determination;

(C) to represent the claim of the Sudeten Germans as a whole and as individuals to restitution of the property taken from them and to compensation for all losses incurred;

(D) to look after the economic and social interests of the Sudeten Germans;

(E) to safeguard the interests of the Sudeten Germans in the regions in which they now live;

(F) to preserve the traditions (customs, folklore, dialects, etc.) of the Sudetenland, to transmit them to the younger generation and to promote the further development of the Sudeten German culture.

The governing body of the SDL is the "Bundesversammlung" (Federal Assembly) which consists of 72 members from all parts of Germany elected every four years. The chairman of the SDL is the Sprecher (speaker) of the sudetendeutsche Volksgruppe, whom the Bundesversammlung elects for four years.

The SDL organizes each year many rallies and reunions of the Sudeten Germans from different geographic areas. Their ties are strenghtened further by 66 Sudeten German periodicals with a circulation of more than 180,000. Branches of the SDL also exist in a number of other Western countries, notably Austria, Sweden, the U.S. and Canada.

In the U.S., the SDL is represented by the

Verband der Sudetendeutschen, Inc.

c/o Hubert E. Kostron

166-51 17th Road, Whitestone, NY 11357.

Tel.: 718-352-5041.

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