The afterlife of interwar French Communists a group

The afterlife of interwar French Communists: a group portrait from Communist Romania Mihai Burcea & Corina Dobos, University of Bucharest Research project supported by the National Research Council, CNCS-UEFISCDI, Grant Nr. PN-II-PCE-2012 -4 -0594. MAISON DES SCIENCES DE L’HOMME & UNIVERSITY OF BURGUNDY, DIJON A Global Party. The French Communist Party in a Transnational Perspective (1917 -1991) DIJON, 25 -27 th of May 2016

www. andco. ro 1951/1952 Cristina Luca. Boico files (Romanian State Archives) Mihai Patriciu files (Romanian State Archives) Romanians in the French Resistance (1969) Different sources & layers of interpretation

MEMBERS, SYMPATHIZERS, CONSPIRATORS AND "FELLOW TRAVELERS“. SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF ROMANIA IN ITS ILLEGAL ERA PROSOPOGRAPHIES. Research project supported by the National Research Council, CNCS-UEFISCDI, Grant Nr. PN-II-PCE-2012 -4 -0594, at University of Bucharest. Director: prof. univ. dr. Adrian Cioroianu. 8530 personal records (members and supporters, connected with the Romanian Communist Party (RCP) in the first during its years of ‘underground existence’ (1924 -1944) indentified at NAR-Headqurters/ Archival Fund nr. 95. www. andco. ro

The project: a prosopographical database • the digitization of these personal records in a prosopographical data-base with connected digitalapplications, available online for free. • Prosopographical study– The collective biography of a group— the external features of a population group that the research has determined has something in common (profession, social origins, geographic origins. etc) (H. De Ridder-Symoens). The inquiry into the common characteristics of a group of historical actors by means of a collective study of their lives (N. Bulst and Ph. Genet).

A time of Moving sands… These files --- results of an exhaustive survey conducted by between 1951 -1952. The survey was organized by the Membership Office of the Central Committee of the RWP in 1951 -1952 and aimed at obtaining an accurate account of the members and supporters of the Communist Party before 1944. Moments of Scandal ‘traitors’, ‘spies’, ‘deviationists’, ‘titoists’, Zionists. Stalinist purges in the Communist block (1948 -1953) - November 1948 - May 1950: 194801953 investigation of the Party Members– led to massive exclusions (around of the 1948 members 40%) - 1949 - Oct/December Following the Rajk trial & scandal a Special Party Commission was created in order to investigate the presumed spies & traitors of the RWP– fighters in the International Brigades & the French Resistance - February –May 1952: Elimination of the “Muscovite group”: Vasile Luca, Ana Pauker, Teohari Georgescu

1951/1952 survey: 39 respondents indicate a relationship with France (FCP, French Ressitance: FTPF// FTPF-MOI, French internment camps Search – terms: French Communist Party, International Brigades, French Resistance, Paris, France, camp, Spanish Communist Party, USSR, Search upon individual names � � � � � 1. BODNAR (BLUM) ERVIN 2. BOICO MIHAIL (ROSNER MEIER) 3. BRILL SULLY 4. CHERCIMAN SARAH 5. CHIOREAN GH. 6. COLER JEAN 7. CRISTESCU PAVEL 8. FILIP GH. 9. GOLDNER ELISABETA-ROSENFELD 10. GOLDSTEIN (CIGHEL) CLARA 11. GROPARU (GRUBER) AUREL 12. GRUIA (KLEIN)SARI 13. GRUIA (GOLDBERGER) STEFAN 14. HOLBAN (BRUHMAN) BORIS 15. IACOBOVICI ARNOLD 16. IOSIFOVICI JACQUES 17. LAZAR MARGARETA 18. LEVAI VASILE � � � � � � 19. LIEBLICH (CHERCIMAN) TANIA 20. LUCA (MARCUSOHN) CRISTINA 21. LUNCAȘ EUGENIA 22. MARINESCU ION (TURMIN SIGMUND) 23. MIHAILEANU PETRE (HERSCOVICI LEON) 24. MORARU NICOLAE-NICU 25. NECULCEA MIKAIL 26. PATRICIU (GRUENBERGER) MIHAIL 27. PETRE IOSIF (BRAUNFELD) MARIOARA 28. PHILIPP ERNST 29. PHILIPP MARGARETA 30. PRUTEANU PAUL 31. SERBAN BASIL 32. SERBAN (REYNAL) LUCIENNE 33. SIMANDAN ILIE 34. SIMANDAN VETURIA 35. SPITZER CAROL 36. SUCIU PETRE (SCHARF NUSSEN) 37. TISMĂNEANU (MARCUSSOHN) HERMINA 38. TISMĂNEANU (TISMINEŢKI) LEONTE 39. ZALAMANOVICI SOFIA

Romanian Emigration in (inter)war France � Political refugees – different degrees (leftists & communists from Romania) � Workers (economic crisis) � Students (cultural connections) � Volunteers in the International Brigades in Spain who tranzited France in their road to Spain// many of them would return after 1939 in France//internment camps � 1939: 2000 Romanian volunteers in the French Army � Romanian citizens’ organizations in France � POLITICAL: the group of the Romanian Communists affiliated to the CC of the FCP (1935); the Romanian National Front (1943)- groups toghether more structures affiliated to the French Resistance � CULTURAL: „Înfrățirea”, & „Solidaritatea” (Popular Front) � 1945: Assoc. „France. Roumanie” � Journals: La Roumanie libre (French & Romanian)- 1943, a publication of the Romanian in the French Rezistance , Izbânda, Gazeta Românească

24 respondents: members of the French Communist Party 7 respondents: no time details on their membership in the FCP : BOICO MIHAIL (ROSNER MEIER), GOLDSTEIN (CIGHEL) CLARA, GROPARU (GRUBER) AUREL, GRUIA (GOLDBERGER) STEFAN, LUNCAȘ EUGENIA, SIMANDAN ILIE, SPITZER CAROL 3 respondents: became members of the FCP during their confinement in French internment camps (19391944): JEAN COLER , MIHAIL PATRICIU (GRUENBERGER), BASIL SERBAN 1940 s(1940 -1948) : 5 respondents SARAH CHERCIMAN, GH. CHIOREAN , FILIP GHEORGHE, CRISTINA LUCA (MARCUSOHN) ION MARINESCU (TURMIN SIGMUND) 2 respondents btw. 19341948: Suciu Petre (Scharf Nussen), Lazar Margareta ) 1920 s: 1 respondent: PAUL PRUTEANU, 1927 -1930 s- 6 respondents: SULLY BRILL , TANIA LIEBLICH LUCIENNE SERBAN (REYNAL) VETURIA SIMANDAN, PETRE SUCIU (SCHARF NUSSEN), SOFIA ZALAMANOVICI 9 women, 15 males/// 13 Jews, 1 Hungarian, 1 o Romanians/// Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Cannes. .

Overlapping communist identities 8 fighters in the 3 War 3 in the Volunteers’ Committees for helping the International Brigades 6 International Brigades// 7 prisoners in French internment camps prisoners (Germany & France ) – all volunteers in the French Army (1939 -1940) -- cultural associations & mass organizations of Romanian emigration and PCF ‘Infratirea’, `Liga evreiasca’, ‘Originari din Basarabia’ 8 Members of FTPF/FTP-MOI // 4 had leadership functions: 3 MOPR activists Cristina Luca– information division of FTP -MOI Paris// Romanian detachment (1942 -1943), political responsible (1944) Mihai Patriciu FTP-MOI Paris// Romanian detachment (1942 -1944) technical responsible Basil Serban- chief of FTPMOI for Southern France Gh. Filip – interregional military commander and political responsible of FTP -MOI, led the Villeurbanne/Lyon insurrection (1944) „Liberté” battalion, Sept. 1944 - led by Boris Holban

Back to Romania… � 22: whole or parts of 2 nd 22 return (go) to WW years spent in France/Germany (camps included) � 2/24 are expelled from France around 1930 (Belgium and Switzerland) and return to Romania in the early 1930’s. Romania btw. 1944 and 1948 5 - the years in the PCF are acknowledged as Party seniority// 10 – they are not acknowledged as such, for 3 the years in the PCS & PCF are acknowledged as 2 such, for their membership in the PCF is under revision, while not answer 2 did 17 btw. 19441946

1951/1952: professional situations of the respondents 5 work for the Ministry of the Interior & the Securitate: command functions BODNAR (BLUM) ERVIN BOICO MIHAIL CHIOREAN GH. GROPARU AUREL PATRICIU MIHAIL 2 work in Institutions of Political education 8 work in other Ministries: Foreign Affairs, Health, Economics, Industry 2– administrative functions in different institutions 4 work in different cultural & educational institutions (libraries, kindergardens) 2 work in media: press & radio 1 works in factory

1951 -1952: a group portrait - (Somehow) affected by the 1949 Party investigation -Keep (less) important positions in State administration - they were not put on trial or in arrested -after 1965 - the ‘illegalists’ ( most of the FCP members included) are ‘recuperated’, rehabilitated -The seniority years in the PCF are acknowledged– special pensions -Legitimizing tool for Ceausescu, kept away from the structures of power (state administration/political life) 1969 - Romanians in the French Resistance : 25 memoirs 1952 - the fall of the ‘Muscovite group’ – more serious consequences Cristina Luca Boico// Ana Pauker Mihail Patriciu// Teohari Georgescu 1958 - marks a turning point in the gradual process that started in 1952 : ‘illegalists’ ( FCP included)– most of them are removed from they key positions in state administration & party life The afterlife of the FCP– internal struggles for power of the RCP - Future research questions: homogenity of the group after 1952–