Studii și Materiale de Istorie Contemporană, vol. XXIV, 2025

Mihai BURCEA, „Tovarășii de drum” din Ministerul Afacerilor Interne (1945-1952) [„Fellow-travellers” at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1945-1952)] [SMIC, XXIV, 2025, pp. 132-137] 

https://www.doi.org/10.62616/SMIC.2025.24.08 

The full text is available on CEEOL/ Textul integral al studiului poate fi accesat prin CEEOL: https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=1419322 

The article presents a brief analysis of the process of co-opting, remodeling and, subsequently, marginalizing and purging some governmental cadres from pre-communist time. These officials worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs apparatus before March 6, 1945, the date on which King Michael of Romania brought to power the pro-communist „Government of Broad Democratic Concentration”, led by the president of the Ploughmen’s Front, Petru Groza. The contribution argues that the communist regime first used, then discarded a significant number of military professionals who belonged to the „enemy class” (a mixture of royalists and right-wing officers). To make this argument the study introduces a series of prominent names from the command structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (post-March 6, 1945), who in previous regimes had held significant positions in the army, police, security forces or gendarmerie.

Keywords: Cadres policy; Communism, purges; Nomenklatura; Repression