The cultural politics of commemorating war.

The studies included in this volume reflect on the history and culture of Romania during the twentieth century, a critical century for the country that saw such realizations as the achievement of national unity, as well as the horrors of two world wars and the installation of a brutal communist dictatorship, ending in the overthrow of the totalitarian regime and the hopes for a freer and more prosperous future. These papers, written in English and Romanian, were presented at the Eighth International Conference of the Center for Romanian Studies, held in Iasi, Romania, on 24-25 June 2002, on the theme "Twentieth Century Romania: A Retrospective." Studies include: Dumitru Sandru, Arestarile Operate În 1945 În RomÂnia Dupa Instaurarea Guvernului Petru Groza; Matthew H. Ciscel, Cei de la Rusi: The linguistic identity of the Bessarabian Romanians in the 20th Century; Dissidents of the Great Unification?; Stelu Serban, About electoral volatility in interwar Romania; Simona Gheorghiu, Nicolae Iorga and the Iron Guard; Florian Banu, Regele Carol al II-lea si emigratia romÂneasca din America În timpul celui de-al doilea razboi mondial; Mihail Rotaru, Sfatul Tarii si autodeterminarea Basarabiei; Basil D. Georgiadis, Life After Ceausescu: The Challenge of Democracy and NATO Membership for Romania; Wally Bacon, Contextualizing Interwar Romanian-Polish Relations; Liviu Groza, Periodicizari ?i Tranzitii În Secolul XX din perspectiva romÂneasca; and many more.

An authoritative study of World War I’s often-overlooked Romanian front. In contrast to the trench-war deadlock on the Western Front, combat in Romania and Transylvania in 1916 foreshadowed the lightning warfare of World War II. When Romania joined the Allies and invaded Transylvania without warning, the Germans responded by unleashing a campaign of bold, rapid infantry movements, with cavalry providing cover or pursuing the crushed foe. Hitting where least expected and advancing before the Romanians could react―even bombing their capital from a Zeppelin soon after war was declared―the Germans and Austrians poured over the formidable Transylvanian Alps onto the plains of Walachia, rolling up the Romanian army from west to east, and driving the shattered remnants into Russia. Prelude to Blitzkrieg tells the story of this largely ignored campaign to determine why it did not devolve into the mud and misery of trench warfare, so ubiquitous elsewhere. “This work will stand as the definitive study of the Central Powers part of the campaign for some time to come.” —Journal of Military History “Barnett’s book is a valuable addition to the field. He writes well and with authority. He has been able to illuminate a little-known corner of the First World War and provide a state-of-the-art operational history combining detailed narrative with prescient analysis.” —American Historical Review

This prize-winning study of post-WWII Romania examines the fraught relationship between national heritage and Socialist statecraft. In Socialist Heritage, ethnographer and historian Emanuela Grama explores the socialist state’s attempt to create its own heritage, as well as the ongoing legacy of that project. While many argue that the socialist regimes of Central and Eastern Europe aimed to erase the pre-war history of the socialist cities, Grama shows that the communist state in Romania sought to exploit the past for its own benefit. The book traces the transformation of Bucharest’s Old Town district from the early twentieth century into the twenty-first. Under socialism, politicians and professionals used the district’s historic buildings—especially the ruins of a medieval palace—to emphasize the city’s Romanian past and erase its ethnically diverse history. Since the collapse of socialism, the cultural and economic value of the Old Town has become highly contested. Its poor residents decry their semi-decrepit homes, while entrepreneurs see it as a source of easy money. Such arguments point to recent negotiations about the meanings of class, political participation, and ethnic and economic belonging in today’s Romania. Grama’s rich historical and ethnographic research reveals the fundamentally dual nature of heritage: every search for an idealized past relies on strategies of differentiation that can lead to further marginalization and exclusion. Winner of the 2020 Ed A. Hewitt Book Prize

The imposition of Communist ideology was a misfortune for millions in Eastern Europe, but never for Dennis Deletant. Instead, it drew him to Romania. The renowned historian’s association with the country and its people dates back to 1965, when he first visited. Since then, Romania has made Dennis appreciate the value of shrewd dissimulation, in the face of the state’s gross intrusion in the life of the individual. This vivid memoir charts his first-hand experience of the Communist era, coloured by the early 1970s surveillance of his future wife Andrea; his contacts with dissidents; and his articles and BBC World Service broadcasts, which led to his being declared persona non grata in 1988. In Search of Romania also considers how life went on under dictatorship, even if it was largely mapped out by the regime. How did individual citizens negotiate the challenges placed in their path? How important was the political police, the Securitate, in maintaining compliance? How did dissent towards the regime manifest? How did all this affect the moral compass of the individual? Why did utopia descend into dystopia under Ceaușescu? And how has his legacy influenced the difficult transition to democracy since the collapse of Communism?

Based on the idea that there is a considerable difference between reality and discourse, the author points out that history is constantly reconstructed, adapted and sometimes mythicized from the perspectives of the present day, present states of mind and ideologies. He closely examines historical culture and conscience in nineteenth and twentieth century Romania, particularly concentrating on the impact of the national ideology on history. Boia's innovative analysis identifies several key mythical configurations and shows how Romanians have reconstituted their own highly ideologized history over the last two centuries. The strength of History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness lies in the author's ability to fully deconstruct the entire Romanian historiographic system and demonstrate the increasing acuteness of national problems in general, and in particular the exploitation of history to support national ideology.