Council of the Working People of German Nationality
The Council of the working people of German nationality ( Romanian Consiliul Oamenilor Muncii de Naţionalitate Engleză ) represented from 1968 until the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the minority of Germans in Romania in the Socialist Republic of Romania .
history
Political situation
In the first years after the new Romanian state and party leader Nicolae Ceaușescu took office in 1965, Romanian minority policy initially took a more liberal course. After the violent suppression of the Prague Spring by the Warsaw Pact troops invading the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic on August 21, 1968, Ceaușescu wanted to consolidate his power or to subject society to total control. That he would be able to do that in those days, he realized from the cheers that the Romanian citizens honestly gave him at the time, because he had refused to send the Romanian army to Prague. To this end, Ceaușescu called the “Front of Socialist Unity” (FSE) into being (later “Front of Socialist Democracy and Unity”), which brought together all the existing organizations and several new ones.
The first sensation was the reception of the “chiefs of the cults”, which Ceaușescu received as chairman of the State Council (since December 1967) on February 28, 1968 for his “inaugural audience”. All recognized denominations and religions in Romania were represented by spiritual and secular representatives. Among the dignitaries received were Bishop Áron Márton of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia , who had been released from prison a few years earlier and was accompanied by the Consistorial Councilor Iosif Huber , as well as the Episcopal Vicar Hermann Binder and the regional church curator Albert Hochmeister of the Evangelical Church AB in Romania .
On July 3, 1968, the "Consultation at the Central Committee (ZK) of the Romanian Communist Party (RKP) with scientists and cultural workers from the ranks of German nationality" took place. Thereto took Anton Breitenhofer , Arnold Hauser , Paul Schuster , Eduard Eisenburger , Carl Göllner , Carl Hall, Johann Wolf , Nikolaus Berwanger , Hanns Schuschnig , Ewalt Zweyer , Georg shaving members , Norbert Peter , Paul Schuller, Johann Székler , Hedi Hauser and Franz Liebhard part . Scientists and cultural workers from the Hungarian minority held consultations on June 27, 1968. As early as May 1968, Ceaușescu had a meeting with the management of the Writers' Union, another took place on November 6th.
Councils of the co-resident minorities
In October and November 1968, the “Councils of Co-Resident Minorities” emerged as new organizations, including the District Councils and the “Council of Working People of German Nationality”. Item 1 on the agenda of the plenary session of the Central Committee of the RKP, which began its work on October 24, 1968, dealt with “some organizational measures for the incessant consolidation of the moral-political unity of the working people, the fraternal bond between the Romanian working people and the working people of those living with them Nationalities, the unity of our socialist nation ”. The plenum approved the proposals for the formation of the FSE as well as the “Councils of the Working People of the Co-Living Nationalities” and instructed the Executive Committee of the RKP Central Committee to “take the necessary measures to ensure that these bodies are in the course of November d. J. to form ”. In the future, the RKP took part in the elections “together with all social and mass organizations of the working people within the framework of the front of socialist unity”, which was described as a “formation that unites all creative forces of the people”. In November, in addition to the councils of the nationalities living with them, the state associations of agricultural production cooperatives, women, student associations, engineers and technicians, lawyers, artists from the stages and music institutions, craftsmen's cooperatives and others joined. Access to all population groups was achieved through these associations.
For the Romanian Germans, Richard Winter said in the discussions of the Central Committee plenum: “The formation of the councils of the working people of Hungarian, German and other nationalities in the Socialist Republic of Romania is renewed evidence of the expansion of socialist democracy in our country, it creates new opportunities for active participation Participation of the working people of the co-living nationality in the entire political and social life of the country ”. 15 years after the dissolution of the “Democratic Committee” - in the case of the Romanian Germans, the German Antifascist Committee (DAK) - the national minorities were again given their own political representation. It was under strict control of the CP, with its help it tried to solve the problems existing within the minority, while the representatives of the minority tried to raise their concerns.
Meetings for the establishment of the district councils of the working people from the ranks of the co-living nationalities took place in early November. When the body was founded in Timiș County , it was titled: “All our forces to implement party politics”, while Sibiu County wanted to “contribute to further strengthening cooperation”. Regarding the founding of councils in the other districts of Romania inhabited by Germans , it continued: “In an atmosphere of great enthusiasm, yesterday [15. November] Noon the representatives of the councils of the working people of German nationality from the districts Temesch , Hermannstadt, Kronstadt , Karasch-Severin , Arad , Alba , Hunedoara , Bistritz-Nassod and Mureș as well as from Bucharest in the small hall of the Central Committee of the RKP in Bucharest for the founding meeting of the Council of Working People of German Nationality of the Socialist Republic of Romania ".
The former Secretary General of the DAK, Emmerich Stoffel , was given the task of submitting “the proposals for the election of the members of the Office of the Regional Council of Working People of German Nationality” at the constituent meeting. “The meeting unanimously elected comrade Eduard Eisenburger as chairman and comrade Anton Breitenhofer, Prof. Dr. Peter Lamoth , Richard Winter and the writer Paul Schuster as deputy chairmen. “ Adalbert Millitz was elected as secretary , members in the office were Friedrich Wächter, Filip Geltz (Stoffel's successor in the office of DAK general secretary), Johann Henning, Nikolaus Pilly and Karl Pfleger . In the years that followed, many of the founding members were replaced by other people. The Council of Working People of German Nationality decided to join the FSE and sent a confirming telegram to the RKP Central Committee, to Comrade Nicolae Ceaușescu.
consequences
In the years 1971 to 1972, four schools - one each in Brașov , Hermannstadt , Timișoara and Arad - were founded with only German as the language of instruction. Because there was a lack of newspapers and magazines from Germany - according to the editor-in-chief Ernst Breitenstein of the magazine Neuer Weg in 1971 - the party-loyal German publications achieved considerable circulation: the daily newspaper Neue Banater Zeitung (40,000 copies), the weekly magazines Karpaten-Rundschau (7,000) and Hermannstädter Zeitung (10,000 copies) ) and the monthly newspaper Neue Literatur (2500 copies). The minority publisher Editura Kriterion was founded, German TV broadcasts were introduced and regional studies research was given a little more leeway. The committee tried to revive customs, brass music and traditional costumes, as well as local museums in towns and villages. Eleven MPs represented the German minority in the Grand National Assembly ; five German speakers were elected to the RKP Central Committee.
In the 1970s the liberal course changed. Romania wanted to go its own way to communism . The increasingly nationalistic politics of the RKP tried to romanise the national minorities living in the country, for example German place names could no longer be used. Private and church cultural property was declared state property; Sale of land prohibited; Emigrants had to leave their property to the state; freedom of travel was severely restricted. From kindergarten to the state examination, teaching and education were based on the communist ideology. The State Security Securitate monitored everything and suppressed any initiative. Literary circles such as the Action Group Banat or the literary circle “Adam Müller-Guttenbrunn” were banned; only the German sections of the adult education centers remained and became an important cultural institution. German TV broadcasts were stopped under the pretext of the energy crisis . With the program for the systematisation of the villages around 7000 small towns should be dissolved and the village population should be resettled in 'agro-technical' centers.
rating
The journalist and historian Hannelore Baier remarked: “With this he showed a certain willingness to hold an exchange with the representatives of opinion leaders in society. They were impressed by the open discussions and only noticed years later that he was seeking the legitimation of his person and his regime with these meetings and at the same time consolidating his influence and control over the entire society. This became increasingly clear in 1971 when he launched his "July Theses" which marked the end of the "liberal" period. "
The political scientist, philologist and journalist Anneli Ute Gabanyi said: "However, the reduction in domestic political pressure and the temporary liberalization did not get the positive echo desired by the regime among the Germans."
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Hannelore Baier : The year 1968 and the German minority ( Memento from July 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c Hans Fink : How attitudes towards school and studies changed after the Second World War. ( Memento of February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) 2010
- ^ Neuer Weg , February 2, 1968
- ^ Neuer Weg, October 26, 1968
- ^ New way, November 9, 1968
- ^ New way, November 16, 1968
- ↑ a b c Der Spiegel : Brauch und Boden , 12/1971, March 15, 1971
- ^ A b Anneli Ute Gabanyi : History of the Germans in Romania , published in: Information on political education , issue 267, Aussiedler
- ^ Association of Expellees Hesse: Transylvania and the Transylvanian Saxons ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )