Studii şi materiale de istorie contemporană (SMIC)
Studies and Materials of Contemporary History
Publishing House: Institutul de Istorie Nicolae Iorga
Subject(s): History
Frequency: 1 issues
Print ISSN: 0515-1678
Status: Active
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Articles list
Dezertarea în străinătate în timpul Primului Război Mondial. Studiu de caz
Dezertarea în străinătate în timpul Primului Război Mondial. Studiu de caz
(Desertions in the Romanian Army during World War I. A Case Study)
- Publication: (22/22/2023)
- Author(s): Gabriela Dristaru
- Contributor(s):
- Language: Romanian
- Subject(s): History, Military history, Political history, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today), Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919)
- Issue: 22/22/2023
- Page Range: 5-16
- No. of Pages: 12
- Keywords: desertion; World War I; Romanian Army; military justice; Court Martial;
- Summary/Abstract: The article examines the topic of desertion in the Romanian army during World War I. Given the scarcity of studies in the field, the scope of the subject, and the early stage of the research, I chose to address the cases of desertion to a foreign country. This was a crime with a lower frequency and, therefore, easier to document. By presenting several examples, I examine who were the deserters, and, above all, what were the reasons behind their decision. The main sources for the contribution are the documents of the law enforcement institutions and those of the Courts Martial. I therefore also explore how the Romanian authorities managed the problem of desertion. However, I do not provide definitive answers on the topic. I rather propose working hypotheses and scenarios, necessary for further research and analysis of the subject.
- Price: 4.50 €
Evadări ale prizonierilor de război români din captivitatea Puterilor Centrale
Evadări ale prizonierilor de război români din captivitatea Puterilor Centrale
(Romanian POWs and their Escapes from the Internment Camps of Central Powers)
- Publication: (22/22/2023)
- Author(s): RADU TUDORANCEA
- Contributor(s):
- Language: Romanian
- Subject(s): History, Diplomatic history, Military history, Political history, Recent History (1900 till today), WW II and following years (1940 - 1949)
- Issue: 22/22/2023
- Page Range: 17-42
- No. of Pages: 26
- Keywords: prisoners of war; internment camps; World War I; Romania; Central Powers;
- Summary/Abstract: The present paper focuses on a topic mostly overlooked by the Romanian historiography about World War I: the cases of escape among the Romanian POWs held by the Central Powers in various internment camps. The article examines the context, the nature and the reasons of these escapes involving different individuals, from ordinary soldiers to officers. It argues that the motivations of the POWs ranged from struggling for survival because of extreme internment conditions (famine, poor dwellings, or exhausting labor) to patriotism and sheer bravery. The successful cases reflected rigorous preparation and ingenuity on the part of the fugitives, as well as other factors, such as pure luck. The escapees were able to provide first-hand information to the Romanian authorities, not only on their captivity, but also on the enemy (e.g., number of troops, types of weapons, or the morale of the ordinary people).
- Price: 4.50 €
Şcolile normale agricole şi dezvoltare rurală în România interbelică
Şcolile normale agricole şi dezvoltare rurală în România interbelică
(Normal Agricultural Schools and Rural Development in Interwar Romania)
- Publication: (22/22/2023)
- Author(s): Camelia Zavarache
- Contributor(s):
- Language: Romanian
- Subject(s): History, Economic history, Local History / Microhistory, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today), Interwar Period (1920 - 1939)
- Issue: 22/22/2023
- Page Range: 43-69
- No. of Pages: 27
- Keywords: normal schools; primary school teachers; agricultural studies; interwar Romania; Dimitrie Gusti;
- Summary/Abstract: This article examines the activities of two normal schools with agricultural profile in Grădiştea, Vlaşca County and Caracal, Romanaţi County. The institutions were created by Constantin Angelescu, the Ministry of National Education, at the end of the summer of 1937. Their founding showed the sense of urgency displayed by the liberal government regarding the improved teaching of agricultural studies in normal schools as well as the level of agricultural practice among young teachers. The schools, both experimental endeavours, had, according to documents in the archive of the Ministry of National Education, contrasting fates: the one in Grădiştea was successful; the other, in Caracal, was a bitter disappointment. However, I argue that their activities were significantly marked by the establishment of King Carol II’s authoritarian regime in February 1938. In the summer of that year, Dimitrie Gusti’s close collaborators took over the leadership of Ministry of Education. Gusti’s ideas about rural development shaped the subsequent legislation regarding primary and normal schools; as a consequence, both institutions were disbanded.
- Price: 4.50 €
Mihail Ralea – ministru al Muncii în guvernele dictaturii regale (martie 1938 – iulie 1940)
Mihail Ralea – ministru al Muncii în guvernele dictaturii regale (martie 1938 – iulie 1940)
(Mihail Ralea – Minister of Labor during the Royal Dictatorship (March 1938 – July 1940))
- Publication: (22/22/2023)
- Author(s): Cristian Vasile
- Contributor(s):
- Language: Romanian
- Subject(s): History, Cultural history, History of ideas, Political history, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today), Special Historiographies:, Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism
- Issue: 22/22/2023
- Page Range: 70-97
- No. of Pages: 28
- Keywords: Mihail Ralea; labor politics; working class; Carol II; corporatism;
- Summary/Abstract: Very few studies have dealt with Mihail Ralea’s activity as Minister of Labor. Scholars mostly focused on his involvement in the creation of the movement “Muncă şi voe bună“ [Work and Good Will]. Several authors who explored the history of the late interwar period referred to M. Ralea’s role as prominent member (even founder) of the National Renaissance Front, the only legal political party during King Carol II’s dictatorship. In contrast, the article examines M. Ralea’s activity by tying it to a variety of topics pertinent to labor politics: the definition of industrial work as a matter of national security; the search for social harmony in a state that invoked “workers’ justice“, but relied on big industrialists and financiers close to the dictator king; the infiltration of the working class by the fascist Legionary Movement; corporatism; the evolution of the „Work and Good Will“ movement; the establishment of the Guilds; and, the nationalist drift within the Ministry of Labor under Ralea, previously perceived as a center-left politician. I also examine the importance of M. Ralea’s main collaborator at the Ministry of Labor: Stavri C. Cunescu. The contribution relies on the following sources: Ralea’s and Cunescu’s files at the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives (CNSAS); material drafted by various informative-repressive bodies; relevant documents from the Ministry of Labor collection at the Central National Historical Archives; and, specialized publications from the late 1930s.
- Price: 4.50 €
Evoluţia instituţiei şi ştiinţei arhivistice româneşti în timpul directoratului lui Aurelian Sacerdoţeanu (1938-1953)
Evoluţia instituţiei şi ştiinţei arhivistice româneşti în timpul directoratului lui Aurelian Sacerdoţeanu (1938-1953)
(The State Archives and the Evolution of Romanian Archival Science during the Directorship of Aurelian Sacerdoţeanu (1938-1953))
- Publication: (22/22/2023)
- Author(s): Dana Costin
- Contributor(s):
- Language: Romanian
- Subject(s): History, Social Sciences, Education, Cultural history, Recent History (1900 till today), Special Historiographies:, State/Government and Education, Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism
- Issue: 22/22/2023
- Page Range: 98-114
- No. of Pages: 17
- Keywords: Aurelian Sacerdoţeanu; State Archives; archival science; modernization; Institute for Archival Science;
- Summary/Abstract: The article explores the role played by Aurelian Sacerdoţeanu in the organization, management, and modernization of the State Archives. It also shows how these processes triggered the consolidation of archival science in Romania. First, I analyze the administrative activity of Aurelian Sacerdoţeanu at the helm of the State Archives. Second, I address his scientific work and the contributions he made to Romanian archival science. The historical period under consideration (1938-1953) was marked by major political and social changes. Thus, the study of Sacerdoţeanu’s administrative and academic work offers valuable insight on the broader transformation of the historical field during these turbulent years.
- Price: 4.50 €
„Diplomaţia conferinţelor” sau intelectualizarea politicii externe a RPR sub regimul lui Gheorghiu-Dej
„Diplomaţia conferinţelor” sau intelectualizarea politicii externe a RPR sub regimul lui Gheorghiu-Dej
(„Conference Diplomacy”: The Intellectualization of Romanian Foreign Policy during Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej’s Regime)
- Publication: (22/22/2023)
- Author(s): Răzvan Pârâianu
- Contributor(s):
- Language: Romanian
- Subject(s): History, Diplomatic history, Political history, Recent History (1900 till today), Special Historiographies:, Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Cold-War History
- Issue: 22/22/2023
- Page Range: 115-143
- No. of Pages: 29
- Keywords: cultural diplomacy; peaceful coexistence; national Stalinism; post-Stalinism; Romania;
- Summary/Abstract: Once Romania came under the influence of the Soviet Union, the new regime established in 1948 was integrated into the diplomatic system created by the Kremlin. The party-state in Bucharest participated in youth festivals, the world women's movement, intellectuals' conferences, the Christian Peace Movement, and particularly the World Peace Congress. All of these events served as propaganda instruments to discourage a more assertive Western anti-Sovietism. Since 1954, Khrushchev initiated a shift in Soviet policy, one focused on peaceful coexistence rather than confrontation between the two formerly irreconcilable political camps. The Romanian People's Republic, along with other state socialist countries, emulated this novel approach in Moscow. The article explores the impact of the new course on Romania’s cultural diplomacy in the late 1950s and the early 1960s. To establish credible diplomatic efforts, there was a need to rethink socialist culture and revalue the pre-communist heritage. This new culture was based on the Leninist principle of “the new culture, national in form, socialist in content”. It signaled that the regime had moved beyond de-Stalinization, and now possessed internal legitimacy that no longer relied on the presence of Soviet troops in the country. However, this socialist culture drew inspiration from postwar autochthonized Bolshevik (Stalinist) nationalism. The medieval tradition rediscovered by Soviet cultural studies (such as Dmitry Likhachev, Viktor Lazarev, or Boris Rybakov) fueled anti-Soviet sentiments in Bucharest, leading, by 1964, to a significant distancing from Moscow. This article traces the diplomatic efforts of the Romanian People's Republic during this period of latent learning of the new rules of the political game within the socialist camp.
- Price: 4.50 €
Combaterea corupţiei prin presiune şi represiune – practici şi norme ale regimului comunist din România în anii ’70
Combaterea corupţiei prin presiune şi represiune – practici şi norme ale regimului comunist din România în anii ’70
(Anti-corruption through Pressure and Repression: Practices and Norms of the Romanian Communist Regime during the 1970s)
- Publication: (22/22/2023)
- Author(s): Cosmin Popa
- Contributor(s):
- Language: Romanian
- Subject(s): History, Economic history, Political history, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today), Post-War period (1950 - 1989)
- Issue: 22/22/2023
- Page Range: 144-160
- No. of Pages: 17
- Keywords: society; repression; Nicolae Ceauşescu; corruption; economy;
- Summary/Abstract: The beginning of the 1970s was a landmark moment in the evolution of the communist regime in Romania on several levels. A crucial one was the significant change of emphasis in the regime's anti-corruption policies. Nicolae Ceauşescu shifted the pressure from the party and bureaucratic apparatus to the entire society. The aim was not only to limit the economic effects of criminal activity but to also make political control more effective. As significant changes to the country’s economy loomed, the regime needed the full support of the party apparatus and the repressive system, both of whom would hold crucial roles in the implementation of these new economic policies. Ceauşescu carefully transformed party structures into oversight bodies directly subordinate to the Secretary-General. In parallel, he greatly enhanced the involvement of the secret police in the field. Nicolae Ceauşescu thus ensured both his total ability to manipulate the entire system and an important lever of control over the economy and society as a whole. For a while, these changes somewhat limited the economic effects of corruption. Yet, above all, they prevented any vernacular liberalization tendencies that could jeopardize the new direction of the regime.
- Price: 4.50 €
Les régimes mémoriels postcommunistes et les monuments bucarestois
Les régimes mémoriels postcommunistes et les monuments bucarestois
(The Post-communist Memorial Regimes and the Bucharest monuments)
- Publication: (22/22/2023)
- Author(s): Claudia-Florentina Dobre
- Contributor(s):
- Language: French
- Subject(s): History, Anthropology, Social Sciences, Cultural history, Sociology, Local History / Microhistory, Oral history, Political history, Recent History (1900 till today), Culture and social structure , Sociology of Culture, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Present Times (2010 - today), Identity of Collectives
- Issue: 22/22/2023
- Page Range: 161-180
- No. of Pages: 20
- Keywords: monuments; post-communism; anti-communism; neo-communists; heritage;
- Summary/Abstract: „Crossroads images”, as Régine Robin called them, monuments are central to processes of appropriation or disavowal of the past, while preserving their status as symbols of identity for individuals, various groups, a city, and the nation. They are concrete images of the relation to the past of the community that builds and, sometimes, destroys them. They can also be vandalized when changes in society occur, especially during revolutions and coups d’état. After the fall of the communism, the fate of the monuments built during the old regime can be broken down into two contrasting categories: those illustrating communist ideological figures and symbols were dismantled; those representing national heroes, however, remained standing, becoming objects of new politics of memory. Furthermore, new personalities and symbols joined existing monuments as key individuals for post-communist national memory were commemorated: anticommunist fighters, members of the Romanian royal family, or interwar politicians. The accession to the European Union was also inscribed in Romania’s memorialization practices, as monuments dedicated to leading European figures have been erected.
- Price: 4.50 €
In winter with Dracula. Turişti britanici în România socialistă
In winter with Dracula. Turişti britanici în România socialistă
(In Winter with Dracula. British Tourists in Socialist Romania)
- Publication: (22/22/2023)
- Author(s): Mioara Anton
- Contributor(s):
- Language: Romanian
- Subject(s): History, Economy, Diplomatic history, Economic history, Political history, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Marketing / Advertising, Tourism
- Issue: 22/22/2023
- Page Range: 181-200
- No. of Pages: 20
- Keywords: Socialist Romania; British tourists; holiday club; economic scarcity; Nicolae Ceauşescu;
- Summary/Abstract: In the mid-1960s, as the regime in Bucharest re-established economic and political relations with Great Britain, it also invested significantly in the development of tourism. Socialist Romania’s hard currency needs forced the communist leadership to find multiple ways to obtain it: tourism was one of the available solutions. Initially, Romanian offers were successful on the British market. During the 1970s, the number of British tourists in Romania increased considerably. They visited either through travel agencies or as private holidaymakers. Figures, however, began to drop when the advertisements proved contrary to the real conditions in the country. Inadequate accommodation services, poor restaurant menus, limited leisure facilities, regime restrictions on travel to and from the country, in addition to rationing and shortages, pushed British tourists into abandoning their holidays and opting for other destinations.
- Price: 4.50 €
Dezintegrarea URSS în istorigrafia rusă: impactul factorului politic
Dezintegrarea URSS în istorigrafia rusă: impactul factorului politic
(The Disintegration of the USSR in Russian Historiography: The Impact of Politics)
- Publication: (22/22/2023)
- Author(s): Simion Gheorghiu
- Contributor(s):
- Language: Romanian
- Subject(s): History, History of ideas, Political history, Recent History (1900 till today), Special Historiographies:, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Present Times (2010 - today), History of Communism, Cold-War History, Post-Communist Transformation
- Issue: 22/22/2023
- Page Range: 201-211
- No. of Pages: 11
- Keywords: End of the Soviet Union; historiography; Mikhail Gorbachev; Vladimir Putin; Boris Yeltsin;
- Summary/Abstract: More than 30 years after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, there are still debates in the Russian Federation about whether the USSR collapsed (in Russian, raspalsea) or whether it was destroyed (in Russian, razvalili). Accepting one version or the other is trivially simple. So is rejecting them. To admit the destruction thesis is to fall for conspiracy theories, quite widespread in Russia: allegedly, organizations, such as the CIA, or individuals, such as M.S. Gorbachev or B.N. Yeltsin, deliberately imploded the Union. Relatedly, acknowledging that the USSR collapsed all by itself, for objective historical reasons, is seen as neglecting the role of personalities and their ability to react to the challenges of the times in which they lived. The article highlights the most widespread views in Russian historiography about on this debate. It also explores how political dynamics affected such historiographical discussions.
- Price: 4.50 €
NOTE ŞI RECENZII
NOTE ŞI RECENZII
(Notes and Reviews)
- Publication: (22/22/2023)
- Author(s): Camelia Zavarache, RADU TUDORANCEA, Claudia-Florentina Dobre, Cristian Vasile, Gabriela Dristaru, Mircea-Cristian Ghenghea
- Contributor(s):
- Language: Romanian
- Subject(s): Essay|Book Review |Scientific Life, Cultural Essay, Scientific Life, Book-Review
- Issue: 22/22/2023
- Page Range: 212-254
- No. of Pages: 32
- Keywords: Notes; Reviews; History;
- Summary/Abstract: Review of: Alexandru Mamina, Cultură sistemică şi antisistemică. Literatura şi arta în societatea românească (1829-1989), Târgovişte, Editura Cetatea de Scaun, 2023, 232 p. Gheorghe I. Brătianu, Chestiunea Mării Negre, ediţie îngrijită de Victor Spinei şi Ionel Cândea, studiu introductiv de Victor Spinei, Bucureşti, Editura Litera, 2022, 960+48 p Peter Ackroyd, Londra. Biografia unui oraş, Bucureşti, Editura Trei, 2023, 670 p Catherine Grace Katz, Fiicele Ialtei. Familiile Churchill, Roosevelt şi Harriman: o poveste de dragoste şi război, Bucureşti, Editura Trei, 2023, 416 p. Maurizio Serra, Misterul Mussolini. Omul. Provocările. Eşecul, Bucureşti, Editura Trei, 2023, 412 p Émile Picot, Secretarul Principelui Carol. Corespondenţă de la Bucureşti (1866-1867), ediţie de Cécile Folschweiller, Bucureşti, Humanitas, 2023, 371 p I love you, My Marie. Scrisorile lui Barbu Ştirbey către Regina Maria, traducere din limba franceză de Carmen Dobre, ediţie îngrijită, note comentarii şi dosar iconografic de Cătălin Strat, Bucureşti, Editura Corint, 2023, 477 p Ştefan Zeletin, Retragerea. Povestea unui dezastru (octombrie-decembrie 1916), Bucureşti, Editura Humanitas, 2023, 218 p Constantin Diamandi, ministru al României la Petrograd, vol. III, Corespondenţă diplomatică: 1917-1918, Arhivele Naţionale ale României, Bucureşti, 2022, 723 p. Theodora-Eliza Văcărescu, Zoltán Rostás (coordonatori), Mărire şi decădere. Sociologia gustiană în context central-est-european după Marele Război, Bucureşti, Editura Eikon, 2022, 323 p. Politicile umorului de extremă dreaptă şi războiul imaginilor din România, Cosmin Nasui editor coordonator, Adrian Cioflângă, Diana Mărgărit, Cosmin Nasui, Dodo Niţă, Victor Sămărtinean, Cristian Vasile, Voluntari, PostModernism Museum, 2022, 192 p. Leny Caler, Artistul şi oglinda: roman, cuvânt înainte de B. Elvin, addenda de Geo Şerban, Petreşti, Publisol, 2022, 335 p Monica Ciobanu, Repression, Resistance and Collaboration in Stalinist Romania 1944-1964: Post-communist Remembering, London and New York, Routledge, 2022, 232 p Eugeniu Bucheru, Istorii nescrise, infamii neprescrise. Amintiri despre război, captivitatea în URSS şi viaţa în comunism, introducere şi note de Constantin Ardeleanu, ediţie îngrijită de Valentina Sandu-Dediu, Bucureşti, Editura Humanitas, 2019, 432 p Dacoromania Litteraria, vol. 10, 2023, număr tematic: Récit de vie féminin dans l’Europe de l’Est et du Sud-Est/Women’s Life Writing in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, editat de Andrada Fătu-Tutoveanu, Laura Cernat şi Bavjola Shatro, 307 p Diane Plessia, Cronica Cilienilor. Povestea unei familii boiereşti 1942-1977, Bucureşti, Humanitas, 2023, 172 p. Tineri şi tineret în România socialistă. Identitate, ideologie şi dinamici socio-culturale, Mioara Anton, Bogdan Cristian Iacob, Cristian Vasile (coordonatori), Târgovişte, Editura Cetatea de Scaun, 2022, 316 p. Liliana Corobca (ed.), Panorama postcomunismului în România, Iaşi, Editura Polirom, 2022, 1052 p Carol Iancu, Alexandru-Florin Platon (coordonatori), 80 de ani de la Pogromul de la Iaşi şi Holocaustul (Şoahul) din România, Iaşi, Editura Universităţii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, 2022, 605 p
