Rumänien, seine Deutschen und das Dritte Reich. Vortrag von Dr. Paul Bagiu mit Diskussion

In the organizer's words:

The majority orientation of the German minorities in Romania towards National Socialist Germany from the mid-1930s onwards was to have unforeseen consequences. Due mainly to Hungary's efforts to assimilate, but also to the real political situation at the end of the First World War, when the annexation of Transylvania to Romania became apparent, the majority of the German minorities voted in favor of their settlement areas joining the Kingdom of Romania following the collapse of Austria-Hungary. The Romanian side's assurance that the German minorities would be granted extensive autonomy encouraged the Germans in their decision. However, the Romanian government only partially kept its promise of autonomy in the annexed territory and also made decisions to the detriment of the German minorities.

Under these circumstances, the ethnic Germans from Transylvania increasingly developed a sense of community. The regional and supra-regional organizations that formed strengthened the sense of community on the one hand and counteracted the exclusionary tendencies of the Romanian state on the other. Among the organized groups, there were also some with nationalist sentiments that sought to align the German minority more closely with the National Socialist Third Reich by propagating a "national awakening". Those in power in Berlin quickly recognized the National Socialist potential of the German minorities in Romania and exerted their influence accordingly.

Alienation from the Romanian state, identification with the interests of the Third Reich and the resulting behavior had devastating consequences for the Germans in Romania. These ultimately led to the almost complete expulsion from communist Romania immediately after the collapse of the system.

The lecture will be followed by a discussion and a snack.

A joint event of the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Haus Foundation and the Association of Transylvanian Saxons in Germany - Düsseldorf District Group