The museum of communism

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

Most former communist countries in Central and East Europe dump their monuments from the communist era into special museums that look more like theme parks, where older people can indulge in their nostalgia. But the West Romanian town of Timisoara has gone one step further, and opened the first Museum of the Communist Consumer.

Once you're in, you get soaked in the atmosphere of the "golden epoch" as many call it. The visitor can see all the variety of old products that could be found around the stores at the time (and those weren't that many). It's a space obviously targeting two particular segments: curious foreigners (from the West), and kids who look in dismay at the lifestyle of their parents. The funny thing about this is that before 1989, people who found themselves at the "wrong" side of the Iron Curtain were in the dark about what "those others" had, and now the organizers of this museum want to show a glimpse to "those others" of what the Eastern bloc had.

Actually the museum is set up like a typical apartment from the "golden age", with a guest-room, kids room, kitchen, closet, bathroom and some other premises, and it has everything the average Romanian used to have in their homes at the time: from kitchen appliances and washing machine to the typical Romanian decorations, furniture, and of course smuggled goods, hand-made items that were typical for the epoch, clothes and jewelry, shoes, toys, audio-cassettes, vinyls, cosmetic products and stationery. There are items that are now a forgotten legend for many: like the Aradiana doll, the Carpat and Amiral cigarettes, cassettes with Pioneers' music, milk and beer bottles, and the famous grocery bags that thousands of Romanians would regularly hold while lining up at the shop for hours. Oh, and the omnipresent Keya soap.

The museum is meant to be interactive - the visitors will be able to see, touch and even use items from communist times. They'll be turning the pages of old newspapers (full of propaganda), magazines, almanacs, and listen to patriotic music; and the kids will be playing with the toys.

The museum has now launched a campaign among the locals to empty their closets of the old relics from that epoch, and give them a chance to shine in front of the public, thus expanding the collection. Donors will be awarded special communist souvenirs, including medals and those red Pioneer neckties.

The museum is a private enterprise that's being run via donations, private sponsorship and some investment from the initiator, with the help of a number of volunteers. It doesn't have any political or ideological character, it's main purpose is to beat the dust of the somewhat forgotten memory of emblematic items from communist times, and promote a unique tourist niche for Timisoara. Personally, I'm planning to visit it shortly, as I'll be traveling in those parts in about a fortnight. Maybe I'll put on a red tie?

Comments

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

There's a similar museum in Varna, although it's got more to do with the communist regime itself than the everyday lifestyle of ordinary people under it.

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

Been to Varna once. Loved it. I'll never have enough of your Shopska salad.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you know it goes best with rakia.

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

And meze.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Thumbs up.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting. But maybe not as fascinating as all those Transylvanian castles.

[peamasii.livejournal.com]

Timisoara is my home town. Traditionally the "Museum of Banat" was the best resource for history of the region, the musuem having been founded in 1872. Founded by the Avars in the 6th century, Timisoara was subsequently ruled by Hungarian empire, then Ottoman and then the Hapsburgs until after WWII when it became part of Romania, although it is geographically as part of Ardeal which is effectively a West region of Transylvania, and demographically Transylvania was still Romanian throughout its history. To note that the Ardeal played an important role for Romanian culture, as in the 18-19th centuries it grounded the cultural and etymological roots of the Romanian language to be Central-European, namely latin-based rather than Eastern-European Slavic-based. In the 19th century Timisoara was already quite cosmopolitan, being the first city in continental Europe to have electric street lighting and having reliable public transportation by tram. During the Communist regime Timisoara was the most Western-oriented city of Romania and it played the main stage of the revolution in 1989. Part of the reasons for it's orientation was the fact that a large percentage of the population was of Saxon (German) background, another important minority were the Magyar population (Hungarian). Famously it was also the scene of the Austrian-led coalition headed by Eugene of Savoya against the Ottomans, thus uniting with the Austrian empire and later the two-headed empire as a spearhead against Ottoman occupation. It's important to notice that the historical accomplishments of the German Saxons in Transylvania were visibly more advanced and more progressive than those of the Romanian ethnic population. This can be seen in the middle-age period cathedrals throughout Transylvania, which were built like fortresses to resist any potential Ottoman attacks. Unlike the rural centres throughout Transylvania where Saxon and Hungarian communities were often predominant, the city of Timisoara was thorughout the 20th century very united across the different ethnic groups (with the exception of Gypsies which have always been outcasts) and being pro-Western, it had an atmosphere represented by the name "little Vienna", a relatively small city that even now in "free market" times is more productive per inhabitant than any other city in Romania. Living there as a child and then teen, I experienced a more permissive, culturally diverse and tolerant face of communism, where political dissidency was widespread and almost accepted, and where the population had the collective wisdom to neither collaborate with nor openly fight against the regime, as if they knew that communism would one day fail epicly. Nowadays considering the widespread of Romanian political corruption and the capital-led hegemony over the last 25 years, it's not outside consideration that perhaps all of Transylvania might be better off outside Romanian borders, given that its development and productivity surpasses other regions, and given that historically it belongs in Mittel-Europa by culture and economy.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Speaking of Banat... are there any Banat Bulgarians to be seen around? We've kept hearing about them, but I never met one.

[peamasii.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately I don't know any personally and they have no presence as group. But I'm aware that historically they were present in the 13th century as an important defense of the Hungarian empire to which the Banat belonged. Most likely throughout the middle-ages they were assimilated much like Greeks and Turks in this region as well as in the Danubian regions, integrating much faster into the local ethnicity than the Saxons and Szekelys magyars who even today have a hard time assimilating into Romanian culture, not to mention the Gypsies who never integrated. The other Banat regions in Serbia and Hungary might have preserved their traditions somewhat, I'm afraid especially Romanian communism had a very aggressive integrationist vertent which eroded the unique traits of smaller minorities (Saxons and Szekelys being notable exceptions). Likewise Romanian minorities in Serbian Banat for example, were strongly coerced by Tito's policies to release their Romanian past and adhere to the pan-Yugoslavian identity.