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1 December 1918: the Union of Transylvania with Romania

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1 December 1918: the Union of Transylvania with Romania ESSAYS/ESSAIS �TEFAN PASCU (Cluj-Napoca, Romania) 1 December 1918: The Union of Transylvania with Romania Sixty years ago an age-old dream was realized. On 1 December 1918 the Grand National Assembly at Alba Iulia proclaimed Romania's national unity. This accomplishment stemmed from the allegiance of the vast majority of the people inhabiting Romanian lands-a population having the same Daco-Roman origin, speaking the same Romance language, and being united by a thousand ties of aspirations and of interests. Romania's unification also stemmed from centuries of bold, unflinching endeavor-concluding a long trek on a road paved with hardship and sacrifice. There are several essential constants which buttress national consciousness. In the case of the Romanians these constants may easily be defined. First, there is the indestructible, age-old tie with the land. Then, there is the vitality of the people-the firmness and tenacity with which Romanians faced their enemies as well as the wisdom displayed in crisis. Moreover, Romanians have never sought to invade or conquer lands not belonging to them. From the be- ginning the Romanian people have had to wage a continuous struggle for lib- erty, justice, independence, and unity-requiring great human and material sacrifices. The proclamation of Romania's independence in 1877 profoundly stimu- lated Romanians living abroad to struggle for political rights as well as for na- tional unification. With this proclamation, Romanians in the Austro-Hungarian regions of Transylvania and Bucovina organized national political parties and cultural societies; Romanian socialists, for their part, demanded the people's emancipation and national unity. Between 1882 and 1892, Romanians of Transylvania and Bucovina presented memoranda to the imperial court at Vi- enna, claiming political rights for themselves and autonomy for the two prov- inces. The Memorandum Trial in 1892 created much popular discontent; a revolution almost broke out. Such happenings invigorated the movement for autonomy and political rights.11 The wish and the will for union could not be shaken by the outbreak of 1. ?tefan Pascu,Rasunetul procesului memorandist in masele populare (Sibiu, 1944). 59 World War I. During the years of Romanian neutrality, from 1914 to 1916, the Romanian patriots prepared for the opportunity that was soon to come. Romania entered the war in August, 1916-not in order to acquire foreign territory but with the totally justifiable aim of achieving national unity. The Transylvanian Romanians were overwhelmed with joy at the appearance of the royal Romanian army. Contemporary evidence indicates that in Bra§ov "all the Romanians in town welcomed the Romanian army with flowers and speeches; there was an unprecedented enthusiasm."2 The common faith that the great moment was near had become so great that even the dramatic events of the fall of 1916 and the spring of 1917-when two-thirds of Romania's territory was occupied by the armies of the Central Powers and more drastic repressive measures were taken against the Romanians-could not defeat or diminish the will for union. It was the thirst for liberty and justice and unity that caused hundreds of thousands of soldiers to give their lives in battles on the Jiu, at Miri§e§ti, Ma- ra§ti, Oituz, and many other places in 1916 and I917. In those days the direction of the historical process was obvious. The prin- ciple of national self-determination was not only advocated by Romanians. It was also proclaimed by the Russians in the revolution of November, 1917, as well as by the American president in January, 1918. On the basis of this principle, an Autonomous Moldavian Republic of Bessarabia was proclaimed in the autumn of 1917 and, on 9 April 1918, a resolution by a representative assembly proclaimed the union of Bessarabia with Romania.3 In Transylvania, the Romanian National Party's executive council decided on 24 September 1918 to resume a militant line and to cooperate with the Transylvanian Romanian Social Democratic Party. Representatives of these parties met on 6 October and resolved to establish a Romanian National Coun- cil, that is, a de facto government. This decision was in part influenced by the formation of a National Council of Romanian Unity in Paris which was recog- nized by the Allied powers. Meanwhile, Romanians serving in the Austro-Hun- garian army assembled at Ia§i on 6 October. They requested for themselves as well as for "their brothers at home, who were not free to express their wishes," liberation from the Habsburg yoke. The Allies had already agreed to Roman- ian n-:lf;An-:ll11n;f';,.."f'r\nh" a +,."...+u A "n"...+ V J '-&.t...&. "Wu..L}'';U.óiJ.\.fU. J..iI.£"1UÕu'¡,')L, .19/.1 j v. Representatives of the Romanian National Party met in Oradea on 12 Oc- tober and asserted that "the Romanian Nation in Hungary and Transylvania" 2. Gazeta Transilvaniei 8 Sept. 1916;AradiK6zl6ny [Arad], 15 Nov. 1916; Unirea Transilvanieicu Romånia, 1 decembrie 1918, ed. Ion Popescu-Pufuri& Augustin Deac, 2nd ed. (Bucure;ti: Institutul de studii istorice ;i social-politicede pe linga C. C. al P. C. R., 1972), p. 476. 3. D. Bogos, La rásptntie 1924); E. Giuergea, Din trecutul ji prezentul Ba- sarabiei (1928), pp. 40-44, 77-79; ?tefan Ciobanu, Unirea Basarabiei: studiu ?Sidocu- mente (Bucure?ti: Cartea romaneasca, 1929), pp. xxxii-xxxvi, 144-79, 201-20, 225-40. .
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