Brutus Coste papers, 1940-1985

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Summary

Creators:
Paris Peace Conference (Location of meeting: Paris, France. Date of meeting or treaty signing: 1946.) and Coste, Brutus, 1910-1985
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.
Extent:
85 manuscript boxes (35.4 Linear Feet)
Language:
In Romanian, English and French
Preferred citation:

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

Background

Scope and content:

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).

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
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

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.

Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1986.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

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], Brutus Coste 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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