A Library against Oblivion
Motto: “History is thinking – albeit slowly, but surely and justly”. Mihai Eminescu
In 1623, German poet Martin Opitz published in Strasbourg the pastoral poem “Zlatna, oder von der Ruhe des Gemuths” (“Zlatna, or On the Peace of Mind”). Zlatna is a small town in Romania, where Martin Opitz lived in 1622 and he was greatly impressed by the Romanian people and their language: “And yet your language through time has endured, it is sweet as honey and I like to listen to… / I am rightly amazed by what miracle and how it won, / With no weapon the enemy will be able to steal your language, your whole hope.”
Mihai Eminescu, Romania’s greatest poet, once wrote: “The most important instrument of culture of a people is the language”. A language survives if it is spoken, written and transmitted from generation to generation. Books, printings, manuscripts and letters are essential tools for language preservation (today we may add the Internet, social media, or Artificial Intelligence). Therefore, more than being places of cultural heritage, libraries are houses of memory, continuity, tradition and creativity. Libraries attract people, network with people and serve people. I am fascinated by the world of books and I believe the passion of reading gives life to libraries shelves.
A recent visit to Freiburg im Bresgau, a German town known for its Gothic medieval architecture, confirmed this feeling. On a quiet street, at Uhlandstrasse 7, an iconic landmark of Romanian culture reveals its presence: the Romanian Library. Founded on 1 May 1949 at the initiative of a group of Romanian refugees, as a form of resistance through culture against violation of democracy and human rights by the Communist regime, it is the largest Romanian library abroad. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, states that: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression”. Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, adopted by the Council of Europe in 1950, consecrates the freedom of expression as a fundamental human right.
Before WW2 Romania was a regional power whose elites were educated to London, Paris and Berlin. As Communism radically changed the political, economic, social and cultural life of Romania, the pre-war elite was condemned to disappear. Many Romanian writers and people of culture took the road to exile, finding shelter in Western Europe and the United States. It is estimated that, between 1948 and 1989, 12% of Romanian writers left the country - the largest proportion in all of Central and Eastern Europe. The Romanian exile published more than 2500 newspapers and magazines, reflecting both the uncensored version of Romanian culture and a connection to a time before communism.
Dr. Mihai Neagu Basarab, director of the Romanian Library of Freiburg and a writer himself, speak passionately about the treasure in his custody. The library started in 1949 with 36 volumes of Romanian literature, 14 brochures, 10 translations into foreign languages, 16 periodical publications, 2 manuscripts and 110 works from foreign literature. Today, it hosts about 200,000 volumes, tens of thousands of letters and almost one million copies of periodical publications edited by the Romanian exile. It published a yearly bulletin and works of national literature, collected books, journals, Romanian newspapers that appeared abroad, works of art, fabrics, photographs, paintings, memoirs, brochures and other cultural items by Romanian authors. Without this library, a huge part of the Romanian culture might have been difficult to reach, or even lost. It is estimated that in Freiburg are preserved around 70% of the written testimonials of the history of Romanian exile.
It can be seen there the original manuscript of Eminescu’s poem “To my critics”, offered by the author to Queen Elisabeta of Romania and donated to the library by the Wied princely family (“…It is easy to make poems when you have nothing to say, / Writing empty words on paper which are nothing but cliché./ …You, my critics, useless flowers without fruit, prone to decay / It is easy to make poemswhen you have nothing to say.”).
The library also hosts manuscripts and letters of Nicolae Iorga (the greatest Romanian historian), Liviu Rebreanu (the creator of the modern Romanian novel), George Enescu (the greatest Romanian composer), Dinu Lipatti (one of the best pianists of the 20th century), and of other prominent personalities of Romanian culture: Vasile Alexandri, Cincinat Pavelescu, Ionel Teodoreanu, Elena Vacarescu, Aron Cotrus, Victor Ioan Popa, Ion Pillat, Pamfil Seicaru. A missal “Liturghier”, printed in Sibiu in 1798, and a traditional women’s costume from Muscel region, which belonged to Queen Elisabeta, can equally be admired there.
Outstanding representatives of Romanian exile, such as professor Mircea Eliade (University of Chicago; one of the most influential historians of religions), historian and essayist Neagu Djuvara, professor Vlad Constantinesco (University of Strasbourg; one of the founders of the European Union law), historian Matei Cazacu (president of the library), writers and journalists Virgil Ierunca and Monica Lovinescu (Radio Free Europe), greatly contributed to library’s life. In the ’90, professor and historian Ioan-Aurel Pop, currently the President of the Romanian Academy, performed academic research at the Romanian Library of Freiburg.
In her biography of Voltaire (“The Friends of Voltaire”, published in 1906), Evelyn Beatrice Hall wrote: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". Hall's quotation is often cited to describe the principle of freedom of expression. The Romanian Library of Freiburg was a beacon of freedom of expression in times of despair and censorship. It contributed to the conservation of the national memory - with tragedies, repression, and resistance, as Romania had one of the long-lasting anti-Communist armed resistances in Europe (from 1948 to 1961, "the partisans" controlled significant areas of the Carpathian Mountains, and my native land was the cradle of a fierce resistance movement, "The Outlaws of Muscel").
The Romanian Library of Freiburg speaks to young generations about national identity, patriotism, dignity and creativity in times of suffering. To be able to continue to do so, support and partnership are needed. In recent years, the Romanian Foreign Ministry and the Government of Romania (the Department for Romanians Abroad) financed reparation and renovation works. In 2024, the University of Strasbourg proposed a cooperation with the library as part of the “Eastern Dissidence in Exile” French project. Collaboration was also suggested in the framework of EUCOR (“The European Campus” - an alliance of five universities in the border region between Germany, France and Switzerland, which brings together the skills of some 17,000 researchers, 9,900 doctoral candidates and 120,000 students). The statute of the Romanian Academy in Rome (Accademia di Romania in Roma), which is a research institution under the aegis of the Romanian Academy and is managed by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, may also be an inspirational model for the Romanian Library of Freiburg.
Books keep talent and passion between their covers. The ultimate message we get by navigating through the selves of a library is that the sense of writing and reading has not disappeared. There are few arts that can provide a better access to a nation identity than literature, because the power of written culture transcends borders. As history is a continuous flow from yesterday towards tomorrow, libraries conserve the past and make it relevant for the future. Books breathe emotion, communicate to visitors and speak to our minds in the same way as museums and monuments. Saving a library means saving ideas and ideals.
Dr. Ion I. Jinga
Strasbourg, September 2024
Note: Opinions expressed in this article do not bind the official position of the author.
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