WRITING HISTORY IN A PROPAGANDA INSTITUTE INSTITUTE WRITING IN A PROPAGANDA HISTORY Writing History in a Propaganda Institute Romania’s Party History Institute has been portrayed as a loyal ex- Political Power and Network Dynamics in Communist Romania ecutioner of the Communist Party’s will. Yet, recent investigations of the institute’s archive tell a diff erent story. Francesco Zavatti In 1990, the Institute for Historical and Socio-Political Studies of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party (previously the Party History Institute) was closed. Since its foundation in 1951 it had produced thousands of books and journals for the Communist Party on the history of both the Party and Romania. Th is book is dedicated to the study of the Party History Institute, the history-writers employed there and the narratives they produced. By studying the history-writers and their host institution, the his- toriography produced under Communist rule has been re-contextu- alized. For the fi rst time, this highly controversial institute and its vacillating role are scrutinized by a scholarly eye. Francesco Zavatti is a historian at Södertörn University, Sweden, and is affi liated with the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES) and the School of Historical and Contemporary Studies. Francesco Zavatti Francesco Distribution: Södertörn University, Library, SE-141 89 Huddinge.
[email protected] SÖDERTÖRN DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS Writing History in a Propaganda Institute Writing History in a Propaganda Institute Political Power and Network Dynamics in Communist Romania Francesco Zavatti Södertörn University The Library SE-141 89 Huddinge www.sh.se/publications © Francesco Zavatti Cover image: Fotografia #LA079, Fototeca online a comunismului românesc (Online communism photo collection, National Archives of Romania 01.03.2016), (ANIC, fondul ISISP, 79/1976: Solemnitatea decorării lui Ion Popescu-Puţuri la împlinirea vârstei de 70 de ani cu „Steaua Republicii Socialiste România” cls.