Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Article (14)
- Doctoral Thesis (1)
- Review (1)
Has Fulltext
- yes (16)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (16)
Keywords
- Transylvanian Saxons (16) (remove)
The article intends to present some facts about the medieval history of the Saxons in the Wallachian town of Câmpulung Muscel/Langenau. German-speaking colonists were settled in Langenau around the 13th century, and their traces can be followed until the middle of the 18th century. A German language document from the 16th century will serve as an illustration, depicting the relations between the Transylvanian Saxons from Râșnov/Rosenau and the population of Câmpulung Muscel/Langenau. The linguistic peculiarities of the document are discussed, as well as the problems of its transcription, which led to different publication variants. This document is also interesting because it contains many Romanian names of persons.
The German minority emigrated massively from Romania after the fall of the communist regime in 1989, so the void left by it had to be filled with representatives of Romanian ethnicity. The main actors for the relations between the Saxons and the Romanians in Transylvania are the children who study in schools with German as a mother tongue. They will carry on the cultural heritage left by the Saxons. But how can we reach out for these children? The answer is given to us by the writer Anne Junesch in her book „Das Amenchen. Mäuseleben”, published in 2019. An attempt is being made to sensitize young readers to Transylvanian culture. With the help of a story centered around a fortified church and a main character from Germany, a world full of secrets and of the unknown is revealed to us. With small steps, an incursion is thus made into the almost lost world of the Transylvanian Saxons.
The German-speaking Saxon minority from Transylvania, a region in Romania, has almost disappeared due to the historical events after World War II and the fall of communism in December 1989. Therefore, the literary work that was created before 1990 is often considered to be a “lieu de mémoire”, a place of remembrance, for the Saxon culture. This article deals with the question whether Maria Haydl’s short stories can be considered as such or do they show too much influence of the politically imposed writing style in order to be authentic.
The novel “Wasserzeichen” was published at the Pop Publishing House in Ludwigsburg, Germany, in 2018. The destiny of the main character of the aforementioned literary work is undoubtedly linked to the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca. After finishing high school in Brașov, the young Eginald – who is not the same as the author of the novel – arrives in Cluj-Napoca where he first goes to the Faculty of Protestant Theology, from which he is relegated; afterwards, he starts the courses of another faculty, but before finishing his studies he is arrested by the Securitate. The life story of the young Transylvanian Saxon turns out to be a troubled one – full of defining experiences for his existence. Due to the relationships with the people whom he meets there, the romantic entanglements, and the betrayals he experiences, he matures quickly. The 1st person narrator becomes a true man in this predestinate space.
The Romanian National Archives in Sibiu keep a wide range of documents concerning the history of the Transylvanian Saxons and the every day life of the city of Sibiu. Although of major interest for historians, linguists and translators, these documents have not been fully studied so far. They represent valuable evidence of the evolution of the former German language spoken on the Transylvanian territory and, if translated into Romanian, could offer to the Romanian reader a new perspective on the Transylvanian Saxons’ history. This paper analyses, in the historic context of the time, the depositions of witnesses in a civil trial during the Austrian billeting in Sibiu in the 17th century and discusses the contents by observing the main structural characteristics of the text.
The following essay illustrates the extraordinary love story between Clemens Rescher and Rodica Neagoie. These key characters are representative figures for the nation they belong to. Clemens is a Transylvanian Saxon and Rodica a Romanian. Despite all contradictions, they fall in love, spend time together, travel to the Black Sea and plan their future. Even though they are bound to each other by strong feelings, this love cannot overcome all the preset cultural, ethnic and social obstacles. Clemens and Rodica become the victims of the world they live in.
The paper aims at presenting the Boer Wars (1881–1882 and 1899–1902) as they are reflected in „Siebenbürgisch-Deutsches Tageblatt”, the most important daily newspaper of the Transylvanian Saxons. From the beginning of the second conflict, the Saxons felt great sympathy for the Boers, because they considered them relatives due to their Germanic roots. They also drew a parallel between the Boers’ fight for independence and their own fight against the attempt of forced Hungarization by the authorities from Budapest. In the newspaper there were published not only articles about the armed conflicts but also contributions on the way of life and the habits of the Boers. A novel on the topic of the “Jameson Raid” which took place on New Year’s Eve 1895/1896 was also published. During the “Second Boer War” the Saxons created “Associations of Boer Friends” aimed to help their “brothers” from South Africa who lived in great misery.
The following essay is based on the narrative Die schiefe Fassade der Kindheit. Erfundene Familienkunde written by Eginald Schlattner. The action takes place in Transylvania, a region where several nations live together. The key concepts are identity and alterity, because only by analysing the other one can find and understand one’s own identify. The traits of the communities living together are portraited by Aunt Maly, a strong supporter of the German traditions and by Grisi, the grandmother, who presents the mentality of her people as opposed to the Romanian people. The story also reveals the conflicts between these two ethnical groups. Nevertheless life in Transylvania can be seen as an example of how people belonging to different cultures can peacefully live together.
Aspekte der Raumgestaltung in Andreas Birkners Erzählung "Der Brautschmuck des Sebastian Hann"
(2016)
Since the twentieth century, literary critics have identified as study component space and its meanings in literary texts. The Russian semiologist Yuri M. Lotman developed a theory based on the concept of space divided into several subspaces necessarily delimited by a boundary. These spaces are characterized by opposite features on topological, topographical and semantic level. Based on this theory, this paper aims to examine from this point of view the story Der Brautschmuck des Sebastian Hann [The Bride’s Jewels of Sebastian Hann] written by the Romanian German-language author Andreas Birkner. Concrete examples are given listing aspects of Lotman's theory , which enable reception of both the text and the author from a different perspective.
Auf Wolke Siebenbürgen … : eine Kindheit voller Gefahren. Die „Deportation“ und Rettung der Mutter
(2017)
Transylvania is a region that frequently appears in the texts of the German speaking writers from Romania. Walther Gottfried Seidner‘s story makes no exception. In the center is the narrator, a kindergarten child, who explores the history of Europe experienced from a subjective point of view. His attention is directed especially to the mother, who is in danger of being deported to the Soviet Union. The red thread of the narrative is interrupted by retrospectives, which complete the image of Transylvania at the beginning of the year 1945. This analysis refers to several aspects within the original text: the Cibin River and its significance to the community of Sibiu, the Christian cross and the swastika, the German National Socialism and the Communism, the deportation of the German minority.