Collection of the German Theatre Association of Transylvania

Collection description

Holding institution (official language):: Arhivele Naționale ale României, Direcţia Judeţeană Sibiu

Postal address:: Arhivele Naționale ale României, Direcţia Judeţeană Sibiu, Strada Arhivelor nr. 3, cod 550164, jud. Sibiu, România

Creator/accumulator:: Hauptverein für das deutsche Theater in Siebenbürgen [German Theatre Association of Transylvania]

Scope and content:: The collection consists of statutes, membership lists, meeting minutes, correspondence and other papers from the offices of the German Theatre Association of Transylvania (Hauptverein für das deutsche Theater in Siebenbürgen), founded in Sibiu in 1922 and led by Dr. Iulius Bielz. Although there is no evidence of Jewish involvement, the collection does shed light on the increasingly German nationalist orientation of the Transylvanian Saxon community during the interwar period. See, for example, număr curent 11, a performance repertory. There are some materials regarding the performance of a play by Fritz Heinz Reimesch, a Saxon living in Germany; these materials often use words such as “Volksdeutsche” and “Volksgenosse” and the play is a nationalistic affair, set in the past, about the defense of Hermannstadt by the Nachbarschaften (Saxon neighborhood organisations). Elsewhere the director of the organisation pleads for assistance in setting up theatrical events for the Swabians of Banat, as this region was being threatened with greater Romanianisation; a representative of the Sighișoara branch mentions theatregoers “of other nationalities” but says that they are few.