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Coste (Brutus) papers
85051  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Use
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Chronology
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content Note

  • Title: Brutus Coste papers
    Date (inclusive): 1940-1985
    Collection Number: 85051
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: In Romanian, English and French
    Physical Description: 85 manuscript boxes (35.4 Linear Feet)
    Abstract: Correspondence, dispatches, memoranda, reports, press releases, speeches and writings, conference proceedings, financial records, and printed matter, relating to Romanian diplomacy during World War II; discussion of Romania at the Paris Peace Conference of 1946; Romanian and other Eastern European emigre affairs; postwar anti-communist movements, especially the Assembly of Captive European Nations and the Truth about Romania Committee; and the status of human rights in Romania and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
    Creator: Paris Peace Conference (Location of meeting: Paris, France. Date of meeting or treaty signing: 1946.)
    Creator: Coste, Brutus, 1910-1985
    Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

    Access

    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.

    Use

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

    Acquisition Information

    Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1986.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Brutus Coste Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Chronology

    1910 Born in Ciacova, Romania
    1933-1946 Also acted for a long time as charge d'affaires in the Romanian legations in Washington and Lisbon
      Member of the Romanian Diplomatic Service: Secretary and later Counselor of Romanian legations in Paris and London
    March 1945-February 1946 Remained in control of the legation in Lisbon until the recognition by the Western powers of the communist government
      Broke relations with the Communist-controlled Groza regime after it came to power in Romania
    1946-1947 Secretary General of the unofficial delegation of Major Romanian political parties at the Paris Peace Conference
    1947 Political advisor to General Nicolae Radescu, the last democratic Prime Minister of Romania
      Moved to New York
    1954-? Director of the International League for the Rights of Man, and representative of the organization to the U.N.
    1954-1965 Secretary General of the Assembly of Captive European Nations
    1965-1967 Special Assistant to the President of the Institute for American Strategy
      Staff Consultant to the Foreign Policy Research Institute of the University of Pennsylvania
    1967- Associate Professor, then Professor Emeritus, of International Relations and World History at Fairleigh Dickinson University, N.J.
    1973- Headed the Truth About Romania Committee since its inception
    1985 Died in New York

    Biography

    Secretary and later counselor of Romanian legations in Paris and London (1933–46); charge d'affaires in the Romanian legations in Washington and Lisbon; secretary general of the unofficial delegation of major Romanian political parties at the Paris Peace Conference (1946). Moved to New York in 1947 and became political adviser to General Nicolae Radescu, the last democratic prime minister of Romania. Director of the International League for the Rights of Man and representative of this organization to the U.N. Secretary General of the Assembly of Captive European Nations (1954–65). Staff consultant to the Foreign Policy Research Institute of the University of Pennsylvania; special assistant to the president of the Institute for American Strategy (1965–67); associate professor, then professor emeritus, of International Relations and World History at Fairleigh Dickinson University, N.J. Headed the Truth about Romania Committee since its inception in 1973.

    Scope and Content Note

    Brutus Coste's papers cover mainly the years he spent as an emigre in the U.S., during the years 1947-1985. Both his writings and correspondence deal mostly with émigré affairs.
    Of main importance are the materials related to the Assembly of Captive European Nations, whose General Secretary Brutus Coste was for eleven years. The main message that Coste addressed through the A.C.E.N. was a criticism of the Johnson Administration policy of "building bridges" with Eastern European countries, which seemed to become more independent of Moscow. Coste claimed (see files 1,3,8 in box 11; files 4,8,14,16,22 in box 13) that American financial help only delayed liberalization and the fall of communism. In his interviews (see box 1) and correspondence (see boxes 6-9 and 39), Coste accuses the National Committee for a Free Europe (the sponsoring organization of both the A.C.E.N. and Radio Free Europe) for his removal from the presidency of the A.C.E.N. precisely because of his stance.
    Also of great importance are the confidential reports sent to Romania by Coste from the Romanian legations in London, Washington, and Lisbon, 1940-1947, concerning the financial funds of the Romanian National Bank in the U.S; the financial transactions of the Swedish Legation in Washington, which took over the Romanian interests in the U.S.; and Romania between and after World War II. Among the recipients of his reports were Marshall Mihai Antonescu, Alexandru Cretzianu, Cornel Bianu, and Vasile Gregorcea.
    Of special interest are the materials related to Father Gheorghe Calciu Dumitreasa, who was sentenced in 1979 to ten years of imprisonment for preaching religious freedom, after having already been imprisoned sixteen years during the Stalinist period. This collection contains records documenting the efforts of the Truth About Romania Committee, under the chairmanship of Brutus Coste; of the Committee for the Defense of Rev. Gheorghe Calciu, under the chairmanship of Mircea Eliade; and of the Committee of Intellectuals for a Free Europe, under the chairmanship of Eugene Ionesco, for the priest's release from prison.
    Finally, of specific importance are Coste's and Radescu's papers related to forced labor in Romania (see files 1 in box 12 and box 20) and Coste's papers regarding the financial terms of the armistice in 1946 (box 11).

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Romanians -- United States
    Anti-communist movements -- United States
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Diplomatic history
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Peace
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Romania
    Romania -- Foreign relations
    Diplomats -- Romania
    Civil rights -- Romania
    East Europeans -- United States
    Truth about Romania Committee
    ACEN (Organization)