Portraits of the Romanian Politicians from the End of the 19th Century in German Diplomatic Documents

Abstract

Abstract: From the point of view of the Romanian-German relations, the period between the Congress of Berlin and the beginning of the “Balkan Crisis” is a privileged one. One could explain this situation by the following facts: the above-mentioned countries had the same political and economical interests; the importance of the Romanian natural resources for the German economy; the Romanian kingdom’s need and desire to take advantages against the Russian empire’s claims, being protected by a great European power. Another proof of the significance granted by the Reich to its new Eastern ally could also be seen in the concern of the German dignitaries in Bucharest regarding the evolution of the Romanian economical and political life. Their notes to Berlin accurately depicted a vivid fresco of the Romanian world around 1900. Of course, their image (as strangers) towards the entire Romanian society could not be an objective one, taking into account the interests they represented and their affiliation to a different culture. This paper presents the portraits of the most important Romanian political personalities, based mainly on the personal considerations of the German dignitaries in Bucharest. A special emphasis is given to the royal family of Romania, especially to King Charles I of Hohenzollern, and to his relationships with other members of his family and with the European monarchs. The documents used are, mainly, unpublished, and they can be found in the Microfilms Collections tagged “Germany” and “USA”, preserved at the Department of the Central Historical National Archives in Bucharest.