20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

788 Adina Berciu-DrăghicescuIn 1943, Professor Dumitru Berciu pointed out in a memorial that theinstitute had been converted into campaign hospital and bombed severaltimes by the Italian aviation * . The entire inventory of the Institute thatexceeded 1,000,000 lei disappeared. Professor Dumitru Berciu proposedthe transfer of the Institute headquarters in Tirana, where was a strongRomanian center and the opening of a primary school in Tirana "...thusrepairing an injustice of the past when the Albanian governments didnot allow the operation of Romanian schools in the capital of Albania".The Professor also mentioned "... sad situation of Romanian schools andchurches in Albania with premises in ruins, with school teachers andpriests unduly paid and persecuted by local authorities". 60 In a memorialissued on March the 5 th , 1943 which was an addition to it, Professor Berciurequired that "the Director of the Institute should have control of schoolsand churches in Albania", was also proposed that near the Institute, it mustbe set up a Romanian High School in Tirana, near the primary school 61 .In Bulgaria Romanians lived grouped in several areas: Vidin, TimokValley, Sofia and groups of nomadic shepherds in the Rodopi mountains,mountains of Rila and Giumaia region, their numbers reaching, in 1923,between 150,000 and 80,000. 62 In Bulgaria, based upon the exchangeof letters between Titu Maiorescu and D. Toncev, concurrently with theclosure of the peace treaty in Bucharest (1913), two Romanian schoolswere opened in Sofia and Giumaia. As it results from the memorial ofthe primary school principal in Giumaia of 1924, school and church inthis village were destroyed during the Balkan wars and the Bulgarianauthorities had hardly allowed the reopening of the school year in 1920. 63The Principal continued to show "... I was happy to see that there are verygood Romanians... Taking this into account, the undersigned in connectionwith Romanian leaders have decided to rebuild the school and the churchby opening a subscription list for Romanians living there who althoughthe great part of them lack means, when it came to school and church theysubscribed the sum of 200,000 leva". 64made for several months, submitting memories after memories statements, the Institutewas reestablished under the direction of Professor D. Berciu.*In April 1939 Albania was conquered by Italy, Victor Emmanuel III rd also becameking of Albania. In Albania were introduced fascist institutions.60A.N.I.C., fund of the Ministry of Public Instruction, file 2454/1943, f. 14.61A.M.A.E., fund Problem 18, vol. Albania (1919-1943) – doc. of the 5 th of March1943, f. 111-115.62A.N.I.C., fund of the Ministry of Public Instruction, file 799/1923, f. 9.63Ibidem, file 755/1924, f. 1.64Ibidem.