It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of a former member of the collective of the German State Theatre Timisoara (GSTT).
Josef Jochum was born in 1930 in Satchinez, in Banat. From 1941-1944 he followed the courses of the Real Gymnasium in Timisoara. In 1952 he appeared for the first time on stage, as a vocalist, and in 1954 he was hired as an actor at the GSTT, where he interpreted over 150 roles and directed over 16 shows.
Of the shows he has played in we would like to mention: “Fool’s bread” by Hans Kehrer, “The suburban girl” by Johann N. Nestroy, “Beautiful Helena” by Peter Hacks, “Casette” by Carl Sternheim, “Eulogy for madness” by Dumitru Solomon, “Death of an artist” by Horia Lovinescu, “The thieves and Maria Stuart” by Schiller, “Egmont” by Goethe, “The Miser” by Molière a.s.o.
He has directed several shows, with a preference for comedy pieces as well as musical entertainment shows, for instance “Laughing is healthy”, “It happened at Fuchsberg”, “Songs under Fir”, “1000 songs”, etc. for some performances also signing the texts.
Jochum’s creation, often accompanied by music and faithful to the Swabian dialect, managed to attracted the public in an increasingly difficult time for the destiny of the German minority in Banat.
In 1990 Josef Jochum settled in Bavaria, Germany.
On the 2nd of May 2017 he was buried in Wilmersdorf near Nuremberg. The German State Theatre of Timişoara expresses its full sympathy to the bereaved family.