Description
Book SynopsisCombining the intimacy of memoir and the precision of history, the story of psychologist Nicolae Margineanu's imprisonment and survival conveys in striking detail the corrosive impact of Communist rule in Romania. Nicolae Margineanu's journey started in 1905 in the village of Obreja in Transylvania and ended in 1980 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He began his life under Austro-Hungarian rule, was witness to the 1918 Union, lived under three kings(Ferdinand, Carol II, and Mihai), and survived all of Romania's dictatorships, from absolute monarchy to the Legionnaires' rebellion, the Antonescian dictatorship, and finally the years under Communist rule. Margineanu studied psychology at the University of Cluj and attended postgraduate courses in Leipzig, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, and London. He was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship that enabled him to do research for two years in the United States, at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, the University of Chicago, and Duke. He returned to Romania and became chair of the psychology department at the University of Cluj. In 1948, Margineanu was arrested on a charge of "high treason," based on his alleged membership in a resistance movement against Communist rule. He was sentenced to twenty-five years' imprisonment, of which he served sixteen, passing through the jails at Malmaison, Jilava, Pitesti,Aiud, and Gherla. This book, his autobiography, is a shocking testimony to the fate of the intellectual elite of Romania during the Communist dictatorship. It is a unique and invaluable addition to the literature in English on the experience of political prisoners, not only in Communist Romania but in authoritarian states in general. Nicolae Margineanu (1905-1980) was a Romanian psychologist and writer who was a political prisoner during theperiod of Communist rule. Dennis Deletant is the Visiting Ratiu Professor of Romanian Studies at Georgetown University. Calin Cotoiu is a translator based in Bucharest, Romania.
Trade ReviewA book which will be of use to people interested in Romanian political, social and academic history, excellently translated. * EUROPEAN HISTORY QUARTERLY *
Offer[s] fascinating insights into Romanian politics and society, especially in the interwar and post-war period...Margineanu's memoirs allow for a better understanding of the concepts 'political prison' and 'political prisoner' in communist Romania. * HISTORY *
Margineanu's book is an astonishing tour de force. . . . [W]hat informs the book is the opposition between hate and ill will on the one side and the basic humanity and compassion on the other. . . . I recommend it highly. * ROMANIAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA JOURNAL *
Table of ContentsForeword by Dennis Deletant Preface The Beginning of the Road In Blaj In Orastie Student in Cluj The University of Leipzig Hamburg University The University of Berlin My Postdoctoral Exam Scientific Researcher for the Rockefeller Foundation Harvard University Yale University The University of Chicago Columbia University The University of Chicago Once More America's Scientific, Cultural, and Sociopolitical Landscape At the Universities of London and Paris At the Department and Institute of Psychology in Cluj Democracy and Dictatorship The Repercussions of the International Political Crisis The Attack against Rector Goanga The Vienna Award The Legionnaire Insanity Marshal Antonescu's Government Under Stalinist Occupation The Romanian-American Association The United States Lectures Dr. Petru Groza My Dismissal from the University The Ordeal Malmaison At the Interior Ministry The Trial The Calvary In Aiud Penitentiary Back to the Interior Ministry In Jilava Aiud Again Jilava Once More The Pitesti Penitentiary In the Penitentiaries at Dej and Gherla Appendix: Nicolae M?rgineanu, Curriculum Vitae Index
