A collection of history books dedicated to the Great Union, titled “Romania: The Great Union 1918-2018. 100 books” was launched at the National Library. The 100 titles comprise 160 volumes published in different periods, both in Romania and in the Republic of Moldova, and provide an insight into the Romanian historiography relevant to the 1918 union, IPN reports.
The works were arranged into three historical periods in which they were published. The first section contains volumes printed until 1940 and describes the national movement in Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bucovina, the war for the reunification of Romania, the proclamation of the Great Union and the struggle to defend it. The second section includes books published in the years 1945-1989, and the third covers the period after 1989.
The Iași-based publisher Aurel Ștefanachi, the collection’s creator, said the project sought to achieve a symmetry between 100 years since the Union and 100 books. “These are 100 book titles, or 160 volumes of insightfulness in terms of how everything happened and what this event meant for the Romanian nation. You will find among the titles absolutely formidable things, from little known authors, to the historians and authors who sat in the National Council”, noted Ștefanachi.
National Library director Elena Pintilei said that this collection of books embodies the destiny of our country. “This wreath of books, I am convinced, is part of this nation’s heritage and will take a special place in the National Library.”
Romania's Ambassador Daniel Ioniță said this collection is important for understanding “not just who we are exactly, but where we all are going.” According to the ambassador, each of the 100 titles should be seen as a kind of “bricks in a wall of knowledge,” which must be solid, “a foundation that will allow us to build our common home.”
Historian Ion Negrei said that “the 100 book titles are a brilliant page of our national history. It is the page of unity, identity and continuity (...) These books are a marathon of scientific truth”.
The collection will be kept at the National Library.
