Jewish heritage in Timişoara, Romania. Old memories and new images

Timişoara was long characterized by a high degree of cultural diversity, but its traditionally complex ethnic mosaic has undergone a progressive simplification during the past decades, due to emigration and assimilation, and the city has now a vast Romanian-speaking majority. The local Jewish community survived the Holocaust basically intact, an almost unique case in Central-Eastern Europe, but largely left the city after the war. This complex history left a “dissonant landscape”, where old architectural styles, past memories and religious heritage do not collide with the present dominant ethnic composition and identity of the city. Jewish tangible and intangible heritage is still significant, but the mass emigration of the community and the economic difficulties of the country led to its progressive decay. The author’s fieldwork shows that Jewish and non-Jewish stakeholders are aware of the potential of this heritage in terms of cultural revitalization and recognition, economic benefits, and increased visibility for the Jewish community itself, and see cultural tourism as a natural and desirable development. However, significant weaknesses and concerns exist. The small dimension of the community, and its financial constraints, challenge its future role in the eventual promotion and management of this heritage. A self-protective approach is also present, as several members show no desire to keep the synagogues, the cemetery and the community building open for casual or mass tourists, fearing a superficial curiosity approach. As in other diasporic communities, a complex identity and image redefinition, between a deeply integrated local culture and the transnational link with Israel, also in terms of cultural representation and attractiveness, is underway.