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Traces of History
Romania
Laura Nicoară
Born 1992 in Ramnicu Sarat, Romania
High-school student (National College "Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu", Buzău)
"Work on a Pedestal - A Myth of Totalitarian Ideologies" (2010) with Iulia-Elena Bucur
Workers were in the centre of totalitarian ideologies all around the world and decent work for everyone was understood as a sacred responsibility of the state, one that could certainly make people feel equal and less poor. This project analyses the political, social and artistic mechanisms of representing work and the worker in some of the world’s totalitarian regimes. Emphasis is placed on the communist regime in Romania and its methods of undermining the individual’s freedom by restricting him/her to work.
Loredana- Diana Basalic
Born 1991 in Vaslui Romania
Student (Engineering and Management in the Public Food Industry, Veterinary Medicine University Iasi)
“Profession: Survivor” (2010)
This project has at its centre the life of war veterans from Romania with a special focus on what changes the war brought to them from a professional point of view. Most of them went from being farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters and teachers to infantry rifle shooters, scouts, communication technicians and even nurses. People that had done some training before could be taken into higher positions like officers and doctors, but that didn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t be sent on the front. Many of these people lost their families during the war and had to start from scratch again, not mentioning that some had problems finding a job and readjusting to work again.
For her project, Loredana- Diana Basalic was awarded the second prize in the Romanian History competition from 2010.
Baciu Bogdan
Born 1993 in Falticeni, Romania
High school student (“Nicu Gane” High school; Falticeni)
“The mysteries of the wood. The art of shaping”(2010)
The handicraft of woodcarving has been an enduring occupation in Romania and one of the traditional forms of artistic expression. This project is based on several interviews with local woodcarvers from the north-eastern part of Romania documenting their work, their means of expression and the role they still play in the life of their communities. This competition entry attempts reviving and promoting an ancient trade which today gathers less and less followers, by presenting its power of expression and both the practical and aesthetic roles, which it has within the rural community.
For his project Bogdan Baciu was awarded the first prize in the Romanian history competition from 2010.
Ana-Maria Lungu
Born 1992 in Pascani, Romania
High school student (“Mihail Sadoveanu” High school; Pascani)
Brindusa Lungu
Born 1991 in Pascani, Romania
“The enchanted palace and the place where nothing ever happens”(2010)
The city of Pascani, in the eastern part of Romania, is the place with the enchanted palace, a magnificent manor built in the 17th century by the noble Cantacuzino, but also a small town of 45,000 inhabitants where no major event ever takes place. The author explores the past of the locality and finds out that things did happen here: the city had an active community of Jewish merchants, was home to one very famous Romanian writer and last but least had a maintenance workshop fro trains. Ana-Maria tries predicting how the future of her city will look like by interviewing young people from the area about their study and work plans and comparing the emerging trends with responses from other cities around Europe.
Ana-Maria Lungu won with her entry the third prize in the Romanian national history competition.
Iulia-Elena Bucur
Born 1992 in Buzau, Romania
High school student (“Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu” High school; Buzau)
Laura Nicoara
Born 1992 in Ramnicu-Sarat, Romania
High school student
“Work on a pedestal: a myth of totalitarian ideologies”(2010)
Workers were in the centre of totalitarian ideologies all around the world and decent work for everyone was understood as a sacred responsibility of the state, one that could certainly make people feel equal and less poor. This project analyses the political, social and artistic mechanisms of representing work and the worker in some of the world’s totalitarian regimes. Emphasis is placed on the communist regime in Romania and its methods of undermining the individual’s freedom by restricting him/her to work.
For her project Iulia-Elena Bucur was rewarded a second prize in the Romanian national history competition.
Liliana Iuga
Born 1985 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Student (History and History of Arts; University Babes-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca)
"The Last Hope - Solidarity in the villages of Deleni and Livada during World War II" (2004)
Deleni and Livada, two small towns at the foot of the Romanian West Carpathian Mountains, bound together by fate - that was the subject of Liliana Iuga's research project, "The Last Hope." In the autumn of 1944, German troops retreated from the advancing Soviet Army, suddenly crossing the front line through Deleni. The town was completely destroyed. The uprooted residents found refuge in the neighbouring town of Livada. Some refugees from Deleni moved in with relatives in Livada, while others stayed with people whom they had never met before.
The author was particularly interested in the phenomenon of enforced solidarity in times of extreme need. Through conversations with eyewitnesses from Deleni and Livada and investigations in local archives, Liliana Iuga reconstructed the tragic events of the final days of the war and of the post-war period under Russian occupation.
Liliana Iuga had encountered the theme already as a young girl, listening time and again to the stories of war and solidarity told by her grandmother and aunt - both from Deleni. In her competition project, this 22-year-old recounted an aspect of family history, drawing the conclusion that much could be gained if people would set aside personal egos, and not only in times of urgent need.
Liliana Iuga's competition project: "The Last Hope - Solidarity in the Villages of Deleni and Livada during World War II" earned her a first prize in the Romanian History Competition of 2004, whose theme was: "Help Your Neighbour - Solidarity in Communities, Yesterday and Today."
Irina Magdici
Born 1989 in Iasi, Romania
High school student (Iasi National College)
"The Roman Catholic Church: A home for Christians of various ethnic communities" (2006)
Eighteen-year-old Irina Magdici of Iasi, Romania's second largest city, focused on the subject of a double minority: Roman Catholic communities located in the overwhelmingly Russian Orthodox Moldau region around Iasi, communities that had to accommodate their Christian beliefs to a socialist society. The author turns her gaze upon the complex ethnic composition of Catholic communities, which included people of Hungarian, Romanian, French, German and Armenian background. Most of all, Irina Magdici is interested how these communities tried to hold on to their traditions and beliefs in times of political persecution and economic deprivation. In this connection, she takes special note of the dedication of foreign priests and monks who helped local communities, on instructions from Rome.
Irina Magdici started out by interviewing Russian Orthodox as well as Catholic residents of her grandparents' hometown, and embellished this with two weeks of research in the archives of Iasi, where the history of the Catholic population is recounted in a 1,078-page document. The Romanian student, who notes that her country is not among "the privileged lands of modern Europe," draws a universalistic conclusion from her research: "It was always difficult for outsiders to be accepted as normal. And that is so in absolutely every country, and every community in the world - up to and including the European Union."
Irina Magdici earned a third prize for her competition project: "The Roman Catholic Church: A home for Christians of various ethnic communities" in the Romanian History Competition of 2006, whose theme was: "Homeland, yesterday and today: Towns, people, traditions."
Madalina-Alexandra Mirea
Born 1987 in Iasi, Romania
Student (German and Italian Language; Alexandru Ioan Cuza- University, Iasi)
"Home during World War II for two families in Europe" (2006)
Madalina, who comes from Iasi in Romania, and her German pen friend Carolin, are themselves the latest chapter of a story that the young Romanian student tells in her contribution. The 20-year-old compares the wartime experiences of her own grandparents from Ploiesti, a large Romanian city with a population of 250,000, with the experiences of the grandparents of her German pen friend from Ranzow, on the Island of Rügen. Expulsion, hunger and poverty - they had those experiences in common. But the author seems most fascinated by another parallel she discovered through her research: "It surprised me to find that my interview partners recounted their sad war-time experiences with a light-hearted tone." Though Carolin's grandmother was expelled from her Polish homeland and Madalina's grandmother constantly had to move during the war, for their grandparents the loss of their home is no longer an open wound in their biographies. Mirea draws a conclusion for herself and her peers, a generation of grandchildren growing up sheltered from such suffering: "The progress of history cannot be controlled. However events may unfold, we must take the path."
Madalina-Alexandra Mirea won a second prize competition project: "Home during World War II for two families in Europe" in the Romanian History Competition of 2006, whose theme was: "Homeland, yesterday and today: Towns, people, traditions."
