The “Minor Cultural Revolution” and Holocaust Remembrance in Romanian Yiddish Literature: The Case of Volf Tambur
The “Minor Cultural Revolution” and Holocaust Remembrance in Romanian Yiddish Literature: The Case of Volf Tambur

Summary/Abstract: Volf Tambur (Vladimir Tamburu, 1915-1995) began his yiddish literary career in interwar Romania, but only achieved prominence after the communist takeover of the country, particularly during the years of the so-called “minor cultural revolution” introduced by Nicolae Ceaușescu. Tambur’s first yiddish-language novel, Friling on zun (Sunless Spring), published in Arad in 1947, the first part of a planned trilogy, was one of the earliest literary treatments of the Holocaust in Transylvania. His later works, written in the 1970s and 1980s, woven around the same theme, drew a different picture of the Holocaust in Romania, than generally accepted by the official Romanian historiography, or commonly presented by the literature of other minority languages, such as Hungarian and German, or in the majority Romanian literature. This article discusses Tambur’s first novel, his rise to prominence under the communist regime, and his role in the yiddish-language cultural establishment during the Ceaușescu era, and lastly his writings on the Transylvanian chapter of the Holocaust and its aftermath in communist Romania. Furthermore, the article sheds light on the status and assigned role of yiddish under the Ceaușescu regime, the policies of remembrance and representation of the Holocaust in Romania, and finally the power dynamics between the Party directives and the authors’ personal agency in the yiddish cultural milieu.

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