Nation-Building and Contested Identities: Romanian & Hungarian ...

National Prejudices, Mass Media and History TextbooksOn page 16, you are told that “some present researchers believe that theRomanian rulers mentioned by him 36 (Menumorut, Glad, Gelu) did notexist because the historians (the chroniclers) at that time were accustomedto mix reality with fiction.” But the Hungarians of Árpád, those who killedGelu, were they reality or fiction in Transylvania, if the death of Gelu didnot happen? 37The third problem was the presentation of the great Romanian voivods,Vlad the Impaler and Michael the Brave. In Popescu’s opinion, it is unpardonablefor such central figures of Romanian history to be treated as legendary:On page 27, the authors produce the most fabulous explanations about theportraits of Vlad the Impaler and Michael the Brave. ... About Vlad we aretold that he became popular around the world because of movies, underthe name of Dracula, and that he was cruel. That’s it. We are witnessinga unique performance in the worldwide didactic of history: about a realperson, a first rank personality of the history of a given country, exclusivelyliterary and cinematographic references are given to us. And this in a historytextbook for high schools. About Michael the Brave, things are muchclearer: he is a character! That means a fiction, a construction preferred byRomanian historians. 38Finally, Popescu claims that any attack against canonized Romanian history isan attack against nation and state. This concerns the last problem formulatedby Popescu regarding this textbook: How was it possible for the Ministry ofNational Education to approve such a book as an official textbook? He goeseven further: “How is it possible to conceive of the history of Romania in severalalternatives?” 39 He accused directly this textbook as being idiotic, subversiveand anti-national.There is still a Romanian Academy, there are still many scholars, prominenthistorians – what can be more logical and normal than to forma National Commission with people like them who agree upon a certaintextbook, an unique book for teaching Romanian History for the pupilsof this country? If whatever publishing house edits a textbook on its ownmoney and risk, this doesn’t matter, we cannot care less – if they manageto sell it, very well. But, to puzzle the minds of such young people, whodon’t have references and models in the Romanian society any longer, topuzzle them, giving official sanction to such dirty subversives who clearlyattack the historical foundation-myths of the Romanian people, it isa real anti-national and anti-state action. 40 107