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The Tension Between Self-Reliance Looking to Themselves: The Tension between Self-Reliance, Regionalism, and Support of Greater Romania within the Saxon Community in Transylvania 1918-1935 By Rachel Renz Mattair Submitted to Central European University History Department In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Supervisor: Balázs Trencsényi Second reader: Viktor Karády CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2012 Copyright in the text of this thesis rests with the author. Copies by any process, either in full or part, may be made only in accordance with the instructions given by the author and lodged in the Central European Library. Details may be obtained from the librarian. This page must form a part of any such copies made. Further copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the written permission of the author. CEU eTD Collection Abstract This thesis traces the changes in self-preservation policies of the Transylvanian Saxons from 1918 to 1935 as they transitioned from being a semi-autonomous group to an ethnic minority in the newly established Romanian state following the First World War. It examines the domestic and international alliances of both conservative Saxon elites and social dissidents on the basis of interwar cultural journals and press material. Particular emphasis is placed on the tension between rising National Socialist rhetoric from the German Reich and Transylvanian regionalism in these publications. Unlike many existing studies on this topic, the work offers a balanced approach between internal and external Saxon relations, and distinguishes between Saxon elite narratives and average outlooks. The various movements traced lead to the question of whether historians can even speak of a cohesive Saxon identity during the interwar period, or merely of fragmentation among community members. In order to give perspective to the Transylvanian Saxon experience, the thesis analyzes the differences between the rise of Pan-German sentiments in the Saxon community of Transylvania and the Sudeten German community of Czechoslovakia. CEU eTD Collection iii Acknowledgments Most of all I would like to thank my husband, Michael, for all of the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual support he provided me with not only as I worked on this thesis, but all throughout graduate school and even before. I am so grateful for the adventurous decision he made to come to Budapest on the faith that what the future held would be good. I am indebted to my knowledgeable supervisors, Balázs Trencsényi and Viktor Karády, as well as to my learned colleague, Ágoston Berecz, for their insights, constructive criticisms, and kindness in helping me along with this work. Without the motivation, skills, and patience of all of the talented and enthusiastic foreign language instructors and friends I have had in the past, I would never have been able to complete the research for this thesis. I want to thank all of you for the passion you have for communication, and I aspire to perpetuate that tradition. I thank my family back in Texas for all of their support and prayers as I worked on this thesis, and for their patience in waiting another two years to get me back. I also owe a howl of gratitude to Füles, who always makes me smile, who gives me energy when I think I don‘t have it, and who remains ever-loyal. Keybie, too, has improved my quality of life and continually entertains me with her antics. CEU eTD Collection iv Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One Theoretical Framework .............................................................................................. 9 I. Watertight Theory? .......................................................................................................... 9 II. Deconstructing Identity ................................................................................................ 11 a. ―Beyond ‗Identity‘ ..................................................................................................... 11 b. ―Beyond Groupism‖ .................................................................................................. 13 III. Striking a Balance ....................................................................................................... 15 Chapter Two Pillars of the Saxon Community ............................................................................. 18 I. Social Structure of the Saxon Community, 1910-1930 ................................................. 18 II. Pillars of the Saxon Community ................................................................................... 22 a. The Lutheran Church ................................................................................................. 22 b. Lutheran Confessional Schools ................................................................................. 25 c. German Language ...................................................................................................... 27 d. The Königsboden and Saxon Resistance to Romanian Centralization ..................... 29 III. Interwar Publications ................................................................................................... 35 a. The Semi-Official Voice of the Sächsische Volkspartei: The Siebenbürgisch- Deutches Tageblatt ........................................................................................................ 36 b. A Long-Running Tradition: The Kronstädter Zeitung .............................................. 38 c. Two Cultural-Political Journals of the Interwar Period: Klingsor and Ostland ........ 39 d. Deutsche Politische Hefte aus Großrumänien ........................................................... 42 Chapter Three External Affairs - Romanian Relations ................................................................. 45 I. 1918-1923: The Halcyon Days ...................................................................................... 46 a. The Saxons as Bearers of Culture .............................................................................. 48 b. Preservation of the Confessional Schools and the Church ........................................ 53 c. Cultural Einheit and Its Political Implications........................................................... 55 II. Romanian Modernizing Projects .................................................................................. 58 a. The 1921 Agrarian Reform ........................................................................................ 60 b. The 1923 Constitution ............................................................................................... 63 III. 1924-1928: ―Waiting for Better Times‖ – Disillusion and Heightened Institutional Preservation ....................................................................................................................... 66 a. The Dawn of Regionalism ......................................................................................... 68 b. Transylvanism and the Rise of the National Peasant Party ....................................... 73 IV. 1928-1935: The Collapse of the Romanian Dream ..................................................... 76 CEU eTD Collection V. Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 78 Chapter Four Internal Affairs - Inter-Saxon Dissension and Transylvanian German Collaboration ................................................................................................................................. 81 I. Enemies Within .............................................................................................................. 82 a. Interwar Predecessors: Nineteenth-Century Conflicts............................................... 82 b. The Social Democrats ............................................................................................... 85 v c. The Unzufriedenenbewegungen ................................................................................ 90 d. Selbsthilfe and the Erneuerungsbewegungen ............................................................ 97 II. Transylvanian German Collaboration and the Rise of Pan-Germanism .................... 103 a. The VDR and Its Kulturamt .................................................................................... 104 b. A Change in Volksrat Policy ................................................................................... 107 c. Dissident Collaboration and the Rise of Pan-Germanism ....................................... 110 III. Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 111 Chapter Five External Affairs - Germany and Its Auslanddeutsche ........................................... 114 I. Early Ties to Germany ................................................................................................. 115 a. Prewar Interest in Germany ..................................................................................... 115 b. The Early 1920s: Cultural Rather Than Political Allies .......................................... 118 II. The Mid 1920s: Mutual and Increased Economic and Literary Collaboration .......... 123 a. Financial Support from Abroad ............................................................................... 124 b. Establishment of Literary Connections
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