Self-Censoring Memorial Writing: Crainic’s Case

Abstract

In her article "Self-Censoring Memorial Writing: Crainic’s Case" Laura Bădescu discusses the memoirs of Nichifor Crainic (1889–1972). Conceived during the Transylvanian War, between 1945–1946, these memoirs were rewritten by the mentor of “Gândirea” in the years 1963–1964, with the aim of his rehabilitation and reintegration into public life. However, this second variant did not pass by the censorship, remaining in the manuscript until after the 1989 revolution. After the revolution, only the first version (V1) was published. The one restored under ideological pressure has remained, to date, in typed form at the Library of the Romanian Academy under A3515 (V2). The article proposes a comparative reading of the two versions, observing the ideological, social and aesthetic tensions that determined in V2 the modification of the memorial writer's reception angle.