
Valter or Walter Roman (October 9, 1913 – November 11, 1983), born Ernst or Ernő Neuländer, was a
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
activist and soldier. During his lifetime, Roman was active inside the
Romanian,
Czechoslovakian,
French, and
Spanish Communist parties
[Mihailov] as well as being a
Comintern cadre. He started his military career as a volunteer in the
International Brigades
The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...
during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, and rose to prominence in
Communist Romania
The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...
, as a high-level politician and military official.
Valter was the father of
Petre Roman, a
post-1989 politician, who served as
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
.
Biography
Early life
Born in Nagyvárad,
Austria-Hungary Empire (today
Oradea,
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
), he was the child of
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
parents whose first language was
Hungarian.
[''Final Report'', p.45; Tismăneanu, ''Stalinism'', p.124, 320] In later testimonies, he indicated that his ethnic background was not entirely relevant to him: "
Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
said I was a
Hungarian, Hungarians that I was
Romanian, Romanians said that I was Jewish, but Jews said I was a communist, although I was not yet one at the time".
[Roman in ''Sfera Politicii'', Part II]
Roman obtained a degree in
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
in
Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
,
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
.
Military career
Initially active inside the PCR's
agitprop
Agitprop (; from , portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in the Soviet Union where it referred to popular media, such as literatu ...
section, he was a volunteer in a
Romanian artillery unit of the
International Brigades
The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...
during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
(''see also
Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War'') — according to one source, it was then that he first adopted the name ''Valter Roman'', while also using the pseudonym ''G. Katowski''. Wounded twice during combat, Roman eventually left for the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
.
In 1938–1941, Roman worked at a plane factory in
Kalinin, later for one of the
Comintern sections, and, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, for an Institute for Scientific Research (1941–1945).
During the period, he married Hortensia Vallejo, who was originally from
Santander, Spain.
At the time, Roman also headed the
Romanian-language
Romanian (obsolete spelling: Roumanian; , or , ) is the official and main language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian is part of the Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance sub-branch of Romance languages, a linguistic group that evolved fr ...
radio station of the Comintern (''România Liberă''), broadcasting
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
against the regime of
Ion Antonescu and Romania's actions on the
Eastern Front as an ally of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
(''see
Romania during World War II
The Kingdom of Romania, under the rule of King Carol II of Romania, King Carol II, initially maintained Neutral country, neutrality in World War II. However, fascist political forces, especially the Iron Guard, rose in popularity and power, urgi ...
''). He returned to
Soviet-occupied Romania in July 1945, as the
political commissar for the Soviet-organized
Horea, Cloșca și Crișan Division, commanded by General
Mihail Lascăr.
Under the
communist regime, Roman became a general in the
Romanian Army (
Major General after May 1, 1948) with political responsibilities (Chief of the Army Directorate for Education, Culture, and Propaganda, 1946; Chief of the Superior Political Direction of the Romanian Army and
Chief of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
, 1947–1951), and
Minister of Telecommunications (March 29, 1951 – January 24, 1953). At the time, he declared himself in favor of recruiting a new military force "from the ranks of the
working class
The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
, of the toiling peasantry and of the
progressive intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
".
Close to the
Ana Pauker
Ana Pauker (born Hannah Rabinsohn; 13 February 1893 – 3 June 1960) was a Romanian communist leader and served as the country's List of Romanian Foreign Ministers, foreign minister in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Ana Pauker became the world' ...
"Muscovite wing" of the PCR, he came into conflict with the party leadership around
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. Initially removed from his Army position in 1950, at the same time as all
cadres who had fought in the International Brigades or the
French Resistance
The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
, Roman was deposed from government office,
[Levy, p.161] purged from the PCR and Army on charges of "
Titoism
Titoism is a Types of socialism, socialist political philosophy most closely associated with Josip Broz Tito and refers to the ideology and policies of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) during the Cold War. It is characterized by a br ...
" and "espionage",
and singled out for a possible
show trial
A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...
(1952). He became subject to daily interrogations by the Party Control Commission.
Pressures on him were relaxed after the death of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
in 1953, and Roman became head of
Editura Politică (1954–1983). He remained a suspect at a time when Gheorghiu-Dej felt increasingly threatened,
[Levy, p.162] was subject to a "vote of censure" in 1954,
and was completely
rehabilitated only in 1956.
Party leadership
In 1956 and 1957, as a high-ranking member of the Communist Party, Valter Roman was involved in deciding Romanian policies in regard to the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956, which threatened to spark similar actions in Romania. He spent late October in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, sending back reports which inflamed sentiments by presenting alleged revolutionary violence. After the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
invaded
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, he accompanied Gheorghiu-Dej, the writer
Mihai Beniuc, and other local Communists to Budapest, where the three of them reviewed the situation and expressed approval of Soviet policies. Later on, he was involved in interrogating
Imre Nagy during his detainment in
Snagov, while also ensuring contacts between Nagy and Soviet officials. Nagy was returned to Hungary, secretly tried and executed. According to Fedor Burlatsky, Nikita Khrushchev had Nagy executed, "as a lesson to all other leaders in socialist countries."
An associate of
Leonte Răutu, Roman seconded
Emil Bodnăraş in the 1959 process of writing and compiling Party history, with a mission to highlight both Gheorghiu-Dej's role in the 1944 toppling of
Ion Antonescu's regime and the insurrectional character of the coup.
In 1961, he was among the Party leaders who spoke out against
Iosif Chişinevschi and other former leaders who had been since marginalized, such as Pauker (whom he accused of having maintained contacts with Soviet police chief
Lavrentiy Beria),
Boris Stefanov, and
Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu. He also rallied with Gheorghiu-Dej's positive views on
de-Stalinization
De-Stalinization () comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and Khrushchev Thaw, the thaw brought about by ascension of Nik ...
, claiming that Pauker's fall had been a sign of Romania parting with
Stalinism
Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...
.
At the time, he argued that Pauker and her collaborator
Vasile Luca had viewed him with suspicion based on his participation in the Spanish Civil War.
After Gheorghiu-Dej's death, he approved of the change in course indicated by
Nicolae Ceauşescu, and joined in condemning the
1968 Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia (at the time, he notably quoted
Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea's statement that "
socialism
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
and truth are inseparable"). Elected to the
Central Committee on July 24, 1965, he was in office until his death.
Decorated a ''Hero of the Socialist Labor'', Roman was also employed as a University professor. By the 1970s, he was becoming opposed to the Ceauşescu leadership and questioned
Leninism
Leninism (, ) is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the Dictatorship of the proletariat#Vladimir Lenin, dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary Vangu ...
itself; a diary entry of 1975 shows that he resented the massive enrollment of obedient
cadres into the PCR, and speculated that "when
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
elaborated the concept of the
new-type party he took inspiration from, he also thought of
Ignacio de Loyola, of his «
company of Jesus», of what it represented from the point of view of discipline, of obedience, hence there later emerged many negative consequences and, first of all, the deterioration of human character, of human integrity".
Controversies
Several aspects of Roman's past remain under dispute.
In 2000, investigations by
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n historian Tofik Islamov concluded that, after Soviet authorities charged
Maxim Litvinov
Maxim Maximovich Litvinov (; born Meir Henoch Wallach-Finkelstein; 17 July 1876 – 31 December 1951) was a Russian Empire, Russian revolutionary and prominent Soviet Union, Soviet statesman and diplomat who served as Ministry of Foreign Aff ...
to investigate the issue of
Northern Transylvania
Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...
, disputed between Romania and Hungary, Roman approached the commission in late 1944 with plans to have
Transylvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
declare itself independent (under a common guarantee from the Soviets and
Western Allies).
[Vohn] Petre Roman has repeatedly contested the conclusion, advancing documents which, he argued, proved that his father was in favor of Transylvania's status inside Romania.
In his own reply to Petre Roman's arguments, Islamov repeated his statements, and contended that views such as those attributed to Valter Roman were commonplace among
internationalists of the time.
[Islamov] He also cited Valter Roman's own 1944 statement — according to the document, Roman viewed both Hungary and Romania as guilty of waging war on the Soviet Union, arguing that the region (Transylvania) was "an ethnographic conglomerate" with a tradition of regional
sovereignty
Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
, economic independence, and status as "the most
progressive part of the country".
In 2006, Petre Roman was involved in a polemic with former
Securitate
The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...
chief and defector
Ion Mihai Pacepa over the extent to which Valter Roman took part in political repression in the wake of the Hungarian Revolution.
[Pacepa]
Works
Essays
*''Revoluția industrială în dezvoltarea societății'' ("The
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
in Social Development")
*''Eseuri despre revoluția științifică și tehnică'' ("Essays on the Scientific and Technical Revolution")
Memoir
*''Sub cerul Spaniei'' ("Under the Skies of Spain")
Notes
References
* Valter Roman's speech and subsequent exchange of replies with other Communist leaders (December 1961), at ''
Sfera Politicii''
Part I
"Roman llega hoy a Madrid para impulsar las relaciones entre España y Rumanía" ("Roman Arrives Today in Madrid to Revive Relations between Spain and Romania") in ''
El País
(; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.
It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...
'', January 16, 1990
Final Reportof the
*
Vartan Arachelian"Falsificatorii" ("The Forgers") in ''
Ziua'', August 23, 2005
*
Adrian Cioroianu, ''Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc'' ("On the Shoulders of Marx. An Incursion into the History of Romanian Communism"),
Editura Curtea Veche, Bucharest, 2005
*
Mirela Corlățan"Elita militară: o epurare perfectă" ("The Military Elite: a Perfect Purge") in ''
Cotidianul'', February 28, 2006
* Tofik Islamov
"Scrisoare către Petre Roman" ("Letter to Petre Roman") hosted by ''Provincia'', August 19, 2000
*Robert Levy, ''Ana Pauker: The Rise and Fall of a Jewish Communist'',
University of California Press
The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
,
Berkeley, 2001,
* Paula Mihailov
"Figuri moscovite ale comuniştilor români" ("Muscovite Figures of the Romanian Communists")in ''
Jurnalul Național'', February 28, 2007
*
Ion Mihai Pacepa"Walter Roman - dedicat bolşevismului internaţional" ("Walter Roman - Dedicated to International Bolshevism"), in ''
Ziua'', September 8, 2006
*
Vladimir Tismăneanu,
''Gheorghiu-Dej and the Romanian Workers' Party: From De-Sovietization to the Emergence of National Communism'' (Working Paper No.37) Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...
,
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, 2002
**''Stalinism pentru eternitate'',
Polirom,
Iaşi, 2005 (translation of ''Stalinism for All Seasons: A Political History of Romanian Communism'',
University of California Press
The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
, Berkeley, 2003, )
* Cristina Vohn
"Transilvania, în planurile URSS" ("Transylvania in the USSR's Plans") in ''
Jurnalul Național'', February 16, 2006
Further reading
*Gheorghe Crișan, ''Piramida puterii'' ("The Pyramid of Power"), second edition, Pro Historia publishing house,
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Valter
1913 births
1983 deaths
People from Oradea
Romanian Jews
Members of the Romanian Cabinet
Romanian Communist Party politicians
Romanian Comintern people
Romanian people of the Spanish Civil War
20th-century Romanian engineers
Romanian Land Forces generals
Romanian expatriates in the Soviet Union
International Brigades personnel
Horea, Cloșca și Crișan Division personnel
Jewish socialists
Romanian people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
People granted political asylum in the Soviet Union
20th-century Romanian memoirists