Copyright 2015 Pompilia Viorica Burcicǎ
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Copyright 2015 Pompilia Viorica Burcicǎ AMATEUR THEATER IN HISTORICAL TRANSYLVANIA BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS BY POMPILIA VIORICA BURCICĂ DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Keith Hitchins, Chair Professor Maria Todorova Professor Emerita Elizabeth Pleck Associate Professor Carol Symes Abstract This dissertation examines amateur theater as an expression of cultural freedom among four ethnic groups inhabiting historical Transylvania, a province attached to Greater Romania after the First World War. By expanding on the current understanding of minority status in a nation- state, this study shows the opportunities provided by the Romanian government for local expression and unity. Through a detailed comparative history of the amateur theater of each ethnic group (the Romanians, Hungarians, Saxons, and Jews), I seek to show the degree to which nationalist regimes allowed them to create through amateur theater a platform for communication and cultural development. Unique at the regional level in scale and ethnic involvement, this artistic practice challenged the newly-formed nation-state and shaped its nationalistic response, but, at the same time, theater playing gave Romanian governments, in particular to the officials from Transylvania, an opportunity to act upon their principles concerning ethnic rights, which they advocated before the First World War. My conclusion is that, overall, they viewed the development of minority amateur theater in favorable terms. Theater appealed to minorities because they could take an active part in their self- organization and could showcase their outlook on life, family values, social relations, and work principles in the public sphere. More important, on stage they could revive their cultural traditions and talk about their understanding of faith and morality on stage. The theatrical movement in Transylvania reveals the creative power of ethnic feeling, which, together with the positive attitude of the government, explain the widely popular, large-scale and socially all-encompassing theater activity. Thus, I argue that minority amateur theater is evidence that the minorities reconciled with their new status in Transylvania and enjoyed the cultural autonomy on their own terms with the approval from authorities in Bucharest. ii Ultimately, this work argues the crucial significance of religion and the clergy for the creation of such a cultural environment. Religious feeling stimulated numerous initiatives in the public sphere among most social groups, communities, and cultural associations. ,Religious leaders encouraged believers and laymen to consider first and foremost the immediate social purposes of theater and its merits for strengthening morality, self-teaching, and solidarity at the local level. An appreciation for the literary values of plays and the virtues of spectacles and performances was rarely seen important among the amateurs, yet the clergy often selected dramatic works of literary value for inhabitants whose education was above the average, for example firefighters, artisans, and students. From the amateurs’ perspective, theater served a conservative function, sustaining the continuity of social life and upholding the local choices of cultural development. As a modern means of communication enjoying a widespread appeal, theater encouraged democratic practices such as the writing of petitions to authorities. The frequent contacts with state offices established a new relational basis, modern and democratic, between minoirity elites and communities and the Romanian state. Thus, amateur theater is a key element for understanding minority politics, the local life in the region, and the vibrant ethnic feeling that animated it. iii Acknowledgements I thank Professor Keith Hitchins for his great devotion in guiding me throughout the years as an adviser and research mentor. His love for history and teaching and his unique human qualities never cease to impress me and make me value even more our daily conversations. My committee members stood by me with patience and encouragements and gave me valuable suggestions to improve my dissertation. The Department of History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign supported my pre-dissertation and dissertation research for twelve months and gave me the opportunity of working as a teaching assistant for five years and as an editorial assistant at Slavic Review for a year. My history instructors in high school, Vasile Pǎsǎilǎ and Radu Homer of Bucharest, deserve my entire gratitude. At the School of Archive Sciences, Ştefan Ştefǎnescu, Bodgan Murgescu, Ioan Scurtu, Constantin Burac, and Olga Cicanci taught me history with passion. During my MA studies in Cincinnati, Thomas Sakmyster, James M. Murray, Barbara N. Ramusack, and Maura O’Connor generously helped me adapt to the rigors of the graduate program in the United States. I owe the greatest debt to Professor Hitchins who steadily continued their work at Illinois as my adviser for the subsequent years. He indefatigably shared his vast erudition, teaching experience, and human insights with me and continues to guide my steps. Friends and family members greatly supported my efforts. Zolt Bogdándi (Cluj) and Zsuzsánna Magdó (Miercurea Ciuc) helped me with encouragements and research materials and Ulika Segestrale and Val Martin (Chicago) with their hospitality and advice. Special thanks go to librarians in Urbana-Champaign, Budapest, Bucharest, Cluj, Sibiu, Alba-Iulia, and Târgu-Mureș, many of whom were recommended by Professor Hitchins, and to all my archivist colleagues. iv Finally, I would like to thank my family, Irina, Mihai, and Kenneth, for their love and trust. I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Zamfira and Gheorghe Burcicǎ. v Table of Contents GENERAL MAP OF ROMANIA ........................................................................................................................ VII INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 ROMANIAN AMATEUR THEATER IN HISTORICAL TRANSYLVANIA ................... 28 CHAPTER 2 HUNGARIAN THEATER IN HISTORICAL TRANSYLVANIA..................................... 134 CHAPTER 3 SAXON AMATEUR THEATER IN INTERWAR TRANSYLVANIA ............................. 263 CHAPTER 4 JEWISH AMATEUR THEATER ............................................................................................ 361 CHAPTER 5 WOMEN AND THEATER PLAYING IN HISTORICAL TRANSYLVANIA ................ 438 CHAPTER 6 FINAL CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 446 SELECTIVE MAPS ............................................................................................................................................ 464 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................. 474 vi General Map of Romania vii Introduction After the Great War was over and territorial borders had been drawn based on the Trianon Treaty of 1920, the minority question in Greater Romania brought Transylvania to the close attention of Romanian statesmen. Legal controversies about naturalization and contentious issues about the collective rights of minorities resurfaced after the promulgating of the Constitution of 1923. Complaints abounded because the Constitution denied special privileges to minority groups to which they felt legally entitled. Unmoved by criticism of its legal policies, the Romanian state was more preoccupied with border security and internal stability and order. Authorities watched carefully for signs of cultural and political activities, knowing that minorities here would not wait for long to put into practice their organizational experience acquired over centuries as the leading ethnic groups in the province and prepare the revival of their prewar cultural life. Romanian statesmen expected the development of minority cultural life as a sign of return to normality within the borders of Greater Romania. Both high and lower officials considered this comeback to be of compelling state interest and were willing to allow cultural efforts to unfold, but not the riskier option of constitutional rights. Successive adminstrations coming to power did not allow these freedoms of cultural expression on a permanent basis, but upon request at the onset of each new government, increasing the sense of vulnerability felt by ethnic minorities. Despite the latter’s vigorous legal activity in the form of petitions requesting the legalization of cultural freedoms, their attempts at revising ministerial ordinances and laws to endow them with collective rights were rare and ineffective.1 Far from ignoring the minorities’ needs, Romanian statesmen in charge of cultural affairs after 1918 only made sure that minorities 1 Marcel Varga, “Activitatea Reprezentanţilor Partidelor Minoritǎţilor Etnice ȋn Parlamentul României” in Studii și Materiale de Istorie Contemporanǎ, Serie Nouǎ, Vol. VII, 2008, 45. 1 enjoyed cultural self-determination under state protection. At the same time, they exerted a vigilant monitoring over all their work and activities. The minorities resented the authorities’ rigid