King Michael I and the Securitate: the first years of the exile
King Michael I and the Securitate: the first years of the exile

Summary/Abstract: In this research, the main proposed direction focuses on the relationship that the Securitate had with the members of the Romanian exile and especially with the last monarch of Romania, King Michael I. It is well known that this institution was created specifically to ensure that the ideas of the regime were spread among the entire population and to control and repress any attempt of resistance from those who were not followers of a totalitarian regime, but it is also important to analyse how the Securitate informers went beyond the borders of the country, closely following the movements of Romanians in exile.The first hypothesis refers to the area outside the borders and shows how the communist leaders did not succeed in imposing their authority in exile, since the Romanians were able to some extent to organize themselves around the king and take action to condemn the regime and the second hypothesis is based on the fact that despite the countless initiatives of the Romanians in exile to change the fate of Romania, this was not possible mainly because of the international context in which they carried out their activity. Thus, the paper aims at a multilateral approach to the subject, present on the one hand how the regime, the Securitate and the members of the exile were organised and functioned, and on the other hand how and when these two "camps" came to intersect in the first years of exile.In order to carry out this research, we used a series of methods, especially the analysis of primary sources, such as documents from the Securitate`s archives or American documents. Also, we analysed some of the King`s Michael interviews, both online and published ones. At the same time, we had an objective and chronological perspective that helped us to present all the important events very clearly. Through what has been identified up to this point, we can say that exile represented a space for action for its members and implicitly for King Mihai I, but despite all the efforts, the obstacles encountered and the less favorable context did not allow them to achieve everything they set out to do. Also, the authority of the communist leaders was not evident abroad in the early years, it was only about permanent control, but without very clear interventions.

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