In Search of Romania

In Search of Romania
Author: Dennis Deletant
Publisher: Hurst Publishers
Total Pages: 325
Release: 2022-04-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1787388565

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?

Romania - Culture Smart!

Romania - Culture Smart!
Author: Debbie Stowe
Publisher: Kuperard
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2017-05-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 178702976X

A land of mountains, hills, and fertile plains, Romania is a tourist destination waiting to be discovered. It is a rich and complex country: a place whose cities are home to beautiful parks and vibrant cultural scenes; whose people welcome guests warmly into their homes, sharing the best of whatever they have, and party into the night, suffused by Latin joie de vivre. Buffeted over time between three great powers—the West, Russia, and Turkey—Romania betrays the cultural influences of each, and it can be a difficult place to get a handle on. Culture Smart! Romania provides an indispensable tool for the foreign visitor, digging deep behind the clichés, explaining many of the behavioral quirks of the people, smoothing your path toward better understanding, and outlining the many attractions—cultural, social, and geographical—that await you in this underexplored part of Europe.

Romania's Holy War

Romania's Holy War
Author: Grant T. Harward
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2021-11-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1501759973

Romania's Holy War rights the widespread myth that Romania was a reluctant member of the Axis during World War II. In correcting this fallacy, Grant T. Harward shows that, of an estimated 300,000 Jews who perished in Romania and Romanian-occupied Ukraine, more than 64,000 were, in fact, killed by Romanian soldiers. Moreover, the Romanian Army conducted a brutal campaign in German-occupied Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Soviet prisoners of war, partisans, and civilians. Investigating why Romanian soldiers fought and committed such atrocities, Harward argues that strong ideology—a cocktail of nationalism, religion, antisemitism, and anticommunism—undergirded their motivation. Romania's Holy War draws on official military records, wartime periodicals, soldiers' diaries and memoirs, subsequent war crimes investigations, and recent interviews with veterans to tell the full story. Harward integrates the Holocaust into the narrative of military operations to show that most soldiers fully supported the wartime dictator, General Ion Antonescu, and his regime's holy war against "Judeo-Bolshevism." The army perpetrated mass reprisals, targeting Jews in liberated Romanian territory; supported the deportation and concentration of Jews in camps or ghettos in Romanian-occupied Soviet territory; and played a key supporting role in SS efforts to exterminate Jews in German-occupied Soviet territory. Harward proves that Romania became Nazi Germany's most important ally in the war against the USSR because its soldiers were highly motivated, thus overturning much of what we thought we knew about this theater of war. Romania's Holy War provides the first complete history of why Romanian soldiers fought on the Eastern Front.

Eugenics and Modernization in Interwar Romania

Eugenics and Modernization in Interwar Romania
Author: Maria Bucur
Publisher:
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN:

Between 1918 and 1948, a growing group of professionals - prominent physicians, academicians, scientists, and sociologists - set out to transform Romanian health care, society, and the state according to the gospel of eugenics.".

Along the Enchanted Way

Along the Enchanted Way
Author: William Blacker
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2010-10-28
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1848544480

Chosen for the Duchess of Cornwall's online book club The Reading Room by HRH The Prince of Wales When William Blacker first crossed the snow-bound passes of northern Romania, he stumbled upon an almost medieval world. There, for many years he lived side by side with the country people, a life ruled by the slow cycle of the seasons, far away from the frantic rush of the modern world. In spring as the pear trees blossomed he ploughed with horses, in summer he scythed the hay meadows and in the freezing winters gathered wood by sleigh from the forest. From sheepfolds harried by wolves, to courting expeditions in the snow, he experienced the traditional way of life to the full, and became accepted into a community who treated him as one of their own. But Blacker was also intrigued by the Gypsies, those dark, foot-loose strangers of spell-binding allure who he saw passing through the village. Locals warned him to stay clear but he fell in love and there followed a bitter struggle. Change is now coming to rural Romania, and William Blacker's adventures will soon be part of its history. From his early carefree days tramping the hills of Transylvania, to the book's poignant ending, Along the Enchanted Way transports us back to a magical country world most of us thought had vanished long ago.

Introduction to Romania

Introduction to Romania
Author: Gilad James, PhD
Publisher: Gilad James Mystery School
Total Pages: 89
Release:
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 525485295X

Romania is a country located in southeastern Europe with a population of around 19.5 million people. It is bordered by Ukraine to the north, Moldova to the northeast, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, and Bulgaria to the south. Romania's capital and largest city is Bucharest, which is also its political and cultural center. The country covers a total area of 238,391 square kilometers and is home to many natural wonders, including the Carpathian Mountains, the Danube Delta, and the Black Sea coast. Romania has a rich cultural heritage that dates back to prehistoric times, with notable influences from the Romans, Byzantines, Saxons, and Ottomans, among others. The country is known for its beautiful architecture, diverse cuisine, and lively folk traditions. Some of the country's most popular attractions include the medieval fortified city of Sighisoara, the castles of Dracula and Peles, the painted monasteries of Bucovina, and the Sphinx and Babele rock formations in the Bucegi Mountains. Despite its challenges with corruption and economic development, Romania is a fascinating and dynamic country that offers visitors a unique blend of old-world charm and modern appeal.

Marginal Spaces and Cultures of Dissent in Socialist Romania's Black Sea

Marginal Spaces and Cultures of Dissent in Socialist Romania's Black Sea
Author: Ruxandra-Iuliana Canache
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2023-09-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 303135799X

This book analyzes two Romanian villages – 2 Mai and Vama Veche – as spaces of relative freedom during the last decades of socialist rule. This microhistorical study refutes simplistic views of the communist past which focus on political figures and events, and instead explores ordinary people and everyday life. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, it considers a broad range of sources, including official Communist Party documents, secret police files, personal memoirs, oral history interviews, ethnographic films, songs, and artistic performances. This book intertwines three narrative threads: that of the visitors (mainly members of the Romanian intelligentsia, young people, and hippies); that of the local inhabitants; and that of 'authority' (local and central state agents actively engaged in surveillance and supervision). In doing so, it interrogates the spectrum of consent/dissent and resistance/collaboration hitherto neglected in scholarship.

History of Romanian Technology and Industry

History of Romanian Technology and Industry
Author: Dorel Banabic
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 327
Release: 2023-12-18
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3031393937

This volume showcases the valuable achievements of the Romanian technology and industry worldwide. It started from the premise that the history of Romanian technique is scarcely known outside the borders of Romania. The main Romanian contributions to the world’s technological heritage are missing, except for a few names in the field of aviation, from the great encyclopedias and dictionaries published worldwide. This is due, among other reasons, to the insufficient promotion in widely spoken languages of the history of Romanian technology. The multidisciplinary approach of the volumes means that the field of technology had to be split into several branches. The present volume includes the following industries: mining, metallurgy, oil, natural gas, machine building, agricultural machinery, military, textiles, and construction. Folk technology, the formation of the industrial system, and mechanics are tackled in separate chapters. For each field, are engaged the collaboration of authors who have already published a history of their field. Certain chapters were drafted with the aid of specialists who have played the part of policy makers in the elaboration of development strategies for Romania and who are familiar not only with the facts and the history of their field, but also with the ‘philosophy’ behind its development.