Andrei Oțetea (–March 21, 1977) was an Austro-Hungarian-born

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n historian. Born in Sibiel, a village in the

Mărginimea Sibiului Mărginimea Sibiului ( hu, Szeben-Hegyalja) is an area which comprises 18 Romanian localities in the south-western part of the Sibiu County, in southern Transylvania, all of them having a unique ethnological, cultural, architectural, and historic ...

region, Oțetea attended the local

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...

school before entering the Hungarian State High School in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

. His pro-Romanian stance caused problems with a history teacher, leading him to transfer to Andrei Șaguna High School in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...

. His classmates included

Lucian Blaga Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He was a commanding personality of the Romanian culture of the interbellum period. Biography Blaga was born on 9 May 1895 ...

Nicolae Colan Nicolae Colan (; November 28, 1893 – April 15, 1967) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian cleric, a metropolitan bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church. From a peasant background, Colan completed high school in Brașov, followed by a period ...

and

Dumitru D. Roșca Dumitru D. Roṣca (January 29, 1895 – August 25, 1980) was a Romanian philosopher, professor and member of the Romanian Academy. Biography Dumitru Roşca attended philosophy classes in Paris at Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (bui ...

.Irimie, p. 9 In autumn 1919, after the

union of Transylvania with Romania The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a national holiday in Roman ...

, Oțetea and Roșca were among a group of young men sent by ASTRA to study in France. Within days, they met a group from

Western Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova), also called Western Moldavia or Romanian Moldavia, is the historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1859, the P ...

, including

Mihai Ralea Mihai Dumitru Ralea (also known as Mihail Ralea, Michel Raléa, or Mihai Rale;Straje, p. 586 May 1, 1896 – August 17, 1964) was a Romanian social scientist, cultural journalist, and political figure. He debuted as an affiliate of Poporanism, th ...

, becoming lifelong friends. Oțetea studied Italian and French at the Sorbonne, also attending Sciences Po. His professors included André Siegfried, Henri Hauvette,

Henri Hauser Henri Hauser (19 July 1866 – 27 May 1946) was a French historian, geographer, and economist. A pioneer in the study of the economic history of the early modern period, he also wrote on contemporary economic issues and held the first chair in e ...

and

Charles Diehl Charles Diehl (; 19 January 1859 – 1 November 1944) was a French historian born in Strasbourg. He was a leading authority on Byzantine art and history. Biography He received his education at the École Normale Supérieure, and later taught cl ...

. He wrote two doctorates on

Francesco Guicciardini Francesco Guicciardini (; 6 March 1483 – 22 May 1540) was an Italian historian and statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. In his masterpiece, ''Th ...

, in 1926 (in French) and 1927 (in Italian).Irimie, p. 12 After returning to Romania in 1927, Oțetea was named to the department of modern and contemporary world history at the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University ( Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia M ...

, eventually rising to full professor. From 1935 to 1947 he was in the university administration. Between 1939 and 1947, he intermittently headed the

Iași National Theatre The Iași National Theatre (or Vasile Alecsandri National Theater; in Romanian: Teatrul Național Vasile Alecsandri) in Iași, Romania, is the oldest national theatre and one of the most prestigious theatrical institutions in Romania. In 1956, ...

. In 1947, shortly before the onset of the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

, he became professor of world history and assistant rector at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

.Irimie, p. 13 His students included Florin Constantiniu, Șerban Papacostea and Dan Berindei.Irimie, p. 14 In 1947–1948, and again from 1956 to 1970, Oțetea headed the Nicolae Iorga History Institute, where he was responsible for the publication of specialized works. He was elected a titular member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

in 1955.Membrii Academiei Române din 1866 până în prezent
at the Romanian Academy site Oțetea died in Paris in March 1977; he was buried in Sibiel a week later.Irimie, p. 15

Notes

References

*Radu Irimie
''Fondul documentar Andrei Oțetea''
Sibiu: Editura Armanis, 2015, ISBN 978-606-8595-39-9 {{DEFAULTSORT:Otetea, Andrei 1894 births 1977 deaths People from Săliște Romanian Austro-Hungarians Andrei Șaguna National College (Brașov) alumni University of Paris alumni Academic staff of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Academic staff of the University of Bucharest 20th-century Romanian historians Romanian theatre managers and producers Titular members of the Romanian Academy