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Vademekum Contemporary History Romania VADEMEKUM CONTEMPORARY HISTORY ROMANIA A Guide through Archives, Research Institutions, Libraries, Societies, Museums and Memorial Places Edited by Stejărel Olaru and Georg Herbstritt Commissioned by Stiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur (Foundation for the Reappraisal of SED-Dictatorship) With a Preface by Rainer Eppelmann Berlin — Bucharest, July 2004 4 Stejărel Olaru / Georg Herbstritt (eds.): Vademekum Contemporary History Romania. A Guide through Archives, Research Institutions, Libraries, Societies, Museums and Memorial Places. Translations by Oana Mitchell and Kian Geiselbrechtinger Placing orders: Institutul Român de Istorie Recentă (Romanian Institute for Recent History) Str. Matei Voievod 18 Sector 2, cod 021455 Bucureşti Telephone: 021 – 25 27 556; 021 — 25 27 557 Fax: 021 – 25 24 860 www.irir.ro [email protected] Stiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur (Foundation for the Reappraisal of SED-Dictatorship) Otto-Braun-Str. 70/72 10178 Berlin Telephone: 030 – 23 24 7200 Fax: 030 – 23 24 7210 www.stiftung-aufarbeitung.de [email protected] Price: 6,00 Euro 1st edition Berlin — Bucharest © 2004 Layout by Thomas Klemm (Edition Leipziger Kreis) © 2004 5 CONTENTS Preface by Rainer Eppelmann .................................................................................................................................................... 7 Foreword .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 A Introduction The Communist Regime and its Legacy in Romania by Stejărel Olaru ................................................................ 11 I. Romanian Communism – A History of Repression 11 / The Rise to Power. The First Signs of Terror 14 / The Means of Terror 19 / Armed Resistance in the Mountains 22 / The Universe of Romanian Detention Camps 25 / A New Leader, a New Regime: Nicolae Ceauşescu 28 / The Failure of Communist Dictatorship. Dissident Gestures 30 / The December Revolution 33 II. The History of a Troubled Transition Period 34 / The First Steps Towards Democracy. A Chronology of Political Events 35 / Confronting the Past. The Trial of Communism in Romania 37 / Trials in the Postcommunist Transition. The ”Gheorghe Ursu Case” 40 / Retrieving the Past. Access to the Com- munist Archives 42 / Present Debates 45 / Selected Bibliography 48 B List of Institutions 1. Archives ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 51 2. Libraries ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 57 3. Research Institutions ........................................................................................................................................................... 61 4. Associations and Foundations ..................................................................................................................................... 69 5. Associations of the Victims of the Communism ............................................................................................ 73 6. Museums ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 75 7. Newspapers and Cultural Magazines ..................................................................................................................... 77 8. German Foundations and Organizations in Romania ................................................................................. 83 9. Research Institutions in Austria and Germany ................................................................................................. 87 C Appendix Information on Stiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur ........................................................................... 98 List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................................................. 100 Country Codes ............................................................................................................................................................................... 101 Index of Entries ............................................................................................................................................................................ 102 About the Editors ........................................................................................................................................................................ 108 Form for new Entries ................................................................................................................................................................. 109 7 PREFACE Fifteen years ago the communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe were overthrown. In most states the revolutionary changes passed peacefully. Therefore the events of December 1989 in Romania shocked me even more deeply. While in the GDR the path to democracy was paved at “round tables”, armed conflicts occurred in Bucharest and other places. Those who in 2005 will remember the peaceful revolutions should not forget the toll in blood the Romanian people paid. Anyone who does not know about the past cannot understand the present, nor shape the future. This often quoted remark applies especially to those countries and societies that were under com- munist rule until 1989. In the 1990s in all those countries questions were raised about both the collaborators and the victims of the regimes. In some places the questions were raised audibly and decidedly and have more or less been answered. In other places those people prevailed who decided to seal up the past. Due to the enormous economic and social problems accompanying the return of the young democracies to Europe, the memory of the dictatorships is threatening to disap- pear. The causes of social and economic problems have been increasingly related to the revolution of 1989 and the years following, yet not to the reality of the political and economic system during the preceding decades. In many Eastern and Central European states important political and economic positions are still held by those who walked the corridors of power until 1989. After more than four decades of heteronomy and dictatorship, there was a great lack of counter-elites to introduce fresh personnel for a new beginning. Everybody is encouraged to learn from the consequences of the past, yet credible are only those who critically and reliably confront their individual past. Wide-ranging public discussions concerning the understanding of the past can succeed only if the archival remains of the communist dictatorships are open to the public, if unimpeded research places the focus on this subject and if social groups and organisations support the process. Furthermore it is important that the outcome of this work may not find its way only into libraries, but also into schools and other educational institutions. Alongside this, the discussion of the history of dictator- ship and its collapse must not stop at the country’s borders. The “Stiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur” (Foundation for the Reappraisal of SED-Dictator- ship) was founded by the German Bundestag in 1998. The foundation initiates wide-ranging public debates focusing on the separation of Germany as well as the causes, history and repercussions of communist dictatorship. Moreover, the foundation opens up possibilities for international coopera- tive research on the history of dictatorship in general. The “Vademecum Contemporary History 8 Romania” will serve as a helpful guide for those who study Romanian post-war history, whether in or outside Romania. If this work is successful in contributing to the international collaboration on the subject, its purpose would be considered fulfilled. In the name of the “Stiftung Aufarbeitung” I would like to express my deep gratitude to Mr. Stejărel Olaru from Bucharest and Mr. Georg Herbstritt from Berlin for their efforts invested in the project. The Vademecum is an example of Romanian-German cooperation in reassessing communist dictatorship. May the work be continued by many more in the future! Rainer Eppelmann, Member of the German Bundestag Berlin, July 2004 9 FOREWORD Among the defining rules that distinguish communist systems from democratic political systems, one is especially important: information has to be permanently controlled and manipulated by the state. As a consequence, a country’s political as well as social, economic and cultural facts are distorted to support the communist propaganda. Life in this type of system is portrayed as a utopia on earth and history is interpreted without regard to laws of reasoning. In reality, the nationalist communist propaganda could not function without manipulating history, in particular concerning recent times. This is the reason why historians and researchers took satisfaction in an improved access to informa- tion brought about by the fall of communist regimes. A rehabilitation of historiography seemed a necessary and natural process. However, in Romania, there are more obstacles in the transition period than initially thought.
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