DOCTORAL THESIS - ULBS

„Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu 

Faculty of Letters and Arts 

Department of Anglo-American and German Studies 

DOCTORAL THESIS 

HISTORICAL IMAGISM AND IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION IN THE 

GERMAN LITERATURE PRODUCED IN ROMANIA: HERTA MÜLLER AND 

JOACHIM WITTSTOCK, A CASE STUDY 

- SUMMING-UP - 

Scientific research in the field of German literature produced in Romania is a 

central preoccupation for many present-day philologists. Theoreticians active in 

this particular field often choose an interdisciplinary approach, considering that 

the new scientific paradigm often crosses the boundaries of the simple 

interpretative method. The present paper aims at being a contribution to the 

research of Geman literature produced in Romania from the perspective of 

cultural studies. The analytical process undertaken is meant as a contribution to 

the research of German literature in our country from the vantage point of literary 

sociology. 

The self-declared aim of the present thesis is to establish the social 

significance of the aforementioned type of literature, as well as to highlight the 

aspects connected to the way history is narrated in works of fiction. Moreover, 

we have tried to identify in how far the literature produced by the German 

minority in Romania contributed to the continuity of this ethnic group’s identity 

structures by means of authentic representations of identity within this mode of 

cultural expression. 

Without being an exhaustive study of the subject matter at hand, our 

scientific research has focused primarily on the literary works of two writers 

whom we consider highly representative for German literature produced in 

Romania after 1945: Herta Müller and Joachim Wittstock. 

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Consequently, the literary works we have singled out for discussion and 

analysis should rather be assessed as case studies, because the theoretical 

framework applied to the present thesis can be adapted to various other contexts. 

Going beyond a limited analysis of the thematic contents, we have attempted to 

highlight certain aspects related to the creation and reception of the selected 

works. 

The historical context, the autobiographical dimension and the thematic 

references of the works analyzed are but a few of the relevant aspects which 

characterize our scientific undertaking. 

The motivation that underlies the research process is the candidate’s own 

didactical curiosity. Having taught the history and cultural heritage of the 

German minority in Romania to secondary school students we have repeatedly 

noticed the lack of scientific studies which highlight the importance of literary 

productions in defining the cultural heritage of Germans in Romania, most 

studies focusing on traditions, customs, feasts and musical productions and 

scarcely on the literary dimension of this ethnic group. Being ourselves active in 

the field of historical research we aimed to determine in how far these literary 

works can be regarded as historical sources, the present research project being 

the result of this interrogation. 

The thesis is made up of two distinct sections. The first one is dedicated to 

the theoretical framework, which has been selected and adapted to the needs of 

the analysis at hand, with the aim of reaching complex conclusions to our 

scientific undertaking. Thus, various instances of cultural theory have been 

analyzed, the focal point of our enedeavor being to establish the place of German 

literature produced in Romania within the context of Romanian societal culture. 

The first chapter defines the domain of scientific research as well as the key 

terms of analysis and the theoretical framework in view of highlihting relevant 

aspects of our undertaking, that is of the representation of history and of identity 

structures in works of fiction. Due to the complexity of the research field under 

scrutiny certain limitations had to be taken into account, and consequently only a 

part of the aforementioned authors’ works was selected. 

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After a thorough assessment of the theoretical frameworks relevant to our 

concerns, we have decided upon the theory of actions materialized in the 

American sociologist Talcott Pearson’s AGIL scheme. This scheme consists in 

the categorial delimitation of the actions of social subjects thereby enabling us to 

also assess the function of various aspects present in the literary works under 

analyzed. 

In this sense mention has to be made of the fact that the theoretical 

framework that underlies the analysis of the two authors’ works can easily be 

transfered to the literary output of other German writers in Romania who dwell 

upon historical and identity-related issues. 

Ways of narrating history in works of fiction and the limitations thereof 

constitute the concerns of the second chapter. The ideological confrontation 

between historians and writers is ongoing and it is only in a few isolated cases 

that one can speak about a consensus regarding the legitimity of the two parts in 

recreating the past through writing. 

The two principal means of mirroring history through artistic creation are 

either the taking over of information from documentary sources, or by the 

inclusion of autobiographical elements in the literary work. But even in the case 

of a literary construction of history one has to consider certain limitations 

brought about by the very peculiarities of fiction-writing. The risk of presenting a 

past event through a limited perspective is even greater when one considers that 

oral or written accounts of individuals who have witnessed the horrors of war 

first-hand are often inevitably characterized by subjectivity. 

In spite of this, a close look at the way historical data is translated into 

fiction can certainly prove an efficient method of perceiving individual history, 

as this literary genre focuses on isolated destinies and not history on a 

macrodimensional level. 

The second chapter ends with a series of methodical considerations related 

to the analysis of historical themes in the German literature produced in Romania 

and with the highlighting of this literature’s peculiarities. 

3

The following chapter focuses on a further object of analysis: identity 

construction as mirrored by German fiction produced in Romania. In the 

beginning of the chapter we briefly offer an account of the complex relationship 

between writing and identity along history and the way in which literature has 

helped to consolidate identity structures within the collective consciousness. 

Furthermore, our enedeavor also focuses on the importance of identity 

construction in fiction in view of building up identity structures truthful to 

everyday realities. 

The second part of Chapter Three contains a series of aspects related to the 

past of the German minority in Romania. A historical mapping-out of the central 

events leading to the identity construction of Germans in Romania from the 

beginnings through WW II and the Communist era and concluding with the 

1990s and beyond (a period that coincides with the exodus of this population) 

offers a broader understanding of the details related to the evolution of identity 

structures within this ethnic minority. The way in which German literature 

contributed to the continuity of these structures makes up the concluding part of 

this section. 

The first three chapters form the theoretical part of the thesis which will be 

applied to practical findings in the second section of the paper. 

Chapters four to seven represent the analysis proper within our scientific 

undertaking and highlight the practical findings we have reached by applying the 

theoretical framework and methodology to the selected literary works. Although 

the analysis is focused on the thematic dimension of the works, we have chosen a 

chronological approach, in view of a more accurate perspective on the subject 

matter discussed. 

Chapter Four sets off with an analysis of WW II realities as mirrored in 

Joachim Wittstock’ novel Ascheregen (En. Ashen Rain). Here we have chosen to 

focus not only on historical aspects but also on the work’s multicultural 

dimension. The analysis of this novel thus reveals two important aspects: the 

historical realities of the war years, materialized first and foremost in the 

4

generation gap between old and young Romanian Saxons, and the intercultural 

relations typical of the Transylvanian area. 

We have also attempted to offer a double perspective, a parallel view related 

to the deportation of Romanian Germans to the Soviet Union at the end of WW 

II, in January 1945. Herta Muller describes the fate of young Leopold Auberg, 

deported to the Soviet Union at the age of seventeen and the devastating effects 

of this traumatic experience in her novel Atemschaukel (En. The breath-cradle). 

Joachim Wittstock, on the other hand, focuses in his novel Bestätigt und 

besiegelt (En. Confirmed and sealed) on the fate of those who escaped these 

terrors, but for whom the temporary or permanent loss of loved ones as a result 

of deportation represents a painful cesura in their daily lives. Both writers offer 

images of the despair and lack of orientation that individuals experience in the 

new context. 

The ones forcefully sent to Soviet work camps fight for survival, gradually 

renouncing al manifestations of human individuality and thus of their own 

identity, an attitude brought about by the harsh living conditions they need to 

adapt to. Herta Müller makes excellent use of writer Oskar Pastior’s first-hand 

accounts in the novel Atemschaukel, which is based on the latter’s experiences. 

In the meantime, the ones left behind helplessly witness the gradual 

dissolution of the German community, as perceived by the notary of the town of 

Cisnadie, Thomas Böhm. Novelist Joachim Wittstock makes again use of 

documentary sources for inspiration, but at the same time also for illustrating in a 

realistic manner the tragedy of the German minority brought about by the 

instauration of the Communist regime in Romania. The novel Bestätigt und 

besiegelt is in this sense a historical view of the past but also an authentic 

description of the identity and alterity dissolution process undergone by 

Transylvanian Saxons in the aftermath of 1945. 

The next two chapters focus on the two writers’ novels dealing with the 

Communist period from its onset in the 1950s up to its collapse in 1989. Chapter 

Five focuses on Wittstock’s fictionalized experiences as a university student in 

Cluj Napoca during the time span 1965-1961. The novelist offers a bird’s eye 

5

view of his years of study, characterized by the ongoing oppressions of a regime 

that controls all societal and existential levels and of the way in which those 

active in academic circles, be they educators or students, try to cope with the new 

realities. The novel Die uns angebotene Welt has thereby not only literary, but 

also profound historical value, being modeled on an individual account of 

historical events re-lived after a long period of time. 

In the case of Herta Müller the means of illustrating everyday life in the 

Communist era has completely different connotations considering that the writer 

produces her novels shortly after her emigration from Romania. Her perceptions 

are not distorted by temporal distance and the traumatic experiences are still 

vivid in the consciousness of the Nobel prize laureate. These aspects have 

undoubtedly influenced the sharp tone of Müller’s writings that illustrate the 

Communist regime. 

The novel Der Fuchs war damals schon der Jäger (En. Back then the fox 

was already the hunter) narrates the experiences of an individual terrorized by 

the Securitate in different ways prior to 1989 in order to transform her into an 

obedient member of society. Harrassment, cross-interrogation, threat and treason 

are the leitmotifs within this thematic frame taken up by Herta Müller in her 

three novels produced in the 1990s. We cannot however speak about thematic 

recurrence or monotonousness here, as the writer exposes the horrors of 

totalitarianism on various levels of perception. In the case of the aforementioned 

novel the protagonist experiences the traumas of dictatorship caused by the 

abuses of the oppressive apparatus to both the protagonist’s consciousness and to 

secondary characters in the novel. 

Chapter Six deals only with Muller’s novels Herztier (En. Sentimental 

Animal) and Heute wäre ich mir lieber nicht begegnet (En. I wish I wouldn’t 

have met myself today) both of which are modeled on the conceptual pair 

individual-community. If in Herztier the thematic concern is centered on the 

conflict between the oppressive forces and a group of friends, in the second novel 

we witness an account of psychic terror brought about by the intense cross- 

interrogation of a protagonist apparently dangerous to the regime, but who in fact 

6

cannot threaten the existing order because she is reduced to an all-encompassing 

state of fear. 

The reader may expect a different destiny in the case of the first novel 

where group cohesion hints at a social structure much fitter to fight political 

injustice than isolated individuals. Efficient methods of hiding hostility towards 

the system are counterbalanced by even more efficiency on part of the Securitate 

officers, the main supporters of the regime. 

The last chapter of our analytical endeavour is centered on the theme of 

emigration and on the effects of such a decision on the individual. In this sense 

we have analyzed two collections of short stories by Herta Müller, one of these 

being Der Mensch ist ein großer Fasan auf der Welt (En. Man is a big joke in the 

world) having been written shortly before the author’s departure from Romania, 

whereas Reisende auf einem Bein (En. One-legged travelers) is the only work 

produced in Federal Germany where the narration takes place in the host country 

and where the author illustrates the protagonist’s incapacity of adaptation to the 

new social context. 

In the first of the aforementioned novels we come across descriptions of a 

typical village of the Banat Swabians, dominated by the abusive manifestations 

of the local authorities who take advantage of the desperate desire of many 

Germans to leave the country subjected to Communist rule. Bribe and sexual 

blackmail are detailed at a grotesque level, while the individuals subjected to 

such inhumane treatments gradually disintegrate on the level of personal identity 

due to resignation and lack of vision in a desolating community. 

The last literary work discussed in this context is Reisende auf einem Bein. 

Here the author creates a picture of desolation caused by the protagonist Irene’s 

failure to adapt to a new social context. The trauma totalitarian Romania has 

made her suffer renders her unable to see past the material and spiritual 

limitations of totalitarian oppression. Consequently, not even in midst of an 

apparently open-minded society is the protagonist able to leave the burden of the 

past behind and to embrace a new beginning. 

7

Chapter Eight sums up the concluding remarks of this thesis related to our 

findings regarding German literature produced in Romania. We once more dwell 

upon the theoretical framework and the research methodology and their 

efficiency both within the present scientific undertaking and in view of their 

possible application to future research projects. 

The scientific preoccupations in this research area have naturally led to an 

interdisciplinary approach of the literature produced by Romanian Germans. 

From this perspective the conclusion naturally arises that any study which aims 

at capturing the multifaceted nature of this mode of cultura expression can only 

be of a multi- and interdisciplinary character. 

The present doctoral thesis represents an element of novelty in the field of 

studies of German literature produced in Romania, primarily due to its 

application and adaptation of the theoretical framework employed. We hope that 

by our scientific endeavour we have contributed to an increased visibility of 

German literature produced in Romania among exegetes and researchers alike. 

Simultaneously we wish our undertaking to be the pathway towards a more 

profound analysis of the subject matter from an interdisciplinary perspective, not 

only in view of offering a picture of Romania as a multicultural society, but also 

for the overall enrichment of German literature world-wide. 

Keywords: 

German literature produced in Romania, Herta Müller, Joachim Wittstock, 

history, identity, fiction, social history, cultural studies, intercultural approach, 

AGIL scheme, World War II, post-war epoch, deportation, communism, 

emigration 

Table of contents: 

Table of contents 5 

Acknowledgements 8 

Preface 10 

1. Introductory chapter pg. 14 

1.1 Research domain pg. 14 

1.2 Research stages pg. 18 

8

1.3 Defining key terminology pg. 22 

1.4 Scientific methodology pg. 29 

2. Aspects of historical representation in works of fiction pg. 35 

2.1 The relationship between history and literature. Theoretical characteristics pg. 35 

2.2 Modes of narrating history in works of fiction pg. 41 

2.3 Limitations of narrating history in literary works pg. 51 

2.4 An analysis of the representation of history in German literature produced in Romania. 

Methodological aspects pg. 53 

2.5 Concluding remarks pg. 57 

3. Identity and its inherent structures pg. 59 

3.1 Literature and identity – an anthropological view of a millennial relation pg. 60 

3.2 Literature as a pathway towards identity construction pg. 64 

3.3 The identity-generating dimension of literature pg. 68 

3.4 Author versus work pg. 70 

3.5 Identity structures of Transylvanian Saxons and Banat Swabians pg. 73 

3.5.1 From the beginnings to 1945 pg. 73 

3.5.2 The communist epoch (1945 - 1990) pg. 76 

3.5.3 The aftermath of 1990 pg. 79 

3.6 The role of German literature produced in Romania in the process of identity 

construction of Romanian Germans between1945 and 1990 pg. 80 

3.6.1 A socio-political perspective pg. 80 

3.6.2 The artistic dimension pg. 83 


4. World War II and the fate of Romanian Germans during the post-war epoch – 

Ascheregen, Atemschaukel and Bestätigt und besiegelt pg. 87 

4.1 The importance of oral testimony for the novelist pg. 88 

4.2 The effects of WW II upon the young generation – fiction’s legitimacy in illustrating 

historical evolution pg. 91 

4.3 Individual destinies in the Romanian society of the war years pg. 92 

4.3.1 Life in jeopardy on the battlefield. War happenings and their immanent dangers 

pg. 92 

4.3.2 Destinies of a young generation pg.96 

4.4 Aspects of multiculturalism in the novel Ascheregen pg. 101 

4.4.1 Multiculturalism in the Carpathian space pg. 102 

4.4.2 Intercultural aspects in the novel pg. 107 

4.5 The deportation of Romanian Germans to the Soviet Union and its tragic consequences 

pg. 124 

4.5.1 Harsh living conditions as principal factors of loss of humanity and identity 

pg. 124 

4.5.2 Life perspectives altered as a result of hostile contexts pg. 130 

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4.6 The fate of the ones left behind pg. 132 

4.6.1 Persecution and discrimination as collective punishments for the participation 

in Nazi crimes pg. 133 

4.6.2 The seizing of property and annulment of rights by the regime. Abuse of power 

in view of isolating a minority pg. 138 


5. Post-WW II Romania – Communism and discrimination – Die uns angebotene 

Welt by J. Wittstock and Der Fuchs war damals schon der Jäger by H. Müller 

5.1 

pg. 145 

Post-traumatic autobiographical writing pg. 146 

5.2 Remembering and evaluating times long gone – Die uns angebotene Welt pg. 148 

5.2.1 University life and the error of independent thinking pg. 150 

5.2.2 Suicide as the only alternative to desperate life situations pg. 153 

5.3 The systematic persecution of political opponents as the Securitate’s justification for 

psychic terror – Der Fuchs war damals schon der Jäger pg. 156 

5.3.1 Searching homes and leaving behind traces as a sign of the Securitate’s 

omnipresence of pg. 157 

5.3.2 Threat and torture as methods of intimidation pg. 161 

5.3.3 Harassment at the workplace – a solution for unwanted individual attitudes 

pg. 163 


6. Persecution, threat and terror in Ceaușescu’s Romania – Herta Müller’s novels 

Herztier and Heute wäre ich mir lieber nicht begegnet pg. 167 

6.1 The persecution of students during the Ceaușescu regime – Herztier pg. 167 

6.1.1 Keeping an eye on future intellectuals as a means of ensuring control pg. 167 

6.1.2 Suicide as a means of cover-up of political executions pg. 169 

6.2 The totalitarian state and its method of controlling opponents through spiritual and 

physical limitations – Heute wäre ich mir lieber nicht begegnet pg. 171 

6.2.1 Cross-interrogation – a diplomatic term for psychic torture pg. 172 

6.2.2 The aftermath of systematic cross-interrogation for victims – somber 

6.3 

remembrances of the past and thwarted hopes for the future pg. 174 

Concluding remarks pg. 176 

7. Alienation and loss of identity through emigration – Der Mensch ist ein großer Fasan auf 

der Welt and Reisende auf einem Bein by Herta Müller pg. 178 

7.1 The eschatological atmosphere of the Banat Swabians’ villages - Der Mensch ist ein 

großer Fasan auf der Welt pg. 178 

7.1.1 The local authorities’ corruption and abuse of power and their effects on the 

rural population – multi-level bribing as a social habit pg. 178 

7.1.2 From the villager’s grotesque perspective of the world to the emigrant’s naïve 

vision – the dissolution of consciousness as a consequence of identity loss pg. 181 

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7.2 New habitats and the impossibility of self-definition – Reisende auf einem Bein 

pg. 183 

7.2.1 The immigrant’s incapacity to perceive the host country as a new opportunity 

because of lack of orientation and of adaptability pg. 183 

7.2.2 The degradation of the individual in a society of solitude – faulty self- 

7.3 

identification and increased alienation in a foreign environment pg. 184 

Concluding remarks pg. 186 

8. Final considerations pg. 188 

8.1 Theory and methodology pg. 188 

8.2 Analysis and results pg. 191 

Bibliography pg. 196 

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DOCTORAL THESIS - ULBS

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