Neagu Bunea Djuvara (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈne̯aɡudʒjuˈvara]; 18 August 1916 – 25 January 2018) was a Romanian historian, essayist, philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat.[1]
He attended lycée in Nice, France, and graduated in Letters (1937) and Law (1940) from the University of Paris (his Law thesis dealt with the antisemitic legislation passed by the governments of KingCarol II in Romania).[3][4] Djuvara later stated that, at the time, his political sympathies veered towards the far right: he became a supporter of the Romanian fascist movement, the Iron Guard, and took part in the February 1934 riot against the French Radical-Socialist government of Édouard Daladier.[3]
Subsequently, Djuvara decided to apply for office in the diplomatic corps, won the competition, and was sent by Foreign MinisterMihai Antonescu as a diplomatic courier to Sweden, on the very day Ion Antonescu was toppled by a coup d'état and Romania pulled out of the Axis Powers to join the Allies (August 23, 1944).[2][3][7] In this capacity, he was instructed to communicate to the Romanian Ambassador in Stockholm, Frederic Nanu, that he was to ask the Soviet representative Alexandra Kollontai whether earlier terms advanced by Joseph Stalin in regard to peace with Romania were still valid (Nanu was also told not to inform the Western Allies of these talks).[7]
Speaking in retrospect, he argued against claims made by Nanu, according to which Ion Antonescu had thus indicated his willingness to step down and hand leadership of Romania to KingMihai I.[7] According to Djuvara, the last Soviet offer for Antonescu made only minor concessions – the entire country was to be occupied by the Red Army, with the exception of a random western county (to function as a provisional administrative center), and 15 days were given to the Romanian government to reach an armistice with Nazi Germany[3] (Djuvara considered this latter expectation particularly unrealistic, as it involved Germany consciously abandoning Romanian territory to its enemy).[3] Furthermore, Djuvara indicated, "Neither I nor Nanu were mandated to sign any document, to launch into any peace process".[3]
After 1984, he returned to Europe, resuming his activities with Casa Românească and other Romanian cultural institutions in exile.[2] Djuvara was an active contributor to Radio Free Europe,[8] and divided his time between Paris and Munich (occasionally traveling to Canada and the United States).[8]
Djuvara was survived by his daughter, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters.[5] Most of his works in Romanian were published by Humanitas.[citation needed]
Work as a historian
Most of Djuvara's work concerns the history of Romania and that of the Romanian people, although he published significant works pertaining to the philosophy of history, particularly questioning the existence of what he called "truthful history".[15]
Regarding Romanian history, Djuvara advocated continued and extensive research into what he believed was still unexplored territory. His views were often seen as undermining a Romanian national identity, mainly because of his expressing doubts on the scientific accuracy of most historic research done in Romania since the unification of 1918, and putting forward controversial hypotheses concerning the origin of the Romanians, such as advancing the theory that the vast majority of the nobility in the medieval states that made up the territory of modern-day Romania was of Cuman origin.[16][17]
He also published extensively regarding the relationship between his native Romania and Europe, placing the country politically and culturally "between East and West",[18][19][20] citing it as the "last to enter what is commonly called the European concert",[17] referring not to Romania's 2007 accession to the European Union, but to the country's change of orientation towards adopting a Western political and cultural model. He has voiced his concern regarding multiculturalism in Europe, a policy which he views as detrimental to stability within the EU.[9]
He was a critic of what he perceived to be an excessively pro-Western attitude in Romanian politics, suggesting that Romanian society and culture could not be classified as Western, citing Orthodoxy as the predominant religion, the presence of many non-Latin elements in the modern Romanian language and the country's history in the past centuries as arguments.[17]
He also wrote about what he called the "American hegemony" and its premises, analysing the influence which the United States and its foreign policy have had on the world and, more specifically, on Europe. He characterised the efforts of the United States to establish what resembles a hegemony in Europe and other parts of the world as a "Seventy-Seven Years' War" waged throughout most of the 20th century.[21]
Djuvara can be seen as a populariser and "de-mystifier" of history, having published books aimed a younger audience as well as books seeking to explain the historical basis for mythical figures such as Dracula or Negru Vodă. He also published memories from his exile, recounting his life and work in Paris, France, and Niamey, Niger.[22]
Djuvara has claimed that Romanian marshalIon Antonescu, who ruled Romania during World War II, was in fact an Albanian of Romania or, as he called him, an arnăut.[23] Romanian historian Ion Teodorescu agrees with this view.[24]
^ abcDennis Deletant, Communist Terror in Romania: Gheorghiu-Dej and the Police State, 1948–1965, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, London, 1999 ISBN1-85065-386-0
^Les pays roumains entre Orient et Occident. Les Principautés danubiennes au début du XIXe siecle ("The Romanian Lands between Orient and Occident. The Danubian Principalities at the Beginning of the 19th Century"), Publications Orientalistes de France, 1989
^Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne ("Between East and West. The Romanian Lands at the Beginning of the Modern Era"), Humanitas, 1995
^Cum s-a născut poporul român? ("How Was the Romanian People Born?"), Humanitas, 2001
^Războiul de șaptezeci și șapte de ani (1914–1991) şi premisele hegemoniei americane ("The Seventy-Seven Years' War (1914–1991) and the Premises of the American Hegemony", Humanitas, 2009
^Bucarest-Paris-Niamey et retour ou Souvenirs de 42 ans d'exil (1948–1990) ("Bucharest-Paris-Niamey and Back or Recollections from 42 Years of Exile (1948–1990)"), L'Harmattan, 2004
