GEMEINSCHAFTS- UND RICHTLINIENKONFORME AUSLEGUNG

TUMAČENJE U SKLADU SA EVROPSKIM PRAVOM I DIREKTIVAMA

Author(s): Darko Samardžić / Language(s): Bosnian / Issue: 09/2012

Keywords: Methodenkanon; verfassungskonforme Auslegung; europarechtskonforme Auslegung

Die vier klassischen Auslegungsmethoden, wie sie in Methodenkanon von Savigny beschrieben wurden, gelten weiterhin als Grundlage der Rechtsauslegung. Im 20-ten Jahrhundert sind weitere Methoden entstanden, wie die rechtsvergleichende Methode, die verfassungskonforme Auslegung und europarechtskonforme Auslegung. Die europarechtskonforme Auslegung, kann dank ihres spezifischen Rechtscharakters und des Fortschrittes der Integration, als autonome Methode beschrieben werden, mit einer eigenständigen Rolle in der Rechtsdogmatik. Die autonome Auslegung des Europarechts ist funktionell mit der verfassunskonformen Auslegung vergleichbar, nur auf der Ebene der Mitgliedsstaaten. So ist die Verfassung nicht mehr der letzte rechtliche Maßstab. Ebenfalls vergleichbar mit dem Verfassungsrecht, entsteht eine gemeinsame Struktur und Koherenz, unterstützt durch den Loyalitätsgrundsatz und effet utile. Immer wenn Gerichte Recht auslegen, insbesondere wenn sie Rechtslücken füllen oder die Normen korigieren, stellt sich die Frage der Auslegungsgrenzen. Als Auslegungsgrenzen werden weiterhin die klassischen Grenzen praeter und contra legem benutzt. Es besteht kein Muster, dass bei jeder Entscheidung benutzt werden kann.

THE NEW LAW ON LEGAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

NOVI ZAKON O PARNIČNOM POSTUPKU REPUBLIKE SRBIJE

Author(s): Vladimir Boranijašević / Language(s): Serbian / Issue: 09/2012

Keywords: legal proceedings; the court; prosecutor; respondent; attorney; claim; verdict; legal remedy

The new Law on Legal Proceedings of the Republic of Serbia was brought in 2011 and its regulations were put into effect on February 1st, 2012. Although it does not represent a result of a complete reform of civil procedure, this law brings a series of novelties. Solutions regarding certain process institutes have been significantly changed and supplemented, and totally new institutes have been introduced to the civil procedure. On the other hand, regulations regarding certain process institutions were eliminated from the law, while certain institutions which had been omitted by regulations of the previous laws were returned. In this paper the author points to the novelties brought by the law, especially emphasizing essential changes, as related to the previous process law, which used to regulate the institutes of the civil procedure.

Mythology today: nationality issues and historical perspectives

Mitologija ši ndien: nacionalumo klausimai ir istorinės perspektyvos

Author(s): Rita Repšienė / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 17/2009

Keywords: identity; ideology; myth; reality; nationality; selfism

The notion of historicity in search of identity predestines research scope and displays peculiar transcription possibilities. Nationality paradigms are widely manifested in modern-day Europe. Identity visions, quests and discoveries create a unique mythological field insubordinate to analogies. Mythology today has to be assessed as an ideological dimension of self-consciousness. Being mythical adds to the assessments a special dimension, a persuading grasp and time confirmed projection. Dilemma of self (selfism) actualizes the mythology of identity, providing nationality strategies with an attractive space and meaningful perspective, disclosing an existential conformation for the ideal quest.

Contemporary Lithuanian Myths aboutn Neighbouring Nations

Šiandieniniai lietuvių mitai apie kaimynines tautas

Author(s): Laima Anglickienė / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 17/2009

Keywords: folklore; nicknames; anecdotes; stereotypes; other nations

The aim of this article is to discuss the image of our neighbours – Russians, Belorussians, Poles, Latvians, Estonians – in contemporary Lithuanian culture, to present the most popular stereotypes. Objectives: to survey the nicknames given by Lithuanians to the neighbouring nations, to introduce the most popular folklore plots and to indicate the reasons making impact on these plots and stereotypes of the closest states to Lithuania, their citizens, their origin and alternation. The attitude towards neighbours is well reflected in given nicknames – informal ethnonyms usually bear a negative connotation. Some nicknames last for several centuries already while others are created in the last decades. Contemptuous nicknames and negative remarks on other nationals are especially numerous in Internet forums. Folklore also reflects the real life, social culture, mentality and living style values. Approach towards other nationalities in folklore often contains irony, mock, sometimes even insulting or contemptuous. Most often Lithuanians ridicule Russians and Russia, there are quite a lot of jokes on Estonians. Other our neighbours in folklore are mentioned rather rarely. Today told anekdotes as well as other folklore genres mostly bear international character and tend to migrate rapidly. There are local examples reflecting the particularities of centuries lasting communication with neighbours, reactions to various differences and actualities.

European political identity: demos, civic values and national traits

Europinis politinis tapatumas: demosas, pilietinės vertybės ir nacionaliniai bruožai

Author(s): Vytautas Rubavičius / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 17/2009

Keywords: denacionalization; European Union; European demos; nacional identity; nacionalism; Soviet ocupation

A closer observation of EU integrational processes shows that EU future depends upon which attitude towards national, ethno-cultural and political identities is gong to prevail between this community policy actors. The interest to various identities was inspired by EU Constitutional Treaty failure whch rised a wave of discussions on New Europe’s “discovery” and “foundations”. The essential question was put forward – what is the subject of the Constitutional Treaty and what are the features of the envisaged European demos. A lack of characteristic of EU democratic, legitimate and social factors was stated and the further integration should be foreseen as an elimination of this lack. The question – how can this be done in the face of the prevailing attitude of political denationalization which had been confirmed along with the very foundations of the New Europe? The attitude of political denationalization in recent years is supported by the discourses of post-national identity, European constitutional patriotism and unconditional hospitality. The actuality of the problems of legitimacy and other deficiencies as well as European demos have risen especially after the EU expansion. The societies and nations of newly accepted countries have different historic experience, stronger national feelings which actually worked when liberating from the Soviet occupation. There is another important thing – the societies of the new members have gained the experience of the Soviet denationalization. And these impesions have to be reconed with when considering the plans of the creation of European demos. A conclusion is drawn that the social content of the European society should be accumulated and created not by the way of rejecting national feelings but by invoking attachment to nation, culture, tongue and historic myths. Accordingly, the political attitude of denacionalization has to be changed.

New Vilnius Vision in the Post-Soviet Urbanistic Space

Naujojo Vilniaus vizija posovietinėje urbanistinėje politikoje

Author(s): Skaidra Trilupaitytė / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 17/2009

Keywords: new economy; symbolic geography; Manuel Castells and networking processes, Vilnius cultural planning; city image; modernity and European in urbanism

Capitalist economy nowdays is undergoing a cultural turn. The new treatment of manufacturing as creation of services (especially as entertainment and cultural ones), informational city and creative industries popularizing rethorics mostly are related with neoliberal visions since every European capital today seeks to become the center of economy news, culture and innovations. Cultural policy here nearly “naturally” is linked to political and economic kind of problems supposedly to be solved by promoting all sorts of investments, consumption and tourism. The logic of postindustrial city development not accidentally is reflected by the right bank of Neris where at the end of the last decade of the former century new skyscrapers had been planned (nowdays already arisen) – local authorities building, commercial and offices’ complexes, entertainment center. The article seeks to discuss how news economy development is related to new modernity and European discourses in Vilnius’ planing rethoric. For this purpose the model of infromation city as global networking process analysed by Manuel Castells is used since new economy informationalism and networking processes today are easily seen in Vilnius’ urbanistic and cultural expansion. In this case, when talking about some new millennium Vilnius’ images we cannot forget that actively constructed images conflict between themselves too. Since they express not the only dominating (planned) culture but different interests having social groups’ strivings and reality of agonistic politics.

National signs: Estonian identity in performance

Nacionalumo ženklai: estų tapatybė ir teatras

Author(s): Janelle Reinelt / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 17/2009

Keywords: national identity; cultural memory; disasporic re-signification; theatricality, and Estonian performance

Since Estonia is in the midst of a national redefinition and examination of past traditions and future aspirations, it makes an excellent case study for the potentiality of theatre as an arbiter of national identity. The changing value of the institution itself is part of the equation (will Estonians continue to appreciate and attend the theatre in coming years?). In addition, the historical role of Estonian theatre as a repository for national narratives, especially literary ones, makes it a significant site for struggles around print and technology, and between embodied performances and archival performatives. This essay introduces a series of articles that address how Estonia and its theatre might be regarded and understood in light of its history, memories, present experiences, and future possibilities. The idea of pretence that lies at the heart of theatricality itself provides an ideal means for interrogating national identity in times of great instability and flux. The examples of the productions discussed in these three essays share more than a deliberate utilization of the rubrics of theatricality. It seems no coincidence that the reworking of national classics, Estonian national myths, and ethnic folk songs and ceremonies takes place concurrently with the representation of new technologies, commodity capitalism, and diasporic collisions. Embodying precisely the predicament of culture in a country reassessing its past and confronting its future, the theatre is an important institution for national resignification.

Performance Direction: Hamlet Case

Perforežisūra: „Hamleto“ atvejis

Author(s): Rasa Vasinauskaitė / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 17/2009

Keywords: drama text; performance; direction; scenic text; histrionic text; theater

Many Western and USA theater critics in the sixties – nineties of the XX c. notice a significant shift in contemporary drama theater practice from verbal to non-verbal expression and tend to outline this period as changes on the grounds of avantgarde and experimental theater experiences. It is characteristic of the latter to use physical or bodily expression and immediate performance entity presuposed by this physicality. After the premiere of Eimuntas Nekrošius’ “Hamlet” in 1997 there were nearly no talks about performativity of the play. Both Lithuanian and foreign critics analyzed Nekrošius performance only from the positions of author’s interpretation stressing its especially suggestive visuality and physicality. While analyzing the spectacle from the positions of performativity the authoress of the article draws the attention at the functionality of the “Hamlet” scenic view, the physicality of acting as immediate performance entity, the particularity and materiality of the scenic images. It is accentuated that Hamlet playing Andrius Mamontovas, a rock singer occupying a certain place in socio – cultural space, in the system of the spectacle executes not only “actor’s” but, also, “performer’s” function. In her comparison of Nekrošius and the spectacles directed by young foreign artistic directors the authoress arrives at a conclusion: these are theaters of unidentical artistic systems created by directors of different generations and with different experiences. Differences are seen not as much in the choice of performative practices rather then in artists enunciation strategies: Lithuanian director preserved the component of authorial interpretation presuposed by understanding of the spectacle as a self-sufficient aesthetical object and spectacle performativity here is indistinguishable from the concretisation of Shakespeare’s tragedy. Thus, on the one hand, the authoress evaluates Nekrošius’ “Hamlet” as these times director’s attitude towards the quintessence of existing social and artistic context where namely because of mise-en-scène performativity obtains aesthetic meaning; and on the other hand – as a scenic concreatisation which with the help of histrionic text expands the limits of drama text. occupying a certain place in socio – cultural space, in the system of the spectacle executes not only “actor’s” but, also, “performer’s” function. In her comparison of Nekrošius and the spectacles directed by young foreign artistic directors the authoress arrives at a conclusion: these are theaters of unidentical artistic systems created by directors of different generations and with different experiences...

The Taste of Historic Reality. The First Lithuanian Soviet Press Pages on Musical Themes

Istorinės tikrovės skonis. Muzikinė šešto XX amžiaus dešimtmečio literatūra

Author(s): Inga Jankauskienė / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 17/2009

Keywords: Lithuanian Soviet press; monographies; collections; musical textbooks, folklore works

The article deals with the Soviet Lithuanian musical literature in the middle of the XX c., the first decades after the World War II , i.e. musical articles in common (there were no special) press editions, monographies, collections and musical textbooks. There’s a lot of politicizing, the press (especially periodicals) presented not corresponding reality facts. An outburst of new musical literature in quantity and partially in quality can be noticed during the period of political unfreeze in the fifties.

Lithuanian liberal historical tradition and myths

Lietuviška liberalioji istorinė tradicija ir mitai

Author(s): Vytautas Berenis / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 17/2009

Keywords: ideology and politics; liberalism; History of Lithuania; history and theory of culture; history methodology

The article analyses the circumstances of the conceptualization of liberal historiography canons in Lithuania after 1990 – they are directly related with the sociological theory by diaspora professor Vytautas Kavolis. The author of the article argues that the liberal history trend sought to “discover” liberal tradition in Lithuanian history relating it with the value validity of their investigation. A special attention is paid to the educational history function, methodological innovations, the history and culture of the Lithuanian Great Duchy. This field of investigation provides opportunities for liberal values spread in society, conceptualization of historical problems and to reduce the impact of Lithuanian nationalistic tradition on history. The liberal tradition in Lithuanian historiography was hardly present and partially it is represented by humanistic Renaissance, Baroque and New Ages legacy which by liberal historians is considered as giving origin to the tradition.

Th e Myth of “Brother Nations” in the Context on In formal Communication

„Brolių tautų“ mitas neformaliosios komunikacijos kontekste

Author(s): Rūta Muktupāvela / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 17/2009

Keywords: Balts; Latvians; Lithuanians; myth; official communication; informal communication, stereotype; virtual space; Estonians; “Baltic gene”.

The myth of Lithuanian – Latvian brotherhood is usually based on XIX c. ethnolinguistic construction – Balts. In Postmodernism scope and time there came up opportunities to experiment and play with social and biological personal identity, to choose and deliberately construct ethnic identity especially in youth and it turns out to be an attractive thing – new real and virtual communities are built up choosing for their communication reconstructed, vanishing or newly created languages, there are attempts to actualize supranational and pre-national identities: it is in style to call oneself a Prussian (Prusas), Selis, Jotvingis etc. In these circumstances the myth of Baltic brother nations remains pretty neutral and acceptable instrument to mobilize strength in globalization conditions to preserve ethnic or national uniqueness or at least its illusion. The theory of culture – “Latvians and Lithuanians are brotherly nations” is intensively used in the official Latvian – Lithuanian interstate, governmental, departmental or Establishment supported cultural communication. In creative and scientific environment it is already doubtful if linguistic similarity is a sufficient ground to affirm cultural kinship. Intelligentsia approach to the “brotherly nations” myth is as is a step of transition between official and unofficial communication. Informal daily communication is rther inert and full of traditional stereotypes – contemporary Latvian attitude towards Lithuanians contains plenty of features attributed to Lithuaninas by 19th century Latvian press, anecdotes and folktales as religiosity, naivety, obscurantism. Virtual space is one of the most actual sources of informal communication facts. The context of informal communication often reveals a wide, pretty contradictory and unexpected, not only positive and friendly but also openly aggressive, even shauvinistic spectrum of mutual evaluation. Reading of various publications and especially their comments make an impression that namely daily communication both maintains and simultaneously ruins the myth of Latvian – Lithuanian brotherhood. It is obvious that not only linguistic legacy forms national identity; cultural, historic and political aspects are not the less important. Maybe, that’s why Latvians while not neglecting linguistic proximity with Lithuanians tend to claim being closer to Estonians by thinking, temper and behaviour. Already in 19th century Latvian linguist, poet and publicist Juris Alunāns stressed that though Latvians and Lithuanians are tied together by their origin, since 13th century they share common fate with Estonians. Nowadays part of Latvian intelligentsia nourish a new mythology about “unique Baltic Gene” based on recent achievements in natural scineces...

Reconstruction of a Heroic Legend in the Estonian Media. Th e Case Study of the Voitka Brothers

Herojinės sakmės kūrimas Estijos žiniasklaidoje: brolių Voitkų atvejis

Author(s): Eda Kalmre / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 17/2009

Keywords: hero; media legend; journalism; Estonian history; literature; society

On February 28, 2000, Estonian special police unit arrested two brothers, Aivar and Ülo Voitka, who had committed several acts of theft and violence and had been hiding in the forests for 14 years. The capture and the following arrest of the Voitka brothers was a media event which attracted the attention of both the entertainment and commercial circles. Many months before this event, the press, supported by popular opinion, had already turned the brothers Voitka into a kind of heroes. This was absolutely remarkable and atypical story in the modern society. The roots of its telling and understanding lie in both the period of the historical legend of forest brothers and the sociopolitical situation about 8–10 years ago. So, the Voitka case prompted a public dialogue about social and political values in the Estonian society. The article analyses how heroic legend repertoire has influenced the media case of the Voitkas, its literary associations and the historical Estonian forest brother lore. Following the discourse of Voitka’s story in media, one notices that different aspects of their saga communicate national ideology and national self-vision as the people of nature, but also idealized image of fighting for freedom in Estonian recent history.

The Myth of Tadas Blinda

Tado Blindos mitas

Author(s): Tomas Balkelis / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 17/2009

Keywords: myth; banditism; nationalism; national revival; populism

The article examines the relationship between social banditry and nation building. It explores the ways in which political elites transform social bandits and their popular legends into national myths which are used for constitution of national and social identities. By exploring the emergence and transformation of the myth of the Lithuanian bandit Tadas Blinda (1846–1877), the paper argues that the myth of the heroic bandit played a significant role in nation-making in Lithuania where ethnic conflicts followed social divisions. Examining the plasticity of the heroic bandit myth at different historical periods, the paper suggests that the bandit myth seen as a set of beliefs held by a community about itself, can be a more powerful and fluid form of cultural representation than the various efforts of myth-making agencies to fix it.

ROLE OF "SOFT POWER" IN CHINA PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

ROLUL „SOFT POWER” ÎN DIPLOMAŢIA PUBLICĂ CHINEZĂ

Author(s): RODICA PANŢA / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2013

Keywords: Public diplomacy; smart power; American foreign policy.

This article addresses the increasing Chinese Soft power at the global level. In fact, given China’s fast growing economy and its increasing power in the international system, this country has prioritized public diplomacy in its foreign policy strategy. In recent years, China has sought to supplement its traditional use of hard power with soft power, and thus the Chinese government has paid more and more attention to public diplomacy. Chinese governments have previously demonstrated a limited understanding of public diplomacy, seeing it either as external propaganda or a form of internal public affairs, but this has not prevented China from becoming a skilled public diplomacy player.

ROMANIAN INTERWAR AND SECOND WORLD WAR HISTORIOGRAPHY REFERRING TO THE ROMANIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICES

ISTORIOGRAFIA ROMÂNEASCĂ DIN PERIOADA INTERBELICĂ ŞI A CELUI DE-AL DOILEA RĂZBOI MONDIAL REFERITOARE LA SERVICIILE DE INFORMAŢII ALE ROMÂNIEI

Author(s): Pavel Moraru / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2013

Keywords: Romanian Intelligence; historiography; Romania; Bessarabia; the Second World War; interwar period.

The first publications referring to the Romanian information and counter information activities were puplished in Romania in the interwar years. Some of them were about the activity of the police and security organs during the First World War (Vasile Daşkevici, Theodor Culitza) and the others about the fight with subversive currents from the interwar years. (Gociman Aurel; Zinovie (Zaharia) Husărescu, Constantin Maimuca şi Dumitru Stancov). A few works were dedicated to the activity and contribution of some important persons from Romanian police and security organs (Carada Th. Marius, Popa Ionel). Abstract: Mass-media of that time wrote a lot about the Police, Gendarmerie and Security Organs. The newspapers that wrote about them were „Lupta”, „Curentul”, „Dimineaţa”, „Dreptatea”, „Adevărul”, „Ordinea”, etc. Various materials referring to the activity and problems of the Romanian Police Authority and the activity of the policemen from other countries were published in specialized magazines – „Revista Poliţiei” (published from 1919), „Revista pentru Siguranţa Statului” şi „Poliţia Română” (published from 1925), „Buletinul Direcţiunii Generale a Poliţiilor şi Siguranţei Statului” (published from 1928).

REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BY LAW AND POWER

REGLEMENTAREA RELAŢIILOR INTERNAŢIONALE PRIN DREPT ŞI PRIN PUTERE

Author(s): Grosu Ruslana / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2013

Keywords: International Law; legal regulation; international relations; Power Politics; international system; actors

The essential change within the international politics occurred when the international law has become an institution of the relations among states. In this regard, there have been created the voluntarily agreed general rules, which regulate the behaviour of actors on the international arena and their right to intervene if the balance or the foundations of the international system would be threatened by various revolutionary doctrines and policies. The force and violence remain for centuries in the arsenal of international actors as common and important means within the process of conflict resolution. The term ”power” is a complex one and closely linked to the central issues of the international relations - the problem of war and peace. On this basis, the actors analyse the possibilities and potential of stakeholders’ opponent, develop the strategies of interaction, make decisions, and evaluate the stability of the international system. Finally, the category of power plays an important role in the methodological science of international relations as an important tool for their scientific analysis: there are held a series of discussions between various scientific and theoretical schools on the significance of power factor, where power is as a criterion of different models of international systems. Power politics, in usual sense, refers not only to relations between independent states, but it has a negative connotation. Recalling that it comes from Machtpolitik (power politics), this term refers to the regulation of international relations by force or threat of force, without taking into account the principles and norms of international law. It would be a mistake to accept the idea that international relations are governed exclusively by force. In order to justify certain unrighteousnesses, the violations of international legal norms are often compared with violation of the internal law, but, even in such circumstances, any rules not lose their legal force. The most reasonable solution on perspective to regulate international relations remains the law and not power, though there is not any guarantee that the latter will lose its character of norm.

NANOTHREATS – THE FUTURE TRENDS OF TERRORISTIC THREATS

NANOTHREATS – THE FUTURE TRENDS OF TERRORISTIC THREATS

Author(s): Oleksii Kharlamov,Marina Bondarenko,Ganna Kharlamova / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2013

Keywords: Nanoterrorism; nanodemocracy; nanoparticles; nanostructures; nanoecology; uncontrollable nanosystems; nanothreats peculiarities.

Nanoterrorism is an illegal and uncontrollable manufacture and usage of extremely aggressive products of nanochemistry and the achievements of nanotechnology (nanoweapon, nanosensors) as the instrument of a terror, mental and psychological control. The nanoecological threat is connected to uncontrollable distribution and purposeful influence of synthesized nanodimensional objects (nanostructures, nanoparticles and nanophases), which are capable easily to penetrate in organism of the human being and selectively to reach any human organ. The nanotechnological threat is connected to creation of practically invisible (modern means) nanoweapon, capable also to damage selectively human organs. The nanodemocratic threat is an inevitable result of creation and usage of nanosensors as the control and management tool of consciousness and intelligence of the person.

PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANIES – FROM PRIVATIZED SECURITY TO OUTSOURCING THE STATE AUTHORITY

COMPANIILE MILITARE PRIVATE – DE LA PRIVATIZAREA SECURITĂŢII LA EXTERNALIZAREA AUTORITĂŢII STATALE

Author(s): Silviu Nate / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2013

Keywords: Outsourcing security; military companies; private sector; state; law.

International security complexities indicate important developments in the relationship between security and the sovereign state, structures of political power and authority, and the operations of global capital. The lack of dedicated and specific regulation of over-assessment attitudes and over-ownership of private military companies, risk to further deepen cultural cleavages between nations and confusing the authorities. The existence of current regulations is however undermined by the absence of a coercive mechanism that can penalize infringements after they happened.

Antoaneta Olteanu, Rusia imperială: o istorie culturală a secolului al XIX-lea, Editura ALL, Bucureşti, 2011

Antoaneta Olteanu, Rusia imperială: o istorie culturală a secolului al XIX-lea, Editura ALL, Bucureşti, 2011

Author(s): Bogdan Gheorghiţă / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2013

Review

NATIONAL INTEREST AND RELATIONS BETWEEN THE ROMANIANS AND JEWS DURING 1940-1944 IN POST-REVOLUTIONARY HISTORIOGRAPHY

INTERESUL NAŢIONAL ŞI RELAŢIILE ÎNTRE ROMÂNI ŞI EVREI ÎN PERIOADA 1940-1944, ÎN ISTORIOGRAFIA POST-DECEMBRISTĂ

Author(s): Florin Stan / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2013

Keywords: Jews in Romania; the last World War; the Holocaust; historiographic debate

The condition of the Jews in Romania during the last World War has become a centre for historiographic debate especially during the last post ’89 decade, when the opening of the approach of a direct research circumscribed to the unveiling of the “Jewish problem” was obvious, despite the continuation in following certain directions of subjective interpretation of the Antonescu regime by some of the contributions. If the contemporary history of any society is being studied with greater difficulty than any other period of the past, people being relatively close to the events and having a propensity toward partiality in judgments, this fact is easier verifiable when the subject is the otherness. Therefore, the classical principle of the study of history, sine ira et studio, is being inevitably tested in the case of contemporary period. However, history is only one. Beyond a given polemic within the domain, fertile for the research, this thing can be sometimes translated by dividing the community of historians into rival factions, which in some cases are difficult to be reconciled. The responsibility of the historian remains sovereign and increases once his disposition exceeds the interpretation of diplomatic confrontations or specific circumstances to the history of international relations, aiming to approach what the war really meant, an inferno for countless innocent people, children, women, elders, who were remote in relationship with the policy of the time. Since, crimes are unjustifiable regardless the circumstances, any approach that attempts to sustain the contrary, either within the broader context of generalized sufferance caused by the political-military confrontations, or subsequent to a simplistic interpretation of the cause-effect kind is depriving the historical writing of its equidistant contributions.