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Lothar or Lotar Rădăceanu (born ''Lothar Würzer'' or ''Würzel''; May 19, 1899 – August 24, 1955) was a
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n journalist and linguist, best known as a
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
and
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
politician.


Biography


Early life and politics

Born to an
ethnic German Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The constitution of Germany, implemented in 1949 following the end of World War ...
family in
Rădăuți Rădăuți (; ; ; ; , ''Radivtsi''; ''Radevits''; ) is a town in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. According to the 2021 census, Rădăuți is the second largest urban settlement in the ...
,
Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...
(part of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
at the time), he trained in
German studies German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on German culture, German h ...
and eventually became a professor at the
University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...
. From early on, Rădăceanu was a member of the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSDR), one of its main ideologists and representatives in the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
, as well as a regular contributor to the socialist journals ''Libertatea'' and ''Lumea Nouă''. In the early 1930s, he shared his party's concerns regarding the predominant
agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
character of Romanian economy. He contributed to the '' Poporanist'' paper ''
Viața Românească ''Viața Românească'' (, "The Romanian Life") is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania. Formerly the platform of the left-wing traditionalist trend known as poporanism, it is now one of the Writers' Union of Romania's main venues. ...
'' an article which stated that:
Working in community and
cooperative farming An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural servic ...
are the conditions for survival in peasant-based agriculture.
The Social-Democratic Party ..commits itself to carrying out a campaign of enlightenment in this direction and appeals to all enlightened peasants and all village
intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...
s for help in this respect.
He supported his party's alliance with the National Peasantists (PNȚ) during the late 1920s, and their collaboration in the 1928 election, but later criticized the PNȚ government for "proceeding with too little energy with the abolition of
reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...
institutions". Like his fellow PSDR member , Rădăceanu advocated the thesis of
Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea (born Solomon Katz; 21 May 1855 – 7 May 1920) was a Romanian Marxist theorist, politician, sociologist, literary critic, and journalist. He was also an entrepreneur in the city of Ploiești. Constantin Dobroge ...
regarding the special conditions for socialism inside the Romanian economical framework; he accepted the views on Romanian economic history as formulated by
Ștefan Zeletin Ștefan Zeletin (born Ștefan Motăș; June 19, 1882 – July 20, 1934) was a Romanian philosopher, sociologist, liberal economist and political theorist. Biography Born in Răchitoasa, Burdusaci, Bacău County, his mother Catinca Motăș (' ...
, an advocate of
economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
, but disagreed with his conclusions regarding the fundamental role of the
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...
. In late January 1933, the pro-
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
Rădăceanu had criticized the steps taken by
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, ...
to institute a more
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
regime after the fall of
Iuliu Maniu Iuliu Maniu (; 8 January 1873 – 5 February 1953) was a Romanian lawyer and politician. He was a leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, playing an important role in the Union of Transylvania wi ...
's PNȚ cabinet. Alluding to the event which had been used by Carol — the disagreement between
Gavrilă Marinescu Gabriel Marinescu (first name also Gavril or Gavrilă; November 7, 1886 – November 26/27, 1940) was a Romanian general. Born in Tigveni, Argeș County, he was the son of a teacher. He attended Saint Sava National College in Bucharest, the scho ...
, the police prefect of
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
and a favourite of the king, and
Ion Mihalache Ion Mihalache (; March 3, 1882 – February 5, 1963) was a Romanian Agrarianism, agrarian politician, the founder and leader of the Peasants' Party (Romania), Peasants' Party (PȚ) and a main figure of its successor, the National Peasants' Party ( ...
, the Minister of the Interior —, he stressed that:
he Maniu cabinetwas toppled by a police prefect, whom it could not remove from his office. It is not therefore the government who had the power to nominate and recall state officials, but an
occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...
and irresponsible power, of which the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
makes no mention.
Equally opposed to
Bolshevism Bolshevism (derived from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Leninist and later Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined p ...
, he wrote several analytical articles which criticized
Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...
and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. In 1935, he expressed his views on the risks of the Popular Front tactic as proposed by the Soviets:
The will communism has to collaborate cannot be sincere, as long as — instead of collaborating with the Russian Social-Democrats — they torture them in prisons.
However, he was staunchly opposed to the authorities' crackdown on the outlawed
Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...
(PCR), and wrote pieces in defence of communist activists prosecuted for their activities. In 1936, when
Ana Pauker Ana Pauker (born Hannah Rabinsohn; 13 February 1893 – 3 June 1960) was a Romanian communist leader and served as the country's List of Romanian Foreign Ministers, foreign minister in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Ana Pauker became the world' ...
and other PCR members were being tried, he argued in favour of:
the right f legal existencefor the communist party as well, hile we areraising our most energetic protest against the persecution to which this party is being submitted in the country where GogaCuzism
fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
National Christian Party] and Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, Codrenism [that is, the fascist Iron Guard] enjoy all liberties.


Communism

After 1938, during the time when the PSDR remained active in clandestinity (being banned, together with all other political parties, by King Carol), relations between Rădăceanu and the party leader
Constantin Titel Petrescu Constantin Titel Petrescu (5 February 1888 – 2 September 1957) was a Romanian politician and lawyer. He was the leader of the Romanian Social Democratic Party. He was born in Craiova, the son of an employee of the National Bank in Buchar ...
soured, and he approached the
Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...
-backed alliance created by minor parties around the PCR. In 1943, during
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...
's dictatorship (''see
Romania during World War II The Kingdom of Romania, under the rule of King Carol II of Romania, King Carol II, initially maintained Neutral country, neutrality in World War II. However, fascist political forces, especially the Iron Guard, rose in popularity and power, urgi ...
''), he was, with
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 ...
, founder and leader of the
Socialist Peasants' Party The Socialist Peasants' Party (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 in 1938 but dissol ...
; Rădăceanu soon after returned to his original party, with journalist Victor Frunză claiming he infiltrated as a secret PCR affiliate. His political adversaries alleged that, during the period, he was also benefiting from good relations with
Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
officials present in Romania. In 1944, the August 23 royal coup overthrew Antonescu, taking Romania out of its alliance with the
Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
and into the Allied bloc and leading to the reestablishment of pluralism in political life. On November 4 of that year, Rădăceanu joined the
Petru Groza Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was a Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister of the Romanian Communist Party, Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet Union, Soviet Sovie ...
cabinet, supported by the PCR, as Minister of Labor. Romania under
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 three differe ...
witnessed a growth in influence for the PCR, which sought to impose its domination on the
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
portion of the political spectrum. Rădăceanu and
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 ...
stood out inside the PSDR as advocates of close collaboration with the communists: in March 1946, a conflict erupted between those two and Titel Petrescu, splitting the party into respective wings. After several clashes inside the party, Titel Petrescu left to form an ''Independent Social Democratic Party'', while Rădăceanu and Voitec became leaders of a PSDR that had grown to 753,000 members by July 1947. The party, which remained in the ''National Democratic Front'' created around the PCR, ran on a single platform with the latter in the November 1946 general election (carried by the bloc through widespread
electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...
). During a campaign stop at the
Grivița Grivița () is a district of Bucharest, Romania, centered on the Grivița Railway Yards (''Atelierele CFR Grivița''), which were and still are an important landmark within the manufacturing landscape of the city. Located near Gara de Nord, the ...
Railway Yards, Rădăceanu had a confrontation with the PCR leader,
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian politician. He was the first Socialist Republic of Romania, Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ...
, regarding who is blocking the merger of the PSDR with the PCR. After the election, Rădăceanu stayed on as Minister of Labor in the second Groza government.


Romanian Workers' Party

In November of the following year, the PCR and PDSR merged to form the ''
Romanian Workers' Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social syst ...
'' (PMR)—a name it would retain until reverting to the PCR name in 1965. A month later, the PMR forced King Michael I to abdicate, marking the founding of the
Romanian People's Republic The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian People's Repu ...
. Rădăceanu served as a secretary of the merged party's Central Committee and a member of the
Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...
until his death. In 1946–1947, Rădăceanu was among the delegates to the
Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...
(a group led by Gheorghe Tătărescu). He was admitted to the
Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) 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 bylaws, the academy's ma ...
in 1955. Throughout his later years, he maintained the prospective of a left-wing social democrat within the PMR. He wrote articles for the
Cominform The Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (), commonly known as Cominform (), was a co-ordination body of Marxist–Leninist communist parties in Europe which existed from 1947 to 1956. Formed in the wake of the dissolution ...
magazine ''For Lasting Peace, for People's Democracy!'' which advised
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
social democratic parties (which maintained a decorative existence in some Eastern Bloc countries in order to keep up the appearance of pluralism) to be leery of
right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
deviationism In political ideology, a deviationist is a person who expresses a deviation: an abnormality or departure. In Stalinist ideology and practice, deviationism is an expressed belief which does not accord with official party doctrine for the time and a ...
.Frunză, p. 352 He died in
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
, while attending an international peace congress. His wife Eugenia was actively promoted to party offices under
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...
, benefiting from the support of
Elena Ceaușescu Elena Ceaușescu (; born Lenuța Petrescu; 7 January 1916 – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician who was the wife of Nicolae Ceaușescu, General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party and leader of the Socialist Republic o ...
(as part of a campaign of introducing women activists in the higher echelon).Tismăneanu, p. 205


Notes


References


"În București, acum 50 ani" ("In Bucharest, 50 Years Ago")
in ''
Magazin Istoric ''Magazin Istoric'' () is a Romanian monthly magazine. Overview ''Magazin Istoric'' was started in 1967. The first issue appeared in April 1967. The headquarters is in Bucharest. The monthly magazine contains articles and pictures about Romanian ...
'' *Victor Frunză, ''Istoria stalinismului în România'', Humanitas, Bucharest, 1990 * Ioan Scurtu
"Ianuarie 1933. Maiestatea sa Camarila intra în scenă" ("January 1933. Her Majesty the Camarilla Enters the Stage")
in ''
Magazin Istoric ''Magazin Istoric'' () is a Romanian monthly magazine. Overview ''Magazin Istoric'' was started in 1967. The first issue appeared in April 1967. The headquarters is in Bucharest. The monthly magazine contains articles and pictures about Romanian ...
'' *Joseph Slabey Rouček, ''Contemporary Roumania and Her Problems'', Ayer Publishing,
Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...
, 1971 * Henri H. Stahl
''Gânditori şi curente de istorie socială românească'' ("Thinkers and Trends in Romanian Social History") Cap. X: ''Gânditori dintre cele două războaie mondiale'' ("Thinkers in the Period between the Two World Wars")
*
Vladimir Tismăneanu Vladimir Tismăneanu (; born July 4, 1951) is a Romanian American political scientist, political analyst, sociologist, and professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. A specialist in political systems and comparative politics, he is d ...
, ''Stalinism for All Seasons: A Political History of Romanian Communism'',
University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
,
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...
, 2003, {{DEFAULTSORT:Radaceanu, Lothar 1890s births 1955 deaths People from Rădăuți Romanian people of German descent Bukovina Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Romanian Social Democratic Party (1927–1948) politicians Romanian Communist Party politicians Ministers of labor of Romania Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Titular members of the Romanian Academy Romanian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference of 1946 20th-century Romanian linguists 20th-century Romanian journalists