Serdici (Georges de, baron) papers, 1947-1990

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Summary

Title:
Georges de Serdici, baron, papers
Dates:
1947-1990
Creators:
Serdici, Georges de, baron, 1920-
Abstract:
Correspondence, memoranda, press releases, depositions, legal documents, and printed matter, relating to political conditions in Romania; the trial of Iuliu Maniu, Vasile de Serdici and other leaders of the Partidul National Taranesc in 1947; Romanian émigré affairs; the Comitetul National Rom^an and other anti-communist organizations; and a lawsuit for defamation brought against Cicerone Ioanitoiu in France in 1985.
Extent:
16 manuscript boxes (4.0 Linear Feet)
Language:
In Romanian, French, English and Swedish
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Georges de Serdici, baron, Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

Georges de Serdici's papers cover mainly the years he spent as an émigré in the U.S., after 1948. His writings and correspondence deal mostly with émigré affairs and with the lawsuit for defamation he brought against Cicerone Ioanitoiu in 1985.

The grounds for this lawsuit lie in the publication of Ioanitoiu's book entitled Tombes sans croix (Tombs without a cross). In this book related to the trial organized in 1947 by the NKVD and by the Romanian communist secret service, Securitate, against the elite democratic politicians, Ioanitoiu depicts Georges de Serdici's father (Vasile) as a "traitor." He accused Vasile de Serdici of delivering the archives of the National Peasant Party (PNT) to the communists, and of betraying the PNT's leader during the 1947 trial. Ioanitoiu also emphasized that this behavior was characteristic of Serdici, who left the army during war time in 1918 in order to serve as a witness to Prince Carol (future Carol II, King of Romania) in his wedding to Zizi Lambrino.

Bringing Alexandre Cretzianu, Emil Ghilizean, Cornel Bianu and others as witnesses, Georges de Serdici proved to the Court the irrelevance to the case of the second accusation, and the groundlessness of the first one. Like all political prisoners in Romania during the 1940s-1960s, his father was tortured both physically and psychologically, and administrated drugs, thus rendered many times irresponsible for his actions. That fact, corroborated by the proof that V. Serdici did not have in his possession any archival materials to deliver to the communists, enabled Georges de Serdici to win the case in 1989.

Also of special importance in the collection are the materials related to the Romanian section of Radio Free Europe, and its alleged collaboration with Securitate (see files 1-5 in box 6 and files 1 and 6-8 in box 7).

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1920
Born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Son of Vasile de Serdici, former Romanian landowner and one of the leaders of the Romanian National Peasant Party (Partidul National Taranesc), one of the most important parties during the inter-war period
1947
Co-defense attorney in the trial organized by the Soviet NKVD and the Romanian communist secret services (Securitate) against the leadership of the Romanian National Peasant Party, including Iuliu Maniu and Vasile de Serdici
1948 March
Escaped illegally from Romania. Since then, has been living in Sweden, Great Britain, and Germany, running his own businesses in real estate, oil, and shipping, and engaging relentlessly in anti-communist activities
1982-1990
Secretary General of the Romanian National Peasant Party, currently the majority party of the ruling coalition of Romania
1989
Won the lawsuit he brought against Cicerone Ioanitoiu in 1985

Son of Vasile Serdici, former Romanian landowner and one of the leaders of the Romanian National Peasant Party (one of the most important parties during the interwar period). Co-defense attorney in the trial organized by the Soviet NKVD and the Romanian Communist secret services (Securitatea) in 1947 against the leadership of the Romanian National Peasant Party. In 1948 he escaped illegally from Romania. Since then he has been living in Sweden, Great Britain, and Germany, running his own businesses in real estate, oil, and shipping, and engaging relentlessly in anticommunist activities. Between 1982 and 1990 he was the secretary general of the Romanian National Peasant Party, currently the majority party of the ruling coalition of Romania.

Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1991.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Laura Cosovanu
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-02-02 15:59:41.846880

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Georges de Serdici, baron, Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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