Aktionsgruppe Banat
Encyclopedia
The Aktionsgruppe Banat was a literary society that fought for freedom of speech, founded by German
-speaking authors of the Banat Swabian
minority in the Romanian Banat
in 1972. The society suffered persecution from the communist authorities and the Securitate
secret police, and was eventually dissolved by the communist authorities in 1975.
Herta Müller
, Horst Samson, Roland Kirsch, Helmuth Frauendorfer and Werner Söllner, who are often mentioned in connection with the society, were not members of the society that existed from 1972 to 1975, but were active in the "Adam Müller-Guttenbrunn
" literary circle, which comprised most of the membership of Aktionsgruppe Banat.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking authors of the Banat Swabian
Banat Swabians
The Banat Swabians are an ethnic German population in Southeast Europe, part of the Danube Swabians. They emigrated in the 18th century to what was then the Austrian Banat province, which had been left sparsely populated by the wars with Turkey. This once strong and important ethnic Banat Swabian...
minority in the Romanian Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
in 1972. The society suffered persecution from the communist authorities and the Securitate
Securitate
The Securitate was the secret police agency of Communist Romania. Previously, the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului. Founded on August 30, 1948, with help from the Soviet NKVD, the Securitate was abolished in December 1989, shortly after President Nicolae Ceaușescu was...
secret police, and was eventually dissolved by the communist authorities in 1975.
Members
- Albert Bohn;
- Rolf Bossert;
- Werner Kremm;
- Johann Lippet;
- Gerhard Ortinau;
- Anton Sterbling;
- William Totok;
- Richard WagnerRichard Wagner (novelist)Richard Wagner is a Romanian-born German novelist. He has published a number of short stories, novels and essays....
; - Ernest Wichner;
Herta Müller
Herta Müller
Herta Müller is a Romanian-born German novelist, poet and essayist noted for her works depicting the effects of violence, cruelty and terror, usually in the setting of Communist Romania under the repressive Nicolae Ceauşescu regime which she experienced herself...
, Horst Samson, Roland Kirsch, Helmuth Frauendorfer and Werner Söllner, who are often mentioned in connection with the society, were not members of the society that existed from 1972 to 1975, but were active in the "Adam Müller-Guttenbrunn
Adam Müller-Guttenbrunn
Adam Müller-Guttenbrunn was an Austrian author.-Biography:...
" literary circle, which comprised most of the membership of Aktionsgruppe Banat.
Literature
- William Totok: „Die Zwänge der Erinnerung. Aufzeichnungen aus Rumänien“, Hamburg 1988
- Ernest Wichner (ed.): „Ein Pronomen ist verhaftet worden. Die frühen Jahre in Rumänien. Texte der Aktionsgruppe Banat“, Frankfurt am Main 1992
- Anton Sterbling: „Am Anfang war das Gespräch”. Reflexionen und Beiträge zur „Aktionsgruppe Banat” und andere literatur- und kunstbezogene Arbeiten, Hamburg 2008
- Sabina Kienlechner: „»Unter dem Einfluss der bürgerlichen Ideologie«. Die »Aktionsgruppe Banat« in den Akten der Securitate”, in: Sinn und Form, 62. Jg., Heft 6, November/Dezember 2010, S. 746-769.