Migrating Memories: Romanian Germans in Modern Europe, by James Koranyi

A significant German cultural legacy persists in post-communist Romania, despite the dramatic decline of its German-speaking population from over 745,000 in 1930 to around 23,000 today. James Koranyi's study explores how Romanian Germans, particularly the Transylvanian Saxons and Banat Swabians, have shaped and reshaped their collective memories through literature, art, oral histories, and archives. The research highlights the enduring influence of these groups on Transylvania's identity, including the fortified churches that gave the region its German name 'Siebenbürgen.' While Koranyi draws on Rogers Brubaker’s concepts to analyze ethnopolitical dynamics, the narrative focuses more on storytelling than theoretical integration.

Livezeanu, I. (2024). Migrating Memories: Romanian Germans in Modern Europe, by James Koranyi. The English Historical Review, 139(597), 562–564. https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/ceae086