Aussiedlungsfolgen – Abschied von der kulturellen Einheit ? Zu den multiplen Verortungen emigrierter Rumäniendeutschen

Résumé En

This paper discusses the effects (on an individual and collective scale) of emigration on the German community from Romania to Germany in the second half ot the twentieth century. Two central questions examined here are „cultural identity“ and „multiple identifications“ of Aussiedler, with a particular emphasis on Banat-Swabians. The article focuses on the articulations of memory and identity in the (de)construction of „inherited identities“. Our original anthropological field study reveals fascinating elements of continuity and discontinuity. It shows the integration challenges that the Aussiedler from Romania faced in the Federal Republic and the differentiated strategies they have developped to overcom them. In particular, it highlights how the integration process has generated new identifications. Finally, the analysis reveals evolving and multiple identities rather than static identities. It brings to light the heterogeneity of the Aussiedler in general, and of the Banat-Swabians in particular. Thus, the study confirms on the one hand the definitive atomization of the „cultural community“ as a consequence of the emigration. On the other hand, it also reveals new identification potentials in a new identity context.