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Papers by topor claudiu-lucian

The Romanian Journal for Baltic and Nordic Studies

The Romanian Journal for Baltic and Nordic Studies calls for submission of articles in all fields... more The Romanian Journal for Baltic and Nordic Studies calls for submission of articles in all fields which are intertwined with the aims of The Romanian Association for Baltic and Nordic Studies such as: history of Baltic and Nordic Europe; Baltic and Nordic Europe in International Relations; Baltic and Nordic Cultures and Civilizations; economics and societies of Baltic and Nordic Europe; relations between Romania and the Baltic and Nordic Europe

Analele ştiinţifice ale Universităţii "Al.I. Cuza" din Iaşi. Istorie, 2024

Bogdan Atanasiu (secretar de redacţie). Responsabilitatea pentru opiniile exprimate în textele pu... more Bogdan Atanasiu (secretar de redacţie). Responsabilitatea pentru opiniile exprimate în textele publicate revine în exclusivitate autorilor.

Revista de Istorie Militară, 2024

Analele Ştiințifice ale Universității „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași, s.n., Istorie, 2023

Revista Istorică, 2024

The typhus epidemic struck hard during the war years, claiming the lives of thousands of Romanian... more The typhus epidemic struck hard during the war years, claiming the lives of thousands of Romanians. The disorganised withdrawal of the Romanian army and the flow of refugees fleeing the enemy crowded the towns and villages of Moldavia, facilitating the transmission of the plague due to poor hygiene conditions. In a small territory between Siret and Prut, many divisions withdrawn from the front were crowded together. The commanders of the units recovering in Moldavia tried to find accommodation for troops as close as possible to the decision-making centre in Iași. Several localities bordering the city (Poieni, Grajduri, Voinești), covering an area of several dozen square kilometres, offered provisional residences to four army divisions. The soldiers lived in overcrowded peasant huts. Half a square metre for each man. Under these conditions, it's no wonder the virus germinated unchecked and the epidemic spread among civilians and soldiers alike. The disease appeared as early as December 1916 and peaked in March 1917. The statistics of the time recorded an increase in mortality (around 15-17%) among both army and civilians. The medical corps also paid a heavy price. More than 300 doctors (Romanian and foreign) fell in the line of duty. The proposed paper, drawing on local archival sources and following fragments of memoirs, investigates how the authorities in Iași responded to the challenges posed by the spread of this disease, which haunted hospitals and entered people's homes. Administrative measures at the level of the Iași City Hall and the 'circulation of papers' between authorities, responding to the impact of the epidemic, thus complement the reflection of trauma in autobiographical literature.

Transylvanian Review, 2018

At the start of the Great War (1914), Romania had proclaimed its neutrality. The internal politic... more At the start of the Great War (1914), Romania had proclaimed its neutrality. The internal politicalscene was becoming increasingly volatile, and the actions of the diplomacy revealed the preoccupationfor finding new allies. This search was not, however, an open-and-shut case. Thepreference of the decision-makers of the era for the Entente powers prevailed, but the path tothe alliance was tortuous and beset by tensions. After entering the war (August 1916), Romaniaconstructed its own picture of the military contribution of its allies. This image (intensely presentin memoirs) preserves several pre-war features and adds new strengths. For the Romanian elites,France had been one of the beacons of modern civilization. Much had been said about the influenceof the French spirit in the emancipation process experienced by Romanian society. On theother hand, however, Russia, as an imperial power, enjoyed a negative perception. It had snatchedBessarabia from the Romanians, after the Berlin Congress, and had created a ring of fire around
the Kingdom of Romania by calling for brothers of the same race (the Slavs) in the North and
West of the Balkan Peninsula to show solidarity. The existing stereotypes did not die out—on
the contrary, they became amplified during the war. The proposed presentation aims to clarify
the manner in which Romanians viewed the contribution of the Entente allies to their wareffort, an image they preserved afterwards for many years in collective memory. The in-depth intentof the text is to show why the French and the Russians, each represented in unbalanced proportionson the Romanian front, were the object of such extremely different perceptions, and whatwere the defining traits that contributed to this type of portrayal.

Die unbekannte Front, 2018

Brukenthalia, 2017

In 20th century Europe there were two great generations of memory. Each of them, in its own way, ... more In 20th century Europe there were two great generations of memory. Each of them, in its own way, had
had a taste of the direct experience of war. One generation was represented by the victims. From its midst rose
a wave of images and commemorating narratives. The cult of memory would become the expression of a universal
phenomenon in the Interwar years. Imposing monuments (mausoleums) were built in all belligerent countries,
and their message evoked suffering, carnage and sacrifice. The second generation of the war memory operated
later from the 1970s. The latter feel more connected with the tragic experience of the Second World War. The
memories of this experience linger in the rhetoric of resistance. In the European West, resistance means the fight
against the Nazi and represents the origin of a renewed political culture in the countries humiliated by the war.
In Eastern Europe the same idea, used in propaganda favours the instauration of the totalitarian left. The Second
World War commemoration events and glorious public shows reawaken the memories of the First World War as
well, albeit as a secondary topic and subordinated to ideological guidelines. In totalitarian Romania, nationalist
communism includes in its propaganda the commemoration of the past sacrifices in order to justify its own
historical paradigm. From now on the game shifts the attention from the authentic memory of the 1914 war to
re-narrated memories, converted monuments and redefined history. The so-called glorification of Mărășești reflects the transition from memory to remembrance of the representations of a battle on the Romanian front.
The paper aims to analyse the way the legend of Mărășești was started and disseminated in the public space, andthen transformed into a propaganda topic.

The War of Yesterday, 2018

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and... more All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission of the publisher.

ASUI, 2021

vremea ce au fost Mareş banul vornic mare, fiind mare şi putérnecu". Adăugiri la biografia marelu... more vremea ce au fost Mareş banul vornic mare, fiind mare şi putérnecu". Adăugiri la biografia marelui dregător muntean Mareş Băjescu ....

RJMH, 2021

At the end of April 1918, Richard von Kühlmann, Secretary of State in the German Foreign Minister... more At the end of April 1918, Richard von Kühlmann, Secretary of State in the German Foreign Minister, met with the parliamentarians of the main political parties in order to explain the meaning and the progress of the peace talks in Bucharest. He had to reply to numerous reproaches and had prepared a sound argumentative exposition. The content of the respective exposition is analyzed in the pages of the present paper. The chosen historical perspective reconsiders the context and circumstances of this event. The analysis of the arguments used by von Kühlmann to combat the accusations of the conservative opposition represents as many keys of discussions on the purposes of the German policy in Eastern Europe at the end of the Great War. Regarding the goals of the Romanian delegates, the paper proposes conclusions drawn more from the diplomatic conduct and less from speculation on the articles of the treaty. If it was a punitive peace (the victor's peace), then it was a peace dictated by immediate political imperatives. If a permissive peace (the losers' peace) was signed, then the reason was to secure strategic compensations for the future. Following the acts of peace superimposed by the diplomacy displayed by Richard von Kühlmann in Bucharest, as this is revealed by the analysis of the report presented to the Parliament, the present research tries to clarify an old controversy: what was the outcome of this peace (Buftea-Bucharest, 1918) in the dramatic evolution of the scenarios for the last months of the war.

ASUI, 2022

The case of Alexandru Beldiman does not feature among the biographies of the personalities presen... more The case of Alexandru Beldiman does not feature among the biographies of the personalities present in the book. However, we discover him here as a character affiliated with Germanophile beliefs, in the author's comments and in some excerpts of private correspondence.

RESEE, 2022

Repudiated biographies during the Great War-Some Romanian "collaborationists" and their historica... more Repudiated biographies during the Great War-Some Romanian "collaborationists" and their historical culpability* In the modern postwar era, the fate of collaborationists has been an extremely harsh one all over Europe. Revenge proved to be a form of purifying therapy, even though insufficient at times, for the endured suffering, for the grotesque treatments and for the population's unimaginable grief. For numerous Europeans, thirst for revenge has weighed more than anything else at the end of the war, even more than the joy of freedom. The violence climax was reached after the end of World War II. Both in the East and in the West of Europe, "collaborationists" have been tried and executed, sometimes publicly. Hundreds of thousands of people were arrested for treason, for war crimes and for collaborationism. Some were found guilty of minor crimes and thus released shortly, while others had to undergo longer periods of imprisonment 1. A mere two decades and a half before, in the final stage of the Great War, there was also much talk about treason, more that in any other war before it. In many postwar states internal conflicts had arisen, escalating in the years of the reconstruction. Part of Europe faced, beginning with 1917, a massive proliferation of civil wars 2 , while in some countries, proclaimed as winners by the Paris Peace Conference, the wounds of war reclaimed "internal" pacifications, in the spirit of the victor's justice. One iconic photograph of the time was the one that inspired Liviu Rebreanu to give the title The forest of the hanged to one of his most successful novels. The writer had seen a forest in which bodies of Czech soldiers were hanging, somewhere behind the Austrian

Conference Presentations by topor claudiu-lucian

Romania's legation in Athens and the challenges of Greek politics. Correspondence from the time o... more Romania's legation in Athens and the challenges of Greek politics. Correspondence from the time of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) Romanian-Greek relations had a respectable and quite long history before the outbreak of the Balkan wars. Be they commercial, cultural, religious, political and diplomatic, the modern ties between Romanians and Greeks have been intense since the Phanariot century until the era of national emancipation. However, their development had been oscillating and contradictory. They moved relatively easy from the rhetoric of brotherhood to positions of enmity. In May 1919, the Greek minister Psichas, who had been accredited to Bucharest since 1914, gave an interview to the newspaper 'Patris', in which he stated that the historical past was responsible for the animosities between the two peoples, the Romanians having accumulated frustrations towards the Greeks since the time of the Phanariot rule, as well as a certain feeling of superiority that the Greeks in Romania did not conceal, which made them less popular in the eyes of the Romanians 1. Of the Balkan states in which Romania showed interest in political rapprochement, Greece seemed to be an out-of-reach temptation. At the beginning of the 20 th century (even before the recognition of the nationality of the Aromanians by the Ottoman Porte decree of 1905) tensions increased, culminating in the suspension of diplomatic ties. However, the dark clouds soon dispersed. In May 1901, King Carol I of Romania and King George of Greece met at Abbazia in Dalmatia to discuss the political situation in the Balkans. Unfortunately, no political agreement was reached, as Balkan nationalism, which had been converted into autonomy for the Macedonian Aromanian community, was always a sensitive stumbling block between the wishes of the Romanians and the feelings of the Greeks. Although there was a large Greek community living in Romania at the time, and despite the opportunities for trade and economic prosperity, the national fervour actually prevented negotiations from materialising into a political alliance 2. Moreover, touching strictly on the question of Greek-Romanian relations, from the first months of the Balkan War (1912) the Minister Plenipotentiary in Athens took an interest in the fate of the Vlach community in Macedonia. Rumours were circulating about atrocities committed by Greek troops in the occupied territories. Alexandru G. Florescu asked Koromilas for an explanation of the alleged incidents, but the Greek Foreign Minister's reply was unconvincing. In the new context of the war, that of June 1913, the Greek Prime Minister Elefterios Venizelos had to promise to issue a circular to the prefects concerning the situation of the Macedonian Romanians, asking

Romania in the Ottoman Russian Wars, 2024

Ammunition transit to the Ottoman Empire. The attitude of the Romanian government and the positio... more Ammunition transit to the Ottoman Empire. The attitude of the Romanian government and the position of the German diplomats (1915)" The dispute over the transit of the Ottoman Empire's munitions began in the summer of 1914, even before the government in Constantinople decided to enter the war with the Central Powers, and continued long afterwards. The first impression is that the Romanian authorities took a hasty decision: the Romanian government opposed the transit of Turkish ammunition through the orders of Emil Costinescu, the Minister of Finance. The Bucharest government's decision surprised Berlin and caused diplomatic reactions. But the Ottoman government was the first to react, announcing its "embarrassing surprise" at "certain measures" taken in Romania that were not in Turkey's interests. The question of ammunition had become a crucial one in Berlin. Turkey needed shells, guns, cars etc. not only for the defence of the Dardanelles but also for the battles in Egypt and the fighting in Baghdad. By refusing to allow Turkey to procure the means of defence it required, Romania was actually supporting the action of the Powers, who wanted to dispossess Constantinople of the Straits. This is an unfriendly attitude for the explanation of which Romania cannot invoke even its obligations as a neutral state, as long as the Hague Convention explicitly allows neutrals to accept the passage of munitions of war for the belligerents. Smuggling, bribing customs officials, even transport by zeppelin, notwithstanding the risk of such an aircraft crashing. But there was no substitute for the transfer by rail or the passage through Romanian seaports. That is why, as Turkey sank into a difficult war of attrition, the transit of munitions became an object of diplomatic negotiations, and later even of threats from Berlin. As the shortage of munitions became acute and threatened the preservation of the Dardanelles, German rhetoric took on more threatening forms. Finally, there was also talk of drafting an ultimatum designed to intimidate Bucharest, thus forcing the hand of the Brătianu government towards a favourable decision. Running out of immediate solutions, the German strategy towards Romania's opposition to the transit of Turkish ammunition changed on the fly. In fact, Berlin refocused on Serbia. Germany carefully planned a decisive military strike against Belgrade. That would be the source of practical and more significant advantages: unlocking the route to Turkey and drawing Bulgaria into the war.