The National Popular Party ( ro, Partidul Național Popular, PNP) was an
antifascist
Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
political party in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, founded during World War II as the underground Union of Patriots (''Uniunea Patrioților'', UP). The latter had defined itself as a spontaneous movement of resistance to the dictatorial regime of
Ion Antonescu, but was largely known as a front for the illegal
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that woul ...
(PCdR, later PCR). Its founders—
Dumitru Bagdasar,
Gheorghe Vlădescu-Răcoasa
Gheorghe Vlădescu-Răcoasa (October 22, 1895–December 17, 1989) was a Romanian sociologist, journalist, left-wing politician, and diplomat.
Biography Origins and work with Gusti
Born in Răcoasa, Vrancea County, his parents were Constanti ...
,
Simion Stoilow
Simion Stoilow or Stoilov ( – 4 April 1961) was a Romanian mathematician, creator of the Romanian school of complex analysis, and author of over 100 publications.
Biography
He was born in Bucharest, and grew up in Craiova. His father, Colonel ...
—were closely cooperating with PCdR men, but also with liberal opposition forces. Repressed by the authorities, the UP made a comeback after the pro-
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
August 23 Coup of 1944, when it endured as a small ally of the communists—mostly controlled directly by them, but sometimes rebellious.
Defining itself as a party for the middle classes, the PNP sought to attract into its ranks both nationalists and ethnic minorities, and was used by the Communist Party as a means of weakening the traditional parties. From 1945, it registered its most significant successes among the repenting
fascists
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and th ...
, absorbing into its ranks former members of the
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strongly ...
. The UP and PNP were instrumental in helping the PCR reach some of its main objectives, including the overthrow of
Nicolae Rădescu
Nicolae Rădescu (; 30 March 1874 – 16 May 1953) was a Romanian army officer and political figure. He was the last pre-Communist Romania, communist rule List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister of Romania, serving from 7 December 1944 ...
and the hastening of
land reform
Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
.
The PNP was nominally loyal to
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Michael I Michael I may refer to:
* Pope Michael I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in 743–767
* Michael I Rhangabes, Byzantine Emperor (died in 844)
* Michael I Cerularius, Patriarch Michael I of Constantin ...
, but had no longer a part to play in decision-making when Michael was overthrown on the closing days of 1947. The party itself survived the
1948 election, but was dissolved by its leaders in early 1949, reportedly under pressure from the new government. Its former activists were either integrated into the structures of the
communist state
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 Comint ...
or repressed and, in some cases, imprisoned by the latter.
History
Wartime opposition
The UP's roots were planted in a semi-clandestine intellectual movement that opposed Antonescu's regime in general and, in particular, its support for
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the other
Axis Powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
, and its commitment to war against the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. According to its own records, the UP emerged clandestinely in early 1942, centered on the activities of three left-leaning intellectuals: the brain surgeon Bagdasar, the sociologist Vlădescu-Răcoasa, and the mathematician Stoilow. As listed by historian Corneliu Crăciun, the group's explicit goals were: "sabotaging the war industry, resisting the dispatch of men on
the anti-Soviet front, organizing partisans into detachments, annulling the
Vienna Diktat, peace with the USA, England and the USSR." Vlădescu-Răcoasa had a background in politics, initially as an affiliate of the
Democratic Nationalists, then as an internationalist and antifascist with strong
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
leanings. He had also been registered as a member of the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
(PSDR). Bagdasar was educated abroad, where he became inspired by
American progressivism
Progressivism in the United States is a political philosophy and reform movement in the United States advocating for policies that are generally considered left-wing, left-wing populist, libertarian socialist, social democratic, and environmenta ...
,
[ Pavel Țugui]
"George Ivașcu, cronicar de război, la ziarul ''Vremea'' (1941-1944). II"
in ''România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared on ...
'', Nr. 18/2013 while Stoilow had frequented meetings of pro-Allied intellectuals, some of whom supported the mainstream
National Peasants' Party
The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc, or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It w ...
(PNȚ).
One of the first notable actions of the UP was publishing, starting with January 1943, the illegal newspaper ''
România Liberă
''România liberă'' ("") is a Romanian daily newspaper founded in 1943 and currently based in Bucharest. A newspaper of the same name also existed between 1877 and 1888.
History and profile
The name ''România liberă'' was first used by a dai ...
'',
[Crăciun, p. 299] later joined by another antifascist organ, ''Lupta Patriotică''. The former was reportedly designed to appear in September–November 1942, but was discovered by the ''
Siguranța
Siguranța was the generic name for the successive secret police services in the Kingdom of Romania. The official title of the organization changed throughout its history, with names including Directorate of the Police and General Safety ( ro, Di ...
'' police and could reemerge only in January of the next year. According to various accounts, ''România Liberă'' was managed from
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
by
George Ivașcu
George Ivașcu (most common rendition of Gheorghe I. Ivașcu;"Partea I B: Dispozițiuni și publicațiuni care nu au caracter normativ: Deciziuni. Ministerul Informațiilor", in ''Monitorul Oficial'', Issue 112/1947, p. 3980 July 22, 1911 – ...
, on his spare time from editing the pro-Antonescu gazette ''
Vremea'' and with only marginal interventions from the PCdR.
Party historians claimed that the newspaper "kept the popular masses informed" on the growth of resistance, whereas Crăciun notes that its circulation was exceedingly small. However, historian Radu Păiușan claims that the UP's history can be traced back to a propaganda operation carried out later by Romanian communists exiled on Soviet territory: in January 1943,
Leonte Răutu
Leonte Răutu (until 1945 Lev Nikolayevich (Nicolaievici) Oigenstein; February 28, 1910 – 1993) was a Bessarabian-born Romanian communist activist and propagandist. He was chief ideologist of the Romanian Communist Party ("Workers' Party") ...
supposedly created the newspaper ''România Liberă'', and a radio station of the same name, with which the Soviets intended to give the impression of a rising antifascist movement in Romania.
PCdR contacts
Several authors trace the original meeting between the UP and the PCdR to mid-1943. They refer to either the turn of tides on the front, after
Stalingrad
Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...
,
[Țugui (2009), p. 48] or to involvement, in 1943, of PCdR men
Constantin Agiu
Constantin Agiu (November 5, 1891, Dolj County – February 19, 1961, Gura Humorului) was a Romanian Communist politician; he was also President of the Great National Assembly, the unicameral legislature of the Romanian People's Republic.
Bio ...
and
Petre Constantinescu-Iași
Petre Constantinescu-Iași (25 November 1892 – 1 December 1977) was a Romanian historian, academic and communist politician.
Biography
Early life and education
Petre Constantinescu was born in the city of Iași, in a modest family of teache ...
, who took it upon themselves to reorganize the Union from November 1943.
[ Paltin Sturdza]
"6 martie 1945: Guvern general Avramescu sau dr. Petru Groza?"
in ''Historia'', April 2014 The two were subsequently joined by other communists or communist sympathizers, including
Mihai Levente,
Mihai Magheru, and
Stanciu Stoian. Vlădescu-Răcoasa was the first person identified as leader of the UP,
while Agiu was designated Caretaker; Constantinescu-Iași and Bagdasar were tasked with co-opting intellectuals, while Levente served as the administrator and Magheru directed work in the provinces.
[Bulgaru, p. XXXIII] Nicu Rădescu, the estranged and ill-reputed son of General
Nicolae Rădescu
Nicolae Rădescu (; 30 March 1874 – 16 May 1953) was a Romanian army officer and political figure. He was the last pre-Communist Romania, communist rule List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister of Romania, serving from 7 December 1944 ...
,
[ Oana Demetriade]
"Fiul împotriva tatălui. Securistul Nicu Rădescu vs. primul ministrul Nicolae Rădescu"
in ''Revista 22
''Revista 22'' (''22 Magazine'') is a Romanian weekly magazine, issued by the Group for Social Dialogue and focused mainly on politics and culture.
History and profile
''Revista 22'' was started in 1990. The first edition of the magazine was prin ...
'', Nr. 1232, October 2013 was also closely cooperating with both the PCdR and the UP.
[ Mihai Burcea, Sidonia Bogdan]
"Mărturiile unui ilegalist comunist: unde conspirau să pună mână pe puterea de la București"
in ''România Liberă
''România liberă'' ("") is a Romanian daily newspaper founded in 1943 and currently based in Bucharest. A newspaper of the same name also existed between 1877 and 1888.
History and profile
The name ''România liberă'' was first used by a dai ...
'', July 1, 2013
Under this guidance, the UP contacted a group of high-ranking soldiers who were seeking to depose Antonescu, the most active of whom was
Gheorghe Avramescu
Gheorghe Avramescu (26 January 1884 – 3 March 1945) was a Romanian Lieutenant General during World War II. In 1945, he was arrested by the NKVD on the Slovakian front and died in custody the next day.
Early life
Avramescu was born Botoșani ...
—who was at once an antifascist and anticommunist.
The UP also left a historical record as a member of the PCdR's Patriotic Antihitlerite Front, which also included the revived
Ploughmen's Front
The Ploughmen's Front ( ro, Frontul Plugarilor) was a Romanian left-wing agrarian-inspired political organisation of ploughmen, founded at Deva in 1933 and led by Petru Groza. At its peak in 1946, the Front had over 1 million members.
Histor ...
and two other small political groups: the
Socialist Peasants' Party
The Socialist Peasants' Party (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Partidul Socialist Țărănesc'', or ''Partidul Socialist Țărănist'', PSȚ) was a short-lived political party in Romania, presided over by the academic Mihai Ralea. Created nominally ...
, the
Hungarian People's Union
The Hungarian People's Union ( hu, Magyar Népi Szövetség, MNSZ; ro, Uniunea Populară Maghiară, UPM) was a left-wing political party active in Romania between 1934 and 1953 that claimed to represent the Hungarian minority in Romania, Hungarian ...
(MADOSZ). The association pact was sealed in August 1943, after a secretive meeting in which the UP was represented by Bagdasar and an N. Dinulescu. Outside of the Front, the UP still maintained links with other opposition groups, and was especially close to left-wing Social Democrats (
Ion Pas
Ion Pas (born Ioan M. Pascu; October 6, 1895 – May 20, 1974) was a Romanian novelist, translator and left-wing politician.
Born in Bucharest, his parents were Marin Pascu, a small-time craftsman, and his wife Maria (''née'' Ispas). He attended ...
,
Ștefan Voitec
Ștefan Voitec (also rendered Ștefan Voitech,''Politics and Political Parties'', pp. 264, 554 Stepan Voitek;V. Kolesnik, "Spioonide Internatsionaal (Trotskistid faschistlikkude luureasutuste tegevuses)", in ''Edasi'', Issue 105/1937, p. 2 June 1 ...
,
Theodor Iordăchescu,
Leon Ghelerter
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fr ...
). Throughout 1943, Magheru, as UP representative, held talks with the PNȚ, aiming to "create a broad coalition of the democratic and patriotic forces toward bring down the Antonescu regime".
Subsequently, the UP's Central Committee took residence in the same building as the PCdR archive, at the Wexler residence on Crângului Street 15, Bucharest.
It soon reported having some thousands of members of all ethnic backgrounds, and representation in all the main cities,
with most active cells in university towns and among schoolteachers' unions.
[Crăciun, p. 300] It also touted its presence among the workers, especially those at the
Romanian Railway Company, whom it encouraged on sabotage missions. According to official records, the first registered members also included
Iorgu Iordan
Iorgu Iordan (; also known as ''Jorgu Jordan'' or ''Iorgu Jordan''; –September 20, 1986) was a Romanian linguist, philologist, diplomat, journalist, and left-wing agrarian, later communist, politician. The author of works on a large variety of t ...
and
Ștefan Vencov, with outside sympathizers such as
Zevedei Barbu,
Constantin Balmuș,
Eduard
Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories.
Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Following the succ ...
and
Florica Mezincescu,
Mircea Florian
Mircea Florian (; April 1, 1888 – October 31, 1960) was a Romanian philosopher and translator. Active mainly during the interwar period, he was noted as one of the leading proponents of rationalism, opposing it to the '' Trăirist'' philosophy o ...
,
David Prodan,
Teodor Bugnariu,
Alexandru Graur
Alexandru Graur (; July 9, 1900 – July 9, 1988) was a Romanian linguist.
Born into a Jewish family in Botoșani, Graur graduated from the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest and the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris (1 ...
,
Constantin Daicoviciu
Constantin Daicoviciu (; March 1, 1898 – May 27, 1973) was a Romanian historian and Archaeology, archaeologist, professor at the Babeș-Bolyai University, University of Cluj, and titular member of the Romanian Academy.
He was born in Constant ...
,
Constantin I. Parhon,
Bazil Munteanu
Bazil may refer to:
Given name:
*Bazil Ashmawy, Irish radio and television personality who appears on Raidió Teilifís Éireann
* Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer
* Bazil Broketail, 1992 fantasy novel by author Christopher Rowley
* B ...
, and
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 ...
. Another version suggests that Zevedei Barbu, who was also a PCdR man, was helped by
Alexandru Roșca with establishing a UP nucleus at
Cluj University
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
, image_skyline=
, subdivision_type1 = County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Status
, subdivision_name2 = County seat
, settlement_type = City
, le ...
(which had relocated to
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 ...
). All these records obscure the participation of the PNȚ which, through
Ioan Hudiță
Ioan is a variation on the name John found in Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Welsh (), and Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The female equivalent in Romanian and Bulgarian is Ioana. In Russia, the name Ioann is usually reserved for the clergy ...
, also claimed to have established this intellectual opposition movement.
1943–1944: repression and resurgence
In May 1943, ''Siguranța'' had captured an UP man, the statistician Mircea Biji, who was interrogated and agreed to cooperate, leading the authorities into UP safe houses.
[ Laurențiu Ungureanu]
"Apostolii lui Stalin: Petru Groza, ultimul burghez. De la tentativa eșuată de suicid la idila cu Elena Lupescu și 'divorțul decent şi elegant de monarhie'"
in ''Adevărul
''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published dur ...
'', October 27, 2014 Later that year, the authorities issued an arrest warrant for psychologist
Mihai Beniuc
Mihai Beniuc (; 20 November 1907 – 24 June 1988) was a Romanian socialist realist poet, dramatist, and novelist.
He was born in 1907 in Sebiș, Arad County (at the time in Austria-Hungary), and attended the Moise Nicoară High School in Arad ...
, identifying him as another UP liaison—in fact, Beniuc had yet to join the group, and was largely unaware of its activities. On December 15, the secret police organized its sting operation. At Crângului, it chanced upon a trove of PCdR documents, filed by
Remus Koffler, with incriminating evidence about the UP. Several were arrested, including Vlădescu-Răcoasa and Magheru.
The landowner
Petru Groza
Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Commu ...
, founder of the Ploughmen's Front, was also picked up, the documents having revealed that he was sponsoring the UP.
In all, fifty men and women suspected of UP membership or sympathies were subjected to a mass trial in first two months of 1944. While Groza's release was ordered by Antonescu himself,
Vlădescu-Răcoasa found himself sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. The court found him guilty of "endangering State order and security".
Similar sentences were handed to Zevedei Barbu, to Magheru, and to Magheru's wife Anca.
Bagdasar, by then also a member of the PCdR, took charge of the UP,
with Agiu taking a Central Committee seat. Before April 1944, the movement was involved in negotiations with the PNȚ and the PCdR-backed left-leaning circles of
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
. Together, they wrote an open letter of protest to Antonescu, asking for Romania's immediate withdrawal from the Eastern Front.
On May 24, 1944, the Union also entered a "National-Democratic Coalition", alongside the
National Liberal Party–Tătărescu
The National Liberal Party–Tătărescu ( ro, Partidul Național Liberal-Tătărescu, PNL-Tătărescu) was a liberal and social liberal political party in the Kingdom of Romania and then in the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was established ...
, Groza's Front, the PSDR, the PSȚ, MADOSZ, and
Petre Topa's
Democratic Nationalists.
In March 1944, the PCdR had joined a pan-resistance National Democratic Bloc (BND), which also included the PNȚ, PSDR, and the
National Liberal Party (PNL). Together with
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Michael I Michael I may refer to:
* Pope Michael I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in 743–767
* Michael I Rhangabes, Byzantine Emperor (died in 844)
* Michael I Cerularius, Patriarch Michael I of Constantin ...
and his court, the group carried out the
August 23 Coup, resulting in Antonescu's arrest and the unilateral cession of war with the Allies. Just one day after the coup, Vlădescu-Răcoasa was freed and resumed political activities in the open, introduced by the party press as "the combatant for Romanian freedom." On August 31, UP members were on hand at the rally held to greet the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
upon its entrance into Bucharest,
[ ]Alexandra Bellow
Alexandra Bellow (née Bagdasar; previously Ionescu Tulcea; born 30 August 1935) is a Romanian-American mathematician, who has made contributions to the fields of ergodic theory, probability and analysis.
Biography
Bellow was born in Bucharest ...
"Asclepios versus Hades în România (II)"
in ''Revista 22
''Revista 22'' (''22 Magazine'') is a Romanian weekly magazine, issued by the Group for Social Dialogue and focused mainly on politics and culture.
History and profile
''Revista 22'' was started in 1990. The first edition of the magazine was prin ...
'', Nr. 755, September 2004 the effective start of
Soviet occupation
During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...
.
By October 1944, when it had established chapters in all of
sectors of Bucharest
The Municipality of Bucharest (the capital of Romania) is divided into 6 administrative units, named sectors (''sectoare'' in Romanian), each of which has their own mayor and council, and has responsibility over local affairs, such as secondary st ...
,
the UP had moved its headquarters on Spătarului Street. This was a former hospice of the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
, evacuated during the street fighting, and reportedly vandalized "beyond belief" by the UP's own members.
[ Alexandru George]
"Revenind la vechi cuvinte noi"
in ''România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared on ...
'', Nr. 8/2011 While assuming a public face, the Union had to abandon its political newspaper: ''România Liberă'' was seized by the PCdR, and its first issue of this new series, presumed lost, was falsified by the PCR after 1972.
[ Lavinia Betea, Cristina Vohn]
"Inedit. Primul ziar legal al PCdR a fost falsificat"
in ''Jurnalul Național
''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest
Buchare ...
'', October 25, 2005 In its stead, on September 15, the UP inaugurated ''Tribuna Poporului'', which was entrusted to
George Călinescu
George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the mos ...
, the literary historian and novelist. The UP also sponsored Călinescu's foreign-policy review, ''
Lumea''.
Following negotiations at the beginning of September, the Union absorbed the rump
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
led by
Vasile Anagnoste The male name Vasile is of Greek origin and means "King".
Vasile is a male Romanian given name or a surname. It is equivalent to the English name Basil.
As a given name
As a surname
* Cristian Vasile (1908–1985), Romanian tango-romance ...
. On September 27, the UP and its former Patriotic Antihitlerite colleagues formed a political alliance called
National Democratic Front (FND), which also comprised the PSDR. As UP envoys, Vlădescu-Răcoasa, Bagdasar and Stoilow held a seat each on the FND National Council. The new pact, comprising forces that were vastly unequal to each other, was sealed only after the communists had resumed their pressures on the PNL and PNȚ, both of which refused to join a long-term alliance. According to anticommunist diplomat Emil Ciurea, it pitted one of the PCdR's alliances (Antihitlerites, "enriched by the arrival of
he PSDRsocialists") against the other (BND).
[Ciurea, p. 872]
Throughout October, the UP was a participant in the PCdR-organized public rallies against the independent
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
, General
Constantin Sănătescu
Constantin Sănătescu (14 January 1885 – 8 November 1947) was a Romanian general and statesman who served as the 44th Prime Minister of Romania after the 23 August 1944 coup after which Romania left the Axis powers and joined the Allies.
Earl ...
, and his PNȚ and PNL ministers, accusing the cabinet of playing protector to war criminals. Vlădescu-Răcoasa was active in the intrigue, and, at a public rally held in
Călărași
Călărași (), the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Danube's Borcea branch, at about from the Bulgarian border and from Bucharest.
The city is an industrial centre f ...
, discussed the imperative of creating "the new Romania at all costs". On November 4, following a Soviet intervention, Sănătescu reshuffled his cabinet, with a third of the ministerial mandates, and sizable portions of provincial administrative offices, going to FND politicians. In newly liberated
Northern Transylvania
Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...
, this meant the UP's integration at the highest level of local government. The FND, cooperating with MADOSZ, contemplated making the region into an autonomous entity, and organized an executive Northern Transylvanian Committee that included two UP activists. This body was in conflict with the PNȚ and PNL, its rallies allegedly broken up by the
Maniu Guards. Finally joining the UP, Beniuc was sent into the region, organizing new chapters for both the Union and the Ploughmen's Front.
FND alliance and 1945 turmoil
Vlădescu-Răcoasa was briefly appointed Minister for Minority Affairs (renamed by him "for Nationalities"), serving until February 1945, after which he was demoted to Undersecretary. During December 1944, the FND was co-opted into the new cabinet formed by General Rădescu, but continued to air its tensions with the two liberal parties with which it shared power. The UP followed suit. Involved with Groza in Northern Transylvanian affairs, statistician
Sabin Manuilă
Sabin Manuilă (or Mănuilă; February 19, 1894 – November 20, 1964) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian statistician, demographer and physician. A nationalist activist during World War I, he became noted for his pioneering research into the ...
, a former PNȚ supporter and participant in the August 1944 Coup,
was also welcomed into the UP, then appointed Undersecretary of State for Stately Organization. The party's reservoir of cadres expanded to include many intellectuals associated with Constantinescu-Iași, for instance Balmuș and Zevedei Barbu. The latter served as UP recruiter in
Sibiu County
Sibiu County () is a county ( ro, județ) of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat ( ro, reședință de județ) is the namesake town of Sibiu (german: Hermannstadt).
Name
In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben ...
. With Constantinescu-Iași, Balmuș served as a UP representative to assemblies commemorating
Antonescu's antisemitic crimes. Also joining the UP was physicist
Ilie G. Murgulescu, who edited the daily a UP regional mouthpiece in
Banat
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
.
[Păiușan (2012), p. 389]
During that period, the UP involved itself in the campaign against Rădescu, headlined by the Communist Party (which was now known as PCR, rather than PCdR). They agitated for
land reform
Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
and organized the campaign against
price gouging
Price gouging is a pejorative term used to describe the situation when a seller increases the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or ...
. In
Jiu Valley
The Jiu Valley ( ro, Valea Jiului ) is a region in southwestern Transylvania, Romania, in Hunedoara county, situated in a valley of the Jiu River between the Retezat Mountains and the Parâng Mountains. The region was heavily industrialised and t ...
and
Hunedoara County
Hunedoara County () is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion.
Name
In Hungarian, it is known as , in German as , and in Slovak as ...
at large, the UP carried out "democratic work" in favor of miners' welfare, distributing food and setting up price control committees. Throughout the country, its activists joined hands with the Ploughmen's Front, redistributing to the peasants most of the plots that were over 50
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
s.
[Moisa, p. 108] At the time, the UP also organized its religious wing for "highly conscious"
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
priests, called Union of Democratic Priests (''Uniunea Preoților Democrați'', UPD) and led by the UP's Minister of Religious Affairs,
Constantin Burducea.
As a witness to the political crisis, King Michael probably contemplated replacing Rădescu with the old UP associate, General Avramescu.
The latter had earned distinction in the
Siege of Budapest
The Siege of Budapest or Battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet Union, Soviet and Kingdom of Romania, Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital (political), capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the b ...
, and was respected by the Red Army, but evidently resented Soviet interference. Vlădescu-Răcoasa noted Avramescu's acceptance of the FND program, but the PCdR refused to take him into consideration.
By then, Nicu Rădescu and Levente were directly involved in the effort to create and illegally arm a communist-controlled paramilitary force, the Patriotic Combat Formations (''Formațiunile de Luptă Patriotică'', FLP).
Literary critic Niculae Gheran, who was involved with the UP paramilitary as a teenager, recalls that the atmosphere was still largely apolitical, and that the formations were set out to eradicate criminality. The "game of cops and robbers" ended when
Eugen Alimănescu of the
Bucharest Police took control of the situation, with crude but effective methods.
Meanwhile, the demonstrations turned violent on February 24, 1945, when communists staged an assault on the
Internal Affairs Ministry. The seminal event of this confrontation was a public rally, with Bagdasar and the UPD's Dumitru Popescu-Moșoia as guest speakers. During the push-back, several protesters were killed by gunshot; later investigation uncovered that the bullets were not of the standard caliber used in the Ministry.
Nicu Rădescu, who was hiding out at the UP's headquarters, participated in the propaganda effort, publicly accusing his father of murder.
On March 6, 1945, Groza eventually managed to topple Premier Rădescu, who escaped to
British Cyprus
British Cyprus was the island of Cyprus under the dominion of the British Empire, administered sequentially from 1878 to 1914 as a British protectorate, from 1914 to 1925 as a unilaterally annexed military occupation, and from 1925 to 1960 as a ...
,
and set up a communist-dominated cabinet, with Constantinescu-Iași as the new
Information Minister
An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given to ...
. Also joining the cabinet as the UP's appointee was
Grigore Vasiliu Rășcanu, the
Minister of War
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
. Bagdasar became the
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
, and, as a technocrat tasked with managing the nationwide health crisis, earned the respect of his political adversaries.
General Avramescu, meanwhile, was killed in an air raid on the
Slovakian front, reportedly shortly after being arrested by the Soviets.
The UP resumed its orthodox political stance. Rădescu's son, by then a card-carrying communist, was tasked with purging the Union of political undesirables, then assigned over to the ''Siguranța'', which he helped transform into the
Securitate
The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regime ...
.
On November 8, 1945, Groza's military and paramilitary forces repressed a popular demonstration marking the anniversary of Michael I, who was still the reigning monarch. As noted by historian
Ioan Lăcustă
Ioan is a variation on the name John found in Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Welsh (), and Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The female equivalent in Romanian and Bulgarian is Ioana. In Russia, the name Ioann is usually reserved for the clergy ...
, these events ended in "a bloodbath", ordered by Groza's Interior Minister,
Teohari Georgescu
Teohari Georgescu (January 31, 1908 – December 31, 1976) was a Romanian statesman and a high-ranking member of the Romanian Communist Party.
Early life
Born in Chitila, near Bucharest, he was the third of seven children of Constantin and A ...
. According to PNȚ investigators such as
Corneliu Coposu
Corneliu (Cornel) Coposu () (20 May 1914 – 11 November 1995) was a Christian Democratic and liberal conservative Romanian politician, the founder of the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party ( ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc Cre ...
, the UP was directly involved, asking its activists to stage a counter-manifestation in
Palace Square
Palace Square ( rus, Дворцо́вая пло́щадь, r=Dvortsovaya Ploshchad, p=dvɐˈrtsovəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ), connecting Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Bridge leading to Vasilievsky Island, is the central city square of St Petersburg a ...
, and to prevent the monarchists from reaching the Square. The UP's press made ample reference to the events, reinterpreting them according to communist guidelines, whereas the independent newspapers were barred from even reporting on them.
PNP creation
On January 12–13, 1946, the UP held a national congress at Trianon Cinema, Bucharest, after which it reemerged as the ''National Popular Party''.
[Oana Soare, Cristina Balinte, Andrei Terian, Mihai Iovănel]
"În obiectiv: G. Călinescu"
in ''Cultura'', Nr. 211, February 2009 Also at that meeting, it elected itself a new president, the economist
Mitiță Constantinescu. He was seconded by Vlădescu-Răcoasa, Bagdasar, and Oțetea.
On March 19 or 20, the National Populars inaugurated their own official news outlet, ''
Națiunea''. Editorship was assigned to Călinescu, who was in the process of adapting his work to
Marxist doctrines, and was by then a member of the PNP Executive Committee.
It heralded radical attacks against the political opposition, from the disgraced far-right to the PNȚ.
For a while, the newspaper still preserved a nominal independence in the selection of its literary staff, publishing the essays of
Adrian Marino and
Alexandru Piru
Alexandru Piru (August 22, 1917 – November 6, 1993) was a Romanian literary critic and historian.
Born in Mărgineni, Bacău County,Alex. Ștefănescu"Al. Piru", in ''România Literară'', nr. 10/2002 his parents were Vasile, a notary, and ...
, which were still untouched by the communist style.
[ Elvira Sorohan]
"Damnarea cărturarului"
in ''Convorbiri Literare
''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania.
History and profile
''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...
'', October 2007[ ]Ioan Stanomir
Ioan is a variation on the name John found in Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Welsh (), and Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The female equivalent in Romanian and Bulgarian is Ioana. In Russia, the name Ioann is usually reserved for the cle ...
"G. Călinescu și totalitarismul castrator"
in ''Observator Cultural
''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe ...
'', Nr. 592, September 2011
With assistance from its communist backers, the PNP soon began a large recruitment campaign. Among those who signed up were several famous literary and scientific figures, including poet
Alexandru A. Philippide
Alexandru A. Philippide (; April 1, 1900 – February 8, 1979) was a Romanian poet.
The son of linguist Alexandru Philippide, he was born in Iași. He studied law, literature, philosophy and political economy at the University of Iași, of ...
, historian
Andrei Oțetea
Andrei Oțetea (–March 21, 1977) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian historian.
Born in Sibiel, a village in the Mărginimea Sibiului region, Oțetea attended the local Romanian Orthodox school before entering the Hungarian State High S ...
, and biologist
Traian Săvulescu
Traian Săvulescu (2 February 1889, Râmnicu Sărat – 29 March 1963, Bucharest) was a Romanian biologist and botanist, founder of the Romanian School of Phytopathology, member and president of the Romanian Academy.
Early life and education
The ...
;
literary critic
Mihai Gafița, a former PNL man, was its students' wing representative. In Murgulescu's Banat sections, new recruits included General
Teodor Șerb
Teodor is a masculine given name. In English, it is a cognate of Theodore. Notable people with the name include:
*Teodor Muzaka III, Albanian nobleman who was born in 1393.
* Teodor Andrault de Langeron (19th century), President of Warsaw
* Teod ...
(President of the PNP Chapter in
Timiș-Torontal County
Timiș-Torontal was a county ( ro, județ) in the Kingdom of Romania. Its capital was Timișoara. The territory of the county had been transferred to Romania in 1920 from the Kingdom of Hungary under the Treaty of Trianon.
Geography
Timiș-Toro ...
), physicist
Valeriu Novacu (who went on to serve as
County Prefect
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
), poet
Alexandru Jebeleanu, and industrialists Jacques Hellmann and Anton Hollander.
Like the
Alexandrescu Peasantists, the PNP was specifically dedicated to undermining the PNȚ, that is to say the PCdR's most powerful opponent. Constantinescu-Iași recalled that, even in 1943, the UP was working to "set up opposition groups within the PNȚ", but "in such a manner that no group would be torn away from the party". As noted by political scientist
Ioan Stanomir
Ioan is a variation on the name John found in Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Welsh (), and Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The female equivalent in Romanian and Bulgarian is Ioana. In Russia, the name Ioann is usually reserved for the cle ...
, the party was later a tool used by the PCdR "to gnaw at the PNȚ before they ultimately dissolved it".
This campaign was sparked in 1944 by a broadcast on
Radio Moscow
Radio Moscow ( rus, Pадио Москва, r=Radio Moskva), also known as Radio Moscow World Service, was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until 1993. It was reorganized with a new name ...
.
[Păiușan (2010), p. 300] By 1946, the PNP had only managed to absorb remnants of the interwar
Radical Peasants' Party
The Radical Peasants' Party ( ro, Partidul Radical-Țărănesc, PRȚ) was a political party in Romania.
History
The party was established by Grigore Iunian on 22 November 1933, absorbing the Democratic Peasants' Party–Stere. It won six seats i ...
, who had refused to rejoin the PNȚ.
[Păiușan (2013 I), p. 511]
The recruitment drive was punctuated by episodes of dissent. Jebeleanu was almost removed from the party after he was found to be an insubordinate propagandist. More embarrassingly, the PNP failed to enlist
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 ...
, the celebrated poet-philosopher. Blaga admitted feeling terrorized by direct threats to his artistic independence, and, at the risk of marginalization, opted not to join (or, according to another version, joined, was immediately made a member of the PNP Central Committee, and just as immediately resigned). Burducea, perceived by Groza as a political liability, was also sacked from his ministerial position, and the UPD chairmanship was assigned to an Ion Vască.
On March 22–24, 1946, the PNP held its annual reunion in Bucharest, culminating in a popular assembly presided upon by Oțetea.
On May 16, the PNP was co-opted by a communist-led electoral alliance, the Bloc of Democratic Parties (BPD). In early November, its representative in the
Assembly of Deputies and PNP General Secretary, a Mihail Dragomirescu, played a central part in the sessions which condemned and pushed aside a minor PCR ally, the
National Liberal Party–Tătărescu
The National Liberal Party–Tătărescu ( ro, Partidul Național Liberal-Tătărescu, PNL-Tătărescu) was a liberal and social liberal political party in the Kingdom of Romania and then in the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was established ...
. However, there were notable setbacks for the PNP, including the sudden disappearance of Călinescu's ''Lumea''.
Also in May, Bagdasar resigned as Health Minister and took a diplomatic posting, but died of cancer before he could take office.
In September of that year, his widow
Florica Bagdasar made history by becoming the first ever Romanian woman minister, after being assigned the Health portfolio.
Mitiță Constantinescu also died at that time, prompting the PNP executive to elect Vlădescu-Răcoasa in his place.
1946 election and 1947 takeover
In the
general election of November 1946, which was rigged through fraud and voter intimidation, the Bloc claimed a decisive victory. However, the PNP only had a minor role to play in the campaign, with a reported 7% of the BPD candidates. The BPD and MADOSZ had counted 79.86% of the vote in its favor, obtaining 378 of the 414 total Assembly of Deputies seats,
[Terteci, p. 173] of which the PNP held 26. Constantinescu-Iași ran and won as head of the electoral list in
Tutova County
Tutova County is one of the historic counties of Moldavia, Romania with the city of Bârlad as capital.
Geography
Tutova County covered 2,498 km2 and was located in the central-eastern part of Greater Romania, in the south-eastern part of Mol ...
, returning to serve as Information Minister; Florica Bagdasar was elected in
Tulcea County
Tulcea County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Dobruja, with the capital city at Tulcea. It includes in its northeast corner the large and thinly-populated estuary of the Danube.
Demographics
In 2011, Tulcea Cou ...
, and continued to serve as the Health Minister until August 1948.
She sat in the Assembly next to Călinescu,
who had been elected in
Botoșani County
Botoșani County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia (encompassing a few villages in neigbhouring Suceava County from Bukovina to the west as well), with the capital town ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) at Botoșani. ...
.
Other PNP deputies included Vlădescu-Răcoasa, Oțetea,
historian
Dumitru Almaș, and General Secretary Dragomirescu, who represented Timiș-Torontal.
The PNP withdrew from the Groza cabinet on November 29, 1946, in protest at what it felt was its under-representation. It found itself in an unusual situation as the
loyal opposition
Loyal opposition in terms of politics, refers to specific political concepts that are related to the opposition parties of a particular political system. In many Westminster-style parliamentary systems of government, the loyal opposition indicat ...
to the BPD, stating its refusal to attack any of the Bloc's politicians. Both Bagdasar and Săvulescu continued to serve in the cabinet, the latter as
Agriculture Minister
An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...
. The PNP's withdrawal from power, and its general subservience to the BPD, were noted factors of stress at a local level. However, it was able to attract more followers with the dissolution of
Constantin Argetoianu
Constantin Argetoianu ( – 6 February 1955) was a Romanian politician, one of the best-known personalities of interwar Greater Romania, who served as the Prime Minister between 28 September and 23 November 1939. His memoirs, ''Memorii. Pentr ...
's National Union of Labor and Rebirth (UNMR). Two of the latter's pro-communist wings were absorbed at the time: the UNMR tradesmen wing, under Petre Misale, and the formerly independent National Agrarian Action, directed by Paul Iliescu and Max Schapira.
In July 1947, after the
Tămădău Affair
The Tămădău affair ( ro, Afacerea Tămădău, ''Înscenarea de la Tămădău'' – "the Tămădău frameup" – or ''Fuga de la Tămădău'' – "the Tămădău flight") was an incident that took place in Romania in the summer of 1947. It was t ...
and news of an
anti-communist partisan movement, PNP representatives supported the communist motion to outlaw the PNȚ. Moreover, ''Națiunea'' and Călinescu himself joined in the denunciation campaign, publishing propaganda pieces that maligned the imprisoned PNȚ-ists.
Other party members used their last opportunity to escape the country: Manuilă settled in the United States, Zevedei Barbu defected in Scotland. During the following months, the PNP was in favor of a bill that politicized and de-professionalized the justice system, introducing juries selected from among the "workers and toiling peasants" by their respective trade unions and corporate bodies.
In November, Vlădescu-Răcoasa became
Ambassador to Moscow, which was perceived as a "posting of overwhelming importance" in that context. Still the PNP president, he was abroad when the communists imposed abdication on King Michael and proclaimed the
People's Republic
People's republic is an official title, usually used by some currently or formerly communist or left-wing states. It is mainly associated with soviet republics, socialist states following people's democracy, sovereign states with a democratic- ...
. On February 1, 1948, the PNP resumed its activities in the new republic: the Bucharest branch of the PNP elected Balmuș as its chairman. While still serving abroad, Vlădescu-Răcoasa was appointed by the Assembly of Deputies, reformed into the
rubber-stamp
A rubber stamp is an image or pattern that has been carved, molded, laser engraved or vulcanized onto a sheet of rubber. Rubber stamping, also called stamping, is a craft in which some type of ink made of dye or pigment is applied to rubber ...
Great National Assembly Great National Assembly or Grand National Assembly may refer to:
* Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, an assembly of Romanian delegates that declared the unification of Transylvania and Romania
* Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of ...
, to a committee drafting a
socialist constitution.
Dissolution and aftermath
The PNP remained closely aligned with the Romanian Workers' Party (PMR), as the PCR styled itself after absorbing the Social Democrats. From February 1948, it was part of the People's Democratic Front (FPD), an electoral alliance formed with the PMR, the Ploughmen's Front, and MADOSZ. Constantinescu-Iași, Dragomirescu, and Alexandru Șteflea were its delegates on the FPD National Council. The
subsequent elections were advertised by PMR leader
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian communist politician and electrician. He was the first Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ...
as a consolidation of "democratic conquests against imperialism", destined to "nip in the bud all attempts by the reaction to rear its head". Two decorative opposition forces were allowed to survive outside the FPD: the (reorganized) Tătărescu Liberals and the
Democratic Peasants' Party–Lupu. The Front won 405 of the 414 seats, of which the PNP had 43. Vlădescu-Răcoasa, Almaș, Balmuș, Călinescu, Constantinescu-Iași, Oțetea and Săvulescu were among those returned to parliament.
Elected as the last PNP president, Constantinescu-Iași was also designated a Vice President of the Great National Assembly. However, the PNP survived until voting itself out of existence on February 6, 1949. The official notice informed its voters that, "under the watch of the Workers' Party", the PNP had "carried out the better part of its task", and that "to carry on as a separate organization would be an act of seclusion." As Călinescu explained, in ''Națiunea'', the party and its newspaper's "historical mission" had been exhausted.
Literary historian George Neagoe argues that this was a "public lie", as the PNP, a party of "
fellow travelers", had not truly opted to dissolve itself; it was rather "discarded by its ally".
[Neagoe (2010), p. 6]
Until March 21, 1949, all regional chapters had been dissolved, and PNP deputies resumed their seats as independents. His influence greatly reduced, Constantinescu-Iași continued to serve in the Groza governments, and was Minister of Religious Affairs in 1953; Călinescu was likewise sidelined, maintaining some of his political functions but prevented from popularizing his unorthodox interpretations of Marxist dogma and world affairs.
In 1959, he was almost arrested for "
enemy-like behavior". Vlădescu-Răcoasa was also recalled from Moscow, and, assigned to minor positions, had to watch on as the regime suppressed, then confiscated, Romanian sociology. Florica Bagdasar was eliminated from political life by 1953, when she was also attacked in the press as a "
cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
".
Instead, Oțetea accumulated accolades and, as an official historian, signaled the 1964 break with the Soviets, revealing to the public the anti-Russian pronunciations of Marxist classics.
Several suppliant members of the Communist Party's Central Committee, down to the
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...
, and including Levente and
Gheorghe Mihoc
Gheorghe Mihoc (July 7, 1906 – December 25, 1981) was a Romanian mathematician and statistician.
He was born in Brăila, the son of Ecaterina and Gheorghe Mihoc, both originally from the Banat. In 1908, his father moved the family to Buchares ...
, had been activists in the original UP. ''România Liberă''s Ivașcu rose through the ranks of the PMR until, owing to a case of mistaken identity, was prosecuted for war crimes, imprisoned, then
rehabilitated and again assigned party work. Contrarily, Nicu Rădescu was tempted by a career in the repressive apparatus. He was sacked from the Securitate in 1956 for his disregard of decorum, and began a second career as a
Centrocoop functionary, dying in anonymity in 1993.
Doctrines
Functions
The UP and PNP functioned mainly as a testing ground for the PCdR, filtering its future members and making its ideology palatable to the general public. Many scholars see the UP/PNP as mainly a front for the exceedingly minor PCdR, variously describing it as "rather decorative", an "electioneering vent", an "organization designed to fulfill the communists' objectives",
a "diversion",
"instrument" or "windscreen",
[Boia, p. 273] and a "quasi-party".
Literary historian and former communist politician
Pavel Țugui disagrees: with an "antifascist and antiracist program",
standing for "various democratic orientations", the UP "did not form any alliances with any party whatsoever between 1942 and spring 1944."
He notes that the collaboration with the communists should be seen as one between "two distinct political and organizational entities", with the UP on the
center-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...
.
Initially, the UP itself acknowledged that it had a short-term role, presenting itself not as a party, but as a
big tent
A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a term used in reference to a political party's policy of permitting or encouraging a broad spectrum of views among its members. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined i ...
movement of antifascists and PCdR members, irrespective of ethnicity, social class, or creed. Members called each other ''prieten'' ("friend"), mirroring the communist ''tovarăș'' ("
comrade
The term ''comrade'' (russian: товарищ, tovarisch) generally means 'mate', 'colleague', or 'ally', and derives from the Spanish and Portuguese, term , literally meaning 'chamber mate', from Latin , meaning 'chamber' or 'room'. It may also ...
").
["Intrunirile de Duminică ale Uniunii Patrioților La 'Marna'", in '']Scînteia
''Scînteia'' (Romanian for "The Spark") was the name of two newspapers edited by Communist groups at different intervals in Romanian history. The title is a homage to the Russian language paper ''Iskra''. It was known as ''Scânteia'' until th ...
'', August 15, 1945, p. 5 In a December 1944 address to the people, Novacu presented the
August 23 Coup as top-down seizure of power, rather than as a popular revolution, noting that the action of a few would "impel and enrich the populace". At around the same time, Vlădescu-Răcoasa was claiming that, in the "new world", it would matter not whether "one is a bourgeois or a proletarian, but if one is a democrat". The one "true democracy", he indicated, was a
people's democracy. He also stated that the UP was not about distributing "posts and ministries."
The UP also sought to profit from the introduction of
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
, putting out a manifesto specifically aimed at women voters. Critical of "vain
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
", it proposed equal responsibilities for women in the effort to reconstruct Romania. A female activist, Cornelia Sterian, also explained that "woman must become equal in rights, she must play an active part in the political struggle for a free and fulfilling life."
A Bucharest female section had been formed by 1946, animated by Margareta Vlădescu-Răcoasa and by
Mihail Sadoveanu
Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; November 5, 1880 – October 19, 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting head of state for the communis ...
's wife Valeria.
In its later electoral manifestos, the UP called itself "a political organization in support of the people", consolidating "an independent, democratic and merry Romania", emerging naturally from "the movement of resistance against the Hitlerites and the Antonescu dictatorship".
[Păiușan (2010), p. 292] By then, the movement advertised a more specific corporate goal, namely "the democratization of the middle classes".
[Păiușan (2012), p. 386] These were taken to include all categories between the proletariat (represented by the PCdR) and the "rich bankers, great landlords, dealers and speculators" it claimed were represented by the PNȚ and PNL; more specifically, the PNP was supposed to stand for professional workers, artisans, traders, industrialists, functionaries, pensioners, and freelancers. Writing about the accomplished "historical mission" of 1949, George Călinescu explained that it consisted of "educating non-proletarian working strata to understand and receive the coming social order."
Reviewing such claims, Păiușan argues that the PNP's objectives interfered with those of other FND members: the Ploughmen's Front and the
Alexandrescu Peasantists existed specifically to draw in "the urban middle class." As noted by
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 ...
, its putative member, the PNP manifestly failed at becoming "an independent autonomous party of the petty bourgeoisie", and was simply "a maneuverable mass". Physician Epifanie Cozărescu of
Săveni
Săveni ( hu, Szöven) is a small town located in Botoșani County in the Western Moldavia region in northeastern Romania. There is an archaeology museum located in the town.
Near Săveni at 47°56′2.27″N 26°50′19.58″E, there is a 2 ...
recalled in 2008 that he and his colleagues joined the PNP because it seemed like a protective cover against the "oppression of intellectuals by the Communist Party". Overall, "
ewere no longer given much attention".
Populism and nationalism
As noted by historian Carol Terteci, the UP shared a BPD platform of "populist promises".
Party notables took pride in asserting that the BPD's program was largely inspired by its own charter, and thus "closest to the soul of the masses."
A 1945 manifesto in
Bârlad
Bârlad () is a city in Vaslui County, Romania. It lies on the banks of the river Bârlad, which waters the high plains of Western Moldavia.
At Bârlad the railway from Iași diverges, one branch skirting the river Siret, the other skirting th ...
called on UP members to "erect a country where there would be no more poor people on this rich a land." With its involvement in the PCdR's war on price gauging, the PNP was soon identified as an
anti-capitalist
Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economi ...
force by the middle class and the industrialists, who were reticent about joining its ranks. The UP tried to dissuade their fears, assuring them that the measures were only temporary. The PNȚ had some success in identifying the PNP as a front of the PCdR: PNP territorial offices complained that Nationalist Peasantist propaganda on this topic was driving away potential recruits.
Păiușan describes the UP as an organization which "betrayed the country" by "turning Romanians against the anti-Bolshevik war and sealing a pact with the Soviet enemy."
When addressing a Romanian public, the National Populars took on the promotion of
left-wing nationalism
Left-wing nationalism or leftist nationalism, also known as social nationalism, is a form of nationalism based upon national self-determination, popular sovereignty, national self-interest, and left-wing political positions such as social equal ...
. Party speakers argued that "the criminal fascist war" offered "an occasion for verifying one's patriotism", and held that fascists "exploited patriotic sentiment", "poisoning the soul of the people".
Writing in ''Lupta Patriotică'', Novacu theorized that: "Motherland and patriotism stand for combat and sacrifice for mankind's permanent ideals. For liberty and independence, for one's language, art, for one's credo, one's bread, for our factories and our fields." Despite the UP's involvement in Northern Transylvanian regionalism, its leadership in Banat alleged that the PNȚ was only superficially and opportunistically patriotic. Party documents also identified the PNP with a struggle against
Hungarian "revisionism",
or against "venomous chauvinism" in general.
[Bulgaru, p. XXXVIII] The Northern Transylvanian issue was solved in Romania's favor, according to PNP sources, only because of "the unconditioned help of our great Eastern friend, the USSR, and our old friend, France."
The UP and later the PNP were formally dedicated to purging the country of fascists, in particular former members of the
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strongly ...
.
The UP was the first organization to propose arresting
Maria Antonescu
Maria Antonescu (born Maria Niculescu, also known as Maria General Antonescu, later Maria Mareșal Antonescu, or Rica Antonescu; 3 November 1892 – 18 October 1964) was a Romanian socialite and philanthropist and the wife of World War II author ...
,
Veturia Goga, and
Alexandru Hodoș. In practice, it proved immediately attractive for a category of former wartime fascists, and especially for Guardist sympathizers within the
Orthodox Church
Orthodox Church may refer to:
* Eastern Orthodox Church
* Oriental Orthodox Churches
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
* State church of the Roman Empire
* True Orthodox church
See also
* Orthodox (di ...
. Notorious examples include the Religious Affairs Minister,
Constantin Burducea and Religious Affairs Undersecretary Ion Vască, whose fascist past was a tool for extortion. Burducea had it that the Church was compatible with socialism, and that the FND was not "godless": "How could one hold suspicions of anti-Christian or anti-religious sentiment the FND's sincerely democratic parties, when the Front works for the brotherhood of all men, for bringing the Gospel to life within this nation, and for toppling hatred, injustice, obscurantism and social inequality?"
As Burducea's patron, Constantinescu-Iași extended his protection to one other PNP sympathizer and former Guardist, the bishop
Antim Nica, who in turn sought to protect his colleagues by directing them into the party. Constantinescu-Iași also negotiated with Guard representatives such as
Petre Țuțea to have its members join the PCdR and the UP en masse. Other efforts involved a former high-ranking figure in the Guard, historian
P. P. Panaitescu
Petre P. Panaitescu (March 11, 1900 – November 14, 1967) was a Romanian literary historian. A native of Iași, he spent most of his adult life in the national capital Bucharest, where he rose to become a professor at University of Bucharest, ...
, who similarly urged his former subordinates to make their way into the UP. In
Putna County
Putna County was a county (Romanian: ''județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania, in southern Moldavia. The county seat was Focșani.
The county was located in the central-eastern part of Greater Romania, in the south of Moldavia. Today, most of the t ...
, that is to say Vlădescu-Răcoasa's own fief, the PNP chapter was weakened by disputes over the fascist past of its leaders, including its local secretary, the Orthodox priest Streche. Other PNP members of the far-right clergy, exposed by the Workers' Party only after 1949, included a head of the clergy syndicate in
Baia County
Baia County is one of the historic counties of Moldavia, Romania. The county seat was Fălticeni.
In 1938, the county was disestablished and incorporated into the newly formed Ținutul Prut, but it was re-established in 1940 after the fall of Ca ...
. In 1945, a circular letter presented to
Teohari Georgescu
Teohari Georgescu (January 31, 1908 – December 31, 1976) was a Romanian statesman and a high-ranking member of the Romanian Communist Party.
Early life
Born in Chitila, near Bucharest, he was the third of seven children of Constantin and A ...
of
Internal Affairs estimated that there were 110 Guardists co-opted by the UP.
Minority issues
While appealing to the Orthodox clergy, the PNP also enlisted members of the
Eastern Catholic Church, including priest Gheorghe Zagrai. The UP had been especially active among the
ethnic minorities
The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
, which were the focus of Vlădescu-Răcoasa's time in office. The PNP heralded
denazification
Denazification (german: link=yes, Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by remov ...
among the
Banat Swabians, protecting some Swabians who, it claimed, were wrongly prosecuted by the
People's Tribunals, while targeting others who supported the anti-communist opposition. Its relationship with the
ethnic Hungarians was more tense, despite official rhetoric encouraging cooperation: the UP's
Bihor County
Bihor County () is a county ( județ) in western Romania. With a total area of , Bihor is Romania's 6th largest county geographically and the main county in the historical region of Crișana. Its capital city is Oradea.
Toponymy
The origin of ...
cell divided itself into competing cells, representing the region's ethnic groups, and was sabotaged by its MADOSZ allies. In February 1945, it voted to bar Hungarians from joining its ranks.
The communists also experimented by creating a parallel, UP-modeled, organization of
Armenian Romanians. Called Union of Armenian Patriots (or Armenian Front), it drew Armenians away from the anti-Soviet
Dashnaktsutyun
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenia ...
. A similar body existed for exiled
Spanish Republicans
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
, who voted Vlădescu-Răcoasa as their honorary president.
The PNP had a more ambiguous stance concerning the
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
communities, which had been the victims of deportation and murder during the Holocaust. During the Antonescu years, UP founder Manuilă had in fact come up with the project to deport Jews and Romanies into
occupied Transnistria, singling them out as "stateless" communities. When this had been enforced, however, he had protected some 5,000 Jews, keeping them in Bucharest. Engineer Cornel Năstăsescu, who was at once a member of the PNP Committee and a leader of its branch in
Năsăud County
Năsăud County is one of the historic counties of Transylvania, Romania. The county seat was Bistrița.
Geography
Năsăud County was located in the north-central part of Greater Romania, in the north of Transylvania, covering . Currently, the te ...
, made efforts to hide his wartime involvement with building projects that used Jewish labor.
In 1943, the UP participants in Patriotic Antihitlerite meetings argued that: "The Jewish group must have its own commission to allow the Jews to take care of purely Jewish issues." Speaking in February 1946, the communist politico
Vasile Luca
Vasile Luca (born László Luka; 8 June 1898 – 23 July 1963) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian and Soviet communist politician, a leading member of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) from 1945 and until his imprisonment in the 1950s. ...
set his PNP partners the goal of attracting as many as possible from the 150,000 Jewish voters still living in Romania. There were Jewish members of the PNP, including one who, in 1947, also had a leadership position in the
Jewish Democratic Committee
The Jewish Democratic Committee or Democratic Jewish Committee ( ro, Comitetul Democrat Evreiesc, CDE, also ''Comitetul Democrat Evreesc'', ''Comitetul Democratic Evreiesc''; he, הוועד הדמוקרטי היהודי; hu, Demokrata Zsidó Komi ...
of
Fălciu County
Fălciu County was an administrative division of Moldavia (until 1859), then a county ('' judeṭ'') in Romania between 1859 and 1950. Its capital was the town of Huși. Another important town was Fălciu.
History
Fălciu was a land (''ṭinut'') ...
. Nevertheless, at official commemorations, PNP activists downplayed the historical impact of episodes such as the
Iași pogrom
The Iași pogrom (, sometimes anglicized as Jassy) was a series of pogroms launched by governmental forces under Marshal Ion Antonescu in the Romanian city of Iași against its Jewish community, which lasted from 29 June to 6 July 1941. Accordin ...
of 1941, noting that, "other than the minor misunderstandings that are inherent to life in common, one can say that
ewshave been fully embraced by their friends, the Romanian people." Călinescu's reference to the pogrom as "German-and-Iron Guard excesses" received negative coverage in the
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
press, who saw evidence of whitewashing. Vlădescu-Răcoasa also clashed with the Zionists when, in November 1944, he announced that Jews would not be recognized as a distinct minority, but instead
assimilated into their group of choice.
Factionalism and divergence
Even in its late years, PNP officials expressed a "belief in the eternal life of the Romanian Monarchy." This resolution passed into its statues, where "the recognition of the Monarchy" was one of the core ideas.
[Bulgaru, p. XLIII] Although it adopted a pro-Soviet policy that Păiușan sees as "treasonous", the UP included, at its original core, supporters of the
Western Allies
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy ...
such as Bagdasar and Ivașcu.
The Bagdasars worked closely with American officials in the
Allied Commission
Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Easter ...
, and were upset that Romania was prevented from joining the
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
.
Beyond its national representation and its trans-ethnic agenda, the PNP remained a minor and recessive force. As noted by Corneliu Crăciun, it was always less powerful than the
Patriotic Defense, a workers' aid organization also gravitating around the PCdR, and also organized as a paramilitary wing.
The UP's 1944 recruitment drive in Bihor, which was still nominally held by a
rump Hungarian state, only managed some 200 enlistments, of which 150 were inactive members. Only 40 card-carrying members still existed in 1945, after Hungarians and Jews were expelled from the party. Likewise, in
Cluj County
Cluj County (; german: Kreis Klausenburg, hu, Kolozs megye) is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) is Cluj-Napoca (german: Klausenburg).
Name
In Hungarian, it is known as ''Kolozs megye ...
, the UP was preferred by Romanian communist sympathizers, with the PCdR section dominated by Hungarians. In Putna, the UP only mustered some 1,700 members in all (compared to the 6,000 enlisted with the Alexandrescu Peasantists, but well ahead of the PCdR's 400). The Timiș-Torontal section, presided over by General
Teodor Șerb
Teodor is a masculine given name. In English, it is a cognate of Theodore. Notable people with the name include:
*Teodor Muzaka III, Albanian nobleman who was born in 1393.
* Teodor Andrault de Langeron (19th century), President of Warsaw
* Teod ...
, had some 2,000 to 2,500 members, the majority of whom were male peasants, with no representation for women and youth. Năstăsescu's branch in Năsăud went from 150 affiliates to a claimed 6,012 in the summer of 1946. The latter number is suspect, since 5,861 were peasants, and as such probably enlisted against their will.
As a corollary of its dependence on the PCdR, the party was heavily infiltrated by communist cells—the PCdR's own circulars commended the Putna cell as highly "dynamic". In Bihor, the UP was directly managed by a communist envoy, Imre Tóth. A similar situation reputedly occurred in
Alba County, where the UP's temporary representative in 1945 was Dumitru Ciumbrudean, who had been stripped of his PCdR membership. These interventions divided the party. Some in the PNP struggled to maintain independence "with equal rights within the Bloc of Democratic Parties". In 1946, the
Severin County
Severin County was a county ( Romanian: '' județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania, in the historical region of the Banat. Its capital was Lugoj. Severin County was established in 1926, disbanded with the administrative reform of 1938, re-created in 1 ...
chapter unanimously passed a resolution ruling the communists' transgressions as "inadmissible and impolite".
The PNP also reported on abuses committed by paramilitary "citizens' guards", which, it implied, were terrorizing the populace, while activists such as Bagdasar expressed bafflement over the anti-Peasantist rhetorical violence.
In early 1946, Călinescu and ''Națiunea'' demanded a "purge of the purgers", that is to say a toning down of repression against political undesirables.
Contrarily, other party branches were more readily enforcing persecution of the opposition. This was the case in Năsăud, where the Ploughmen's Front complained that overzealous PNP men were unwittingly alerting the PNȚ and PNL as to what lay in store for them. Father Burducea's unwavering support for the purge of anti-communists alienated the clergy, many of whom resented and mocked him; this matter contributed to his sacking. Seeing the BPD as an authoritarian instrument, members deserted in significant numbers during 1947, and some even became involved with a group of
anti-communist partisans, formed by
Gheorghe Arsenescu
Gheorghe Arsenescu (May 31, 1907 – May 29, 1962) was a Romanian Army officer who led an anti-communist resistance movement in post-World War II Romania.
Biography Early years and World War II
He was born in Câmpulung. His father, Captai ...
in
Muscel County
Muscel County is a former first-order administrative district of Romania. It was located in the southern central part of Greater Romania, in the northwestern part of the historic region of Muntenia. Its territory is now mostly part of Argeș Coun ...
.
[ Radu Petrescu]
"''Haiducii Muscelului'', mișcarea de rezistență a colonelului Gheorghe Arsenescu"
in ''Historia'', February 2012
Electoral history
Legislative elections
Notes
References
{{Historical Romanian political parties
1942 establishments in Romania
1949 disestablishments in Romania
Political parties disestablished in 1949
Political parties established in 1942
Anti-fascist organizations
Romanian Communist Party
Defunct socialist parties in Romania
Nationalist parties in Romania
Left-wing nationalist parties
Romanian nationalist parties
Romania in World War II