A Different Kind of Heroes: The Romanian Anticommunists during Postcommunist Era

Abstract

In Romania, a hero was always considered to be a historical or cultural figure who fought for the union of all Romanians, for the preservation and transmission of the Romanian language, as well as for the Romanian traditions and values. A person who defied the state (considered as a national asset, Barbu (2004, p. 106)) and cherished values such as freedom, solidarity, communality was perceived as a negative charac-ter. However, the fall of communism in 1989 changed this perception and brought along a new perspective on this category of people. The anticommunist fighters, most of them former political detainees, were/are depicted as a new type of heroes, animat-ed by ideals and values which characterized the West to which Romanians wanted to adhere. My paper investigates this new category of heroes and its main symbols. It discusses the importance of the national myths and the cult of dead in the heroization process. Furthermore, my paper argues that the victimization paradigm and the male dominated Pantheon hinder the acceptance of former political detainees as national heroes.