Artistic Propaganda and damnatio memoriae during the Romanian Communist Regime
Artistic Propaganda and damnatio memoriae during the Romanian Communist Regime

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is that of analyzing the way in which the Communist Regime attempted to erase the memory of all ideas that contravened its political ideology. The party leaders banned art representations and writings that contradicted social-realism, instead they tried to use art to promote their own version of the truth and create new memories. As harsh as their methods might have been, they were not new. They were merely new players in an old game, the game of power that has been played in much the same way for centuries. Through the ages many (if not all) were the emperors, kings and queens who attempted to create a favorable image for themselves through the medium of art. Just as many were those who tried to erase the images and ideologies of their adversaries in order to promote their own. Memory is an essential, yet fragile element of our lives, in constant need of nourishment. Whatever we remember exists and what we don’t disappears. Since images seem to stick in our minds best of all art is one of memory’s most powerful tools. And art appears to have always been in the hands of he who held the power.

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