THE YIDDISH CULTURE DAYS IN BUCHAREST

April 10 – 12, 2005

The Yiddish Culture Days in Bucharest were held during April 10-12, as a joint organizational effort between the Romanian Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs and other local and international organizations. Prestigious cultural personalities from around the world attended the cultural events that included lectures and discussions regarding the Yiddish language in Romania and in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, as well as the evolution of the Yiddish language in Eastern Europe . Documentary exhibitions about the life of Jews in Romania were also presented while the Jewish Theatre showed “Stolen Happiness” by Jacob Gordin , and “The Haloimes Sellers,” a musical, adaptation from Shalom Alehem .

Other highlights in the program included the documentary “ Goldfaden's Legacy” and the “The Kreutzer Sonata” by Jacob Gordin , “The Merchant of Dreams” adaptation from Shalom Alechem , hosted by the Jewish State Theatre. Lectures grouped under different subjects such as “The Forming and the Spreading of Yiddish –linguistic and sociological aspects,” “Yiddish Literature – Exposees and Readings ,” “Yiddish in Romania and in the Former Austro-Hungarian Empire: Historical and Political Aspects” were held at the “New Europe” University.

The event underlined the significant contribution of the Yiddish language to literature, arts, and science, to the emancipation of the Jews from Central and Eastern Europe . At the same time, the participants expressed their regret for the decline of this language and culture by means of which a human group distinguished itself and by which it contributed to the multicultural aspect of a given time and place.