A történetírásban vita folyik a »kényszermunka« (forced labor, Zwangsarbeit) fogalomról, a szakem... more A történetírásban vita folyik a »kényszermunka« (forced labor, Zwangsarbeit) fogalomról, a szakemberek között nézetkülönbségek vannak a fogalom tartalmával kapcsolatban, de abban mind megegyeznek, hogy vannak olyan jellegzetességek, amelyek a Dnyeszter-melléki zsidókra és romákra egyaránt illenek. Etnikai, rasszista szempontok szerint idegen országba deportált emberekről van szó, akiknek ott kellett dolgozniuk, ahová akaratuk ellenére szállították őket; összegyűjtötték őket és olyan munkát végeztettek velük, amelynek semmi köze nem volt a szakképesítésükhöz; szerződés nélkül dolgoztak, határozatlan ideig és bármilyen perspektíva nélkül, hogy valaha visszatérhetnek eredeti lakhelyükre; általában fizetés nélkül dolgoztak, a javadalmazás kimerült az élelem és a szálláshely biztosításában nekik és családtagjaiknak.
Co-Authors: Tuvia Friling, Radu Ioanid, Mihail E. Ionescu, Ioan Scurtu, Viorel Achim, Jean Ancel,... more Co-Authors: Tuvia Friling, Radu Ioanid, Mihail E. Ionescu, Ioan Scurtu, Viorel Achim, Jean Ancel, Colette Avital, Andrew Baker, Lya Benjamin, Liviu Beris, Randolph Braham, Irina Cajal Marin, Adrian Cioflâncă, Ioan Ciupercă, Alexandru Elias, Alexandru Florian, Mihai Dinu Gheorghiu, Hildrun Glass, Menachem Hacohen, Vasile Ionescu, Corneliu Mihai Lungu, Daniel S. Mariaschin, Victor Opaschi, Andrei Pippidi, Meir Rosenne, Liviu Rotman, Michael Shafir, Paul Shapiro, William Totok, Raphael Vago, George Voicu, Leon Volovici.
Coautori: Tuvia Friling, Radu Ioanid, Mihail E. Ionescu, Ioan Scurtu, Viorel Achim, Jean Ancel, C... more Coautori: Tuvia Friling, Radu Ioanid, Mihail E. Ionescu, Ioan Scurtu, Viorel Achim, Jean Ancel, Colette Avital, Andrew Baker, Lya Benjamin, Liviu Beris, Randolph Braham, Irina Cajal Marin, Adrian Cioflâncă, Ioan Ciupercă, Alexandru Elias, Alexandru Florian, Mihai Dinu Gheorghiu, Hildrun Glass, Menachem Hacohen, Vasile Ionescu, Corneliu Mihai Lungu, Daniel S. Mariaschin, Victor Opaschi, Andrei Pippidi, Meir Rosenne, Liviu Rotman, Michael Shafir, Paul Shapiro, William Totok, Raphael Vago, George Voicu, Leon Volovici.
A történetírásban vita folyik a »kényszermunka« (forced labor, Zwangsarbeit) fogalomról, a szakem... more A történetírásban vita folyik a »kényszermunka« (forced labor, Zwangsarbeit) fogalomról, a szakemberek között nézetkülönbségek vannak a fogalom tartalmával kapcsolatban, de abban mind megegyeznek, hogy vannak olyan jellegzetességek, amelyek a Dnyeszter-melléki zsidókra és romákra egyaránt illenek. Etnikai, rasszista szempontok szerint idegen országba deportált emberekről van szó, akiknek ott kellett dolgozniuk, ahová akaratuk ellenére szállították őket; összegyűjtötték őket és olyan munkát végeztettek velük, amelynek semmi köze nem volt a szakképesítésükhöz; szerződés nélkül dolgoztak, határozatlan ideig és bármilyen perspektíva nélkül, hogy valaha visszatérhetnek eredeti lakhelyükre; általában fizetés nélkül dolgoztak, a javadalmazás kimerült az élelem és a szálláshely biztosításában nekik és családtagjaiknak.
Co-Authors: Tuvia Friling, Radu Ioanid, Mihail E. Ionescu, Ioan Scurtu, Viorel Achim, Jean Ancel,... more Co-Authors: Tuvia Friling, Radu Ioanid, Mihail E. Ionescu, Ioan Scurtu, Viorel Achim, Jean Ancel, Colette Avital, Andrew Baker, Lya Benjamin, Liviu Beris, Randolph Braham, Irina Cajal Marin, Adrian Cioflâncă, Ioan Ciupercă, Alexandru Elias, Alexandru Florian, Mihai Dinu Gheorghiu, Hildrun Glass, Menachem Hacohen, Vasile Ionescu, Corneliu Mihai Lungu, Daniel S. Mariaschin, Victor Opaschi, Andrei Pippidi, Meir Rosenne, Liviu Rotman, Michael Shafir, Paul Shapiro, William Totok, Raphael Vago, George Voicu, Leon Volovici.
Coautori: Tuvia Friling, Radu Ioanid, Mihail E. Ionescu, Ioan Scurtu, Viorel Achim, Jean Ancel, C... more Coautori: Tuvia Friling, Radu Ioanid, Mihail E. Ionescu, Ioan Scurtu, Viorel Achim, Jean Ancel, Colette Avital, Andrew Baker, Lya Benjamin, Liviu Beris, Randolph Braham, Irina Cajal Marin, Adrian Cioflâncă, Ioan Ciupercă, Alexandru Elias, Alexandru Florian, Mihai Dinu Gheorghiu, Hildrun Glass, Menachem Hacohen, Vasile Ionescu, Corneliu Mihai Lungu, Daniel S. Mariaschin, Victor Opaschi, Andrei Pippidi, Meir Rosenne, Liviu Rotman, Michael Shafir, Paul Shapiro, William Totok, Raphael Vago, George Voicu, Leon Volovici.
The German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv) contain nine photographs of the Iaşi Pogrom of June 28... more The German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv) contain nine photographs of the Iaşi Pogrom of June 28-30, 1941. The photographs are part of a file belonging to the Bundesarchiv-Außenstelle Ludwigsburg. The original photographs were taken by an unknown photographer, on July 1, 1941, at the train station in Târgu Frumos, where one of the two “death trains” stopped, by which the Jews arrested in those days in Iaşi were transported and in which many of them died. Now, they are kept in the Photo Archive (Bildungsarchiv) of the Bundesarchiv Koblenz. This article makes a presentation of the nine photographs, by comparing them with the photographs kept in other archives in Romania and abroad and by placing them in the context of the events of those days, and publishes two of these pieces, from which one can be found only in the Bundesarchiv. At the same time, the article describes an investigation into these photographs and the person who possessed them (a former Wehrmacht soldier) carried out in 1965-1966 by the Central Office of the Judicial Authorities of the Federal States for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg (Zentrale Stelle der Landesjustizverwaltungen zur Aufklärung Nationalsozialistischer Verbrechen). On that occasion, this German judicial institution became interested in the Pogrom in Iaşi and it is understood that the documents created by it mention this tragic event.
Studii şi Materiale de Istorie Contemporană, S.N., 2019
This paper deals with the moment in 1948-1949, when the General Union of the Roma in Romania (Uni... more This paper deals with the moment in 1948-1949, when the General Union of the Roma in Romania (Uniunea Generală a Romilor din România), which was the representative organization of the Roma, unsuccessfully tried to obtain for them from the communist authorities the status of a national minority. For the Romanian Communist Party, the Roma represented a population that had to be brought into its sphere of influence. Discussions on the establishment of the People’s Union of the Roma (Uniunea Populară a Romilor din România) lasted for several months but eventually led to the rejection of the request of the Roma leaders. The institutions involved in these discussions created documents, some of which are kept in the archives and allow us to study this moment in time. An archival document of particular importance for understanding what happened in those years and for understanding the motivations behind the communist authorities’ decision not to grant the status of a national minority to the Roma is the study titled The Gypsy Problem in the Romanian People’s Republic, which was drawn up by the Department for the Issues of Coinhabiting Nationalities in the context of the negotiations in the first months of 1949 between the ministry’s leadership and the Roma leaders in connection with the recognition of the Roma as a national minority.
The public discussion regarding the emancipation of the Gypsies that took place in the Romanian p... more The public discussion regarding the emancipation of the Gypsies that took place in the Romanian principalities in the 1840s and 1850s was not limited to the issue of transforming the Gypsy slaves into legally free people, settled in houses and working in the agricultural field, like most of the country’s inhabitants. The Romanian abolitionists asked themselves what to do with the former slaves after they were legally emancipated, what place they would take within the social structure of the country, how they would act towards the other social categories, what place they would have within the Romanian nation. These were all questions that were debated in those years, when the liberal elites argued in favor of the emancipation of the Gypsies and when the actual emancipation took place, but also in the years following the last emancipation laws, when the problematic situation of the “emancipated” people (as the former slaves were called at that time) was still fresh.
À partir d’un document emis à Konstanz, le 15 janvier 1415, par l’antipape Jean XXIII, concernant... more À partir d’un document emis à Konstanz, le 15 janvier 1415, par l’antipape Jean XXIII, concernant les habitants de plusieurs villages roumains situés dans le diocèse de Cenad (dans le Banat), l’auteur analyse dans cette étude le statut fiscal des Roumains (en général des Orthodoxes) du royaume médiéval de Hongrie par raport à l’Église catholique.
Studii şi Materiale de Istorie Contemporană, N.S., 2016
This article analyzes the studies and projects of population policy elaborated in Romania in the ... more This article analyzes the studies and projects of population policy elaborated in Romania in the years 1940-1942 concerning the Romanians of Yugoslavia and the territories they inhabited. Yugoslavia (after April 1941, Serbia) was the country with the largest Romanian minority in Southeast Europe and the Romanian government lead by General (later on Marshall) Ion Antonescu paid attention to this population. The projects from the years 1940-1942 proposed various scenarios for the two Romanian groups in the neighboring country (the Romanians from the Serbian Banat and the Romanians in the Timok region), most often being evoked the population exchange formula. Some projects also proposed the modification of the border between the two countries. The population policy projects are discussed in relation with the Romanian government’s policy towards Yugoslavia (from April 1941, towards Serbia). It is mentioned here the Romanian government’s memorandum sent to Berlin and Rome on April 23, 1941, after the German invasion in Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941 and the dismemberment of this country. The memorandum demanded border changes in Southeast Europe, given that events in the Balkans and Yugoslavia had led to radical changes in the political balance of the region; likewise, Romania claimed its “rights” in the Serbian Banat. The article shows that the claims advanced in the memorandum had nothing to do with population policy as it had so far been considered in the Bucharest laboratories.
This paper deals with the moment in 1948-1949, when the representative organization of the Romani... more This paper deals with the moment in 1948-1949, when the representative organization of the Romanian Roma unsuccessfully tried to obtain for them from the communist authorities the status of a national minority. For the Romanian Communist Party, the Roma represented a population that had to be brought into its sphere of influence. Discussions on the establishment of the People’s Union of the Roma lasted for several months but eventually led to the rejection of the request of the Roma leaders. The institutions involved in these discussions created documents, some of which are kept in the archives and allow us to study this moment in time. An archival document of particular importance for understanding what happened in those years and for understanding the motivations behind the communist authorities’ decision not to grant the status of a national minority to the Roma is the study titled The Gypsy Problem in the Romanian People’s Republic, which was drawn up by the Department for the Issues of Coinhabiting Nationalities in the context of the negotiations in the first months of 1949 between the ministry’s leadership and the Roma leaders in connection with the recognition of the Roma as a national minority.
Euxeinos. Governance and Culture in the Black Sea Region, No. 1 (2011), Romania and the Holocaust: Delicate Reappraisal of a Fateful Past, Guest Editor: Daniel Ursprung, pp. 13-16., 2011
In: Călători străini despre Ţările Române în secolul al XIX-lea [Foreign Travellers about the Romanian Countries], New Series, Vol. VII: (1858-1859), co-ordinator Daniela Buşă, Bucharest: Editura Academiei Române, 2012, pp. 193-198.
Venera Achim, Viorel Achim (eds.), Modernizare socială şi instituţională în Principatele Române, 1831-1859 [Social and Institutional Modernization in the Romanian Principalities, 1831-1859], Bucharest: Editura Academiei Române, 2016, pp. 149-166., 2016
During the 1830s-1860s, when the emancipation of the Gypsies from Wallachia and Moldavia took pla... more During the 1830s-1860s, when the emancipation of the Gypsies from Wallachia and Moldavia took place through a complex legislative process, the legal transformation (granting of personal freedom to the former slaves) was accompanied by a series of social transformations that altered to a great extent the data of this population. The present study deals with two major social processes which involved at the time the Gypsy population and took place quasi-simultaneously: the sedentarization – namely giving up the itinerant way of life, settling into villages and living in houses or huts – and its linking to the agricultural occupation – namely the transformation of the Gypsies in farmers, like the vast majority of the country’s population. The study reports the general lines followed by the two social processes and the relation that existed between them. It is shown that these transformations were conditioned not only by the measures “for the improvement of the conditions of Gypsies” in the 1830s and early 1840s and by the laws of emancipation between 1843 and 1856, but also by the significant social transformations experienced then by the Romanian Principalities, that paved the way from feudalism to modernity.
In: Slavery in the Black Sea Region, c.900-1900. Forms of Unfreedom at the Intersection between Christianity and Islam. Edited by Felicia Roşu. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2021, pp. 117-142.
In: Elena Marushiakova and Vesselin Popov (eds.), Roma Voices in History. A Sourcebook. Roma Civic Emancipation in Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe from the 19th Century until World War II, Leiden: Brill & Ferdinand Schöning, 2021, pp. 306-466.
In: Damian A. Pargas, Juliane Schiel (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Global Slavery throughout History, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, pp. 535-552. , 2023
In Southeastern Europe, slavery was present in various forms from antiquity until the nineteenth ... more In Southeastern Europe, slavery was present in various forms from antiquity until the nineteenth century. During the 1800s, slavery as a social reality still existed in the Ottoman Empire (including its European provinces) as well as in the Romanian principalities. Wallachia and Moldavia had slaves and slavery since their founding in the fourteenth century. Around the middle of the nineteenth century, the roughly 250000 slaves living in the two countries represented seven percent of the total population. There were three categories of slaves: state slaves, slaves owned by monasteries, and privately owned slaves. The slave population was diverse in numerous ways. In terms of their ethnicity, most slaves were Roma, while some were of Romanian or other origin. As in previous centuries, they played an important role in the country’s economy—primarily by way of the enslaved craftsmen who practiced their crafts itinerantly in villages. This chapter reconstructs the history of slavery, abolitionism, and emancipation in the Romanian principalities between the 1830s and the 1850s, with reference to previous periods and similar processes taking place around the same time in other geographical areas.
Celia Donert and Eve Rosenhaft (eds.), The Legacies of the Romani Genocide in Europe since 1945. New York: Routledge, 2022, pp. 38-54. , 2022
This chapter explores the post-war fate of approximately 14,000 Roma who survived deportations to... more This chapter explores the post-war fate of approximately 14,000 Roma who survived deportations to Transnistria and returned to Romania. Drawing on the archives of the Romanian state, the chapter asks how the Romanian administration and Roma organizations responded to the deportees. It shows that little was done at the governmental level but that local and district authorities sought to help the Roma to integrate into local communities, just as local Roma organizations were more effective than the leadership of the General Union of the Roma in Romania in helping former deportees and representing their interests to the state administration.
In: Maria Crăciun, Ovidiu Ghitta (eds.), Church and Society in Central and Eastern Europe, Cluj-Napoca: European Studies Foundation Publishing House, 1998, pp. 123-135.
In: Istorie şi diplomaţie în relaţiile internaţionale. Omagiu istoricului Tahsin Gemil [History and Diplomacy in the International Relations. Festschrift to Professor Tahsin Gemil]. Eds. Daniel Flaut, Iolanda Ţighiliu. Constanţa: Ovidius University Press, 2003, pp. 61-72.
In: Roni Stauber & Raphael Vago (eds.), The Roma – A Minority in Europe: Historical, Political and Social Perspectives, Budapest, New York: Central European University Press, 2007, pp. 89-102.
In: Sorina Paula Bolovan, Ioan Bolovan, Rudolf Gräf, Corneliu Pădurean (eds.), Mişcări de populaţie şi aspecte demografice în România în prima jumătate a secolului XX, Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2007, pp. 241-254.
In: In memoriam Radu Popa. Temeiuri ale civilizaţiei româneşti în context european [In memorian Radu Popa. Elements of Romanian Civilization in European Context].Ed. Daniela Marcu Istrate, Angel Istrate, Corneliu Gaiu. Cluj-Napoca: Accent, 2003, pp. 241-248.
In: Ovidiu Cristea, Gheorghe Lazăr (eds.), Vocaţia istoriei. Prinos profesorului Şerban Papacostea [The Vocation of History. A Tribute to Professor Şerban Papacostea], Brăila: Editura Istros, Muzeul Brăilei, 2008, pp. 69-79.
In: Nouvelles Études d’Histoire. Vol. XII. Publiées à l’occasion du XXIe Congrès International des Sciences Historiques, Amsterdam, 2010. Editor: Dan Berindei. Bucharest: Editura Academiei Române, 2010, pp. 85-102.
In: Ioan Bolovan, Sorina Paula Bolovan (eds.). Schimbare şi devenire în istoria României [Change and Evolution in the History of Romania]. Cluj-Napoca: Academia Română, Centrul de Studii Transilvane, 2008, pp. 649-660.
In: O identitate secundă. Dennis John Deletant, Istoria, România şi Românii. In honorem Dennis Deletant. Ed. Ottmar Traşcă, Virgiliu Ţârău. Cluj-Napoca: Argonaut, 2016, pp. 235-262.
In November 1943, the Prefecture of the Golta County, In Transnistria, established in the town of... more In November 1943, the Prefecture of the Golta County, In Transnistria, established in the town of Golta a special camp for the deported Gypsies who were caught trying to flee to Romania. At that moment the Gypsies’ flight from Transnistria became massive and the authorities thought that a punishment camp can reduce this phenomenon. This article presents the history of the camp for Gypsies in Golta from its establishment until its disbandment (in February 1944), giving information on the number of internees (at one point, 677), the living conditions in the camp, the labour performed by internees for the town hall and the German military units in the area etc. This camp in Golta was not typical for the regime that the deported Gypsies had in Transnistria, who, in their vast majority, were settled in villages and accommodated in houses, huts or in the stables of the state and collective farms. The harsh living conditions and the forced labour makes the camp in Golta one of the worst sites experienced by the Gypsies deported to Transnistria.
In: Jeff Fynn-Paul and Damian Alan Pargas (eds.), Slaving Zones: Cultural Identities, Ideologies, and Institutions in the Evolution of Global Slavery, Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2017, pp. 70-93.
In: Viorel Achim, Constantin Iordachi (eds.), România şi Transnistria: Problema Holocaustului. Perspective istorice şi comparative [Romania and Transnistria: The Holocaust Issue. Historical and Comparative Perspectives], Bucharest: Curtea Veche, 2004, pp. 201-233.
The List of 84 Selected Abstracts for 2015 Gypsy Lore Society Annual Meeting and Conference on Gy... more The List of 84 Selected Abstracts for 2015 Gypsy Lore Society Annual Meeting and Conference on Gypsy/Romani Studies (Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, 10-12 September 2015).
Volumul de documente editat de Episcopia Romano-Catolică de Iaşi, materializat ca urmare a străda... more Volumul de documente editat de Episcopia Romano-Catolică de Iaşi, materializat ca urmare a strădaniei Departamentului de Cercetare Ştiinţifică al Episcopiei, înfiinţat din iniţiativa monseniorului Petru Gherghel, este primul dintr-o serie planificată sub numele Documenta Catholicorum ...
The main issues arising from the encounter between Roma people and surrounding European society s... more The main issues arising from the encounter between Roma people and surrounding European society since the time of their arrival in Medieval Europe until today are discussed in this work. The history of their persecution and genocide during the Nazi era, in particular, is central to the present volume. Significantly, some authors sought to emphasize the continuing history of prejudice and persecution, which reached a peak during the Nazi era and persisted after the war. Current questions of social integration in Europe, as well as that of ethnic definition and the construction of ethnic-national identity constitute another principal pillar of the book. The complexity of issues involved, such as collective memory, myth-making and social constructionism, trigger intense debate among researchers dealing with Romani studies. This volume is the result of an international conference held at Tel Aviv University in December 2002. The conference, one of the largest held among the academic com...
In November 1942, the Queen Mother Elena appealed to Mihai Antonescu, vice-president of the Counc... more In November 1942, the Queen Mother Elena appealed to Mihai Antonescu, vice-president of the Council of Ministers, for the repatriation of a woman of Roma origin who had been deported to Transnistria. This was not an isolated gesture of the Queen Mother. She was involved in saving the Jews between 1941 and 1944 and for her efforts she was granted the title of „Righteous among the Nations.” The Queen Mother also intervened in favor of the deported Roma. This article follows not only the Queen Mother’s intervention in favor of Eva Iancu Stoica, from Sebeş, Alba County, but also the story of this woman who, in many respects, is illustrative for the destiny of many of the more than 25.000 Roma deported to Transnistria. She was among the few Roma who left voluntarily for Transnistria, but in the deportation place she went through the same experiences as most deportees. Unfortunately, the intervention of the Queen Mother in her favor was not successful, because Eva Iancu Stoica died before the operation of repatriation began.
Elena Marushiakova; Vesselin Popov (eds), Roma Voices in History. A Sourcebook , 2021
This ground-breaking book is an impressively extensive collection of primary historical sources i... more This ground-breaking book is an impressively extensive collection of primary historical sources in various languages that reflect the history of the Roma (formerly referred to as ‘Gypsies’ in local languages). The selection of the included materials reflects the authentic voice of the Roma themselves, and presents their visions and the specific goals pursued by the Roma civic emancipation movement. The source materials are published in original and translated in English and are accompanied by explanatory notes and summarising comments discussing the specific historical realities and their interrelation to the Romani emancipatory movement in Central and Eastern Europe, thus presenting a comprehensive picture of the historical processes.
Les Etres en marge: les Tsiganes de l'Empire ottomane [The people on the edges: The Gypsies i... more Les Etres en marge: les Tsiganes de l'Empire ottomane [The people on the edges: The Gypsies in the Ottoman Empire]. Omer Ulusoy. Istanbul: Les Edition Isis, 2013, 151 pp., ISBN 978-5-428-82-9Reviewed by Viorel AchimOmer Ulusoy's book, a revised version of his master's degree thesis presented at the University of Strasbourg in 2011, is among the works published in the last two decades that are devoted to the history of Gypsies in the Ottoman Empire. Starting with the monograph by Marushiakova and Popov (2000) and continuing with the works of Altinoz (2005), Dingec (2007), Yuksel (2009), Celik (2013), and others, this has become an important research topic. Understanding the Gypsies' history in the Ottoman Empire, a state spread over three continents, is useful for all scholars with an interest in the history and culture of this population.The three chapters of Ulusoy's book are separate studies, which differ both in the period of their focus and in presentation. T...
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The population policy projects are discussed in relation with the Romanian government’s policy towards Yugoslavia (from April 1941, towards Serbia). It is mentioned here the Romanian government’s memorandum sent to Berlin and Rome on April 23, 1941, after the German invasion in Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941 and the dismemberment of this country. The memorandum demanded border changes in Southeast Europe, given that events in the Balkans and Yugoslavia had led to radical changes in the political balance of the region; likewise, Romania claimed its “rights” in the Serbian Banat. The article shows that the claims advanced in the memorandum had nothing to do with population policy as it had so far been considered in the Bucharest laboratories.