CEU eTD Collection (2008); Chiriac, Bogdan: THE 'RETRIAL' OF MARSHAL ION ANTONESCU IN POST-COMMUNIST ROMANIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY

CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2008
Author Chiriac, Bogdan
Title THE 'RETRIAL' OF MARSHAL ION ANTONESCU IN POST-COMMUNIST ROMANIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY
Summary The purpose of this study is to examine the remarkable turnabout in the interpretation of Ion Antonescu and his authoritarian regime in Post-Communist Romanian historiography. Specifically, I intend to analyze how the present-day apologists of Ion Antonescu reopened the discussions over the trial of the major war criminals (May 1946) with the purpose of uncovering its alleged procedural errors and ‘politicization’. The real motivation behind these efforts was to shift attention away from the real content of the charges that were brought against Ion Antonescu and cast the former ruler in the role of a ‘victim’ of the Communist takeover that was ‘undeservedly’ put on trial and ‘unjustly’ sentenced to death. I argue that these attempts to lessen the magnitude of Ion Antonescu’s crimes are part of a wider rehabilitation trend that aims to transform the wartime ruler into a patriot and anti-Communist of almost mythical proportions.
Supervisor Iordachi, Constantin; Stewart, Michael
Department Nationalism Studies MA
Full texthttps://www.etd.ceu.edu/2008/chiriac_bogdan.pdf

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