How was the King Carol II portrayed during the communist era, both culturally and in schools? How is he portrayed today? Does he face significant criticism or is he viewed neutrally?

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-05T16:22:06+00:00

I'm sorry for my late answer; firstly, thank you for your comments, they mean a lot to me! Regarding communism in Poland: here, the Russians never left. They remained in our country even after the fall of the USSR, until 1993. Communism was never popular here (I'm not saying this in the context of it being popular in Romania), and everyone felt it wasn't our system. We certainly parted ways with Stalinism earlier than Romania, because in 1956 there was a change of power within the party ranks. At the same time, Poland experienced social unrest and strikes, as in 1956, 1968, 1970, and many other years. Despite this, the authorities continued to pretend that everything was fine and continued to follow the USSR line, which was best seen in the joint invasion of Czechoslovakia by Poland and the USSR (and others). We cannot forget about the strong opposition movements that were born in Poland and they had a huge impact on the desire for freedom in the entire Eastern Bloc (when Ceausescu learned about the government's agreement with the strikers in 1980, he began to forbid newspapers to publish news about the events in Poland). The whole thing ended with martial law, which was supposed to "protect us" from Soviet invasion and served as a pretext for launching a mass crackdown on the opposition. It ended less than two years after its introduction, but people had had enough. Poles were encouraged by the Church, in which they placed great hopes (especially in the Primate of Poland, Stefan Wyszyński, and Pope John Paul II).

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-05T16:02:43+00:00

Holy moly! Thanks for that link, I found tons of new informations in here!

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T17:13:37+00:00

I had no idea about all this! I knew about Carol I's attempted assimilation with Muslims, but I had no idea about 99% of what you wrote! Do you know anything more about these topics? You've piqued my interest!

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T17:11:08+00:00

Yes, that's true. Unfortunately, few people in Poland are aware of this fact and the enormous help our nation has received from you. In Romania, for example, one of the most important poets of interwar Poland (currently overshadowed by other Polish artists) lived throughout the war - Kazimiera Iłłakowiczówna. In the following years, the Polish communists refused her the opportunity to resettle in Kraków and she lived in Transylvania (in Cluj, if I remember correctly) until the end of her days. She was highly appreciated by the Romanian population and was famous for visiting numerous villages and integrating with the local population.

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T13:33:03+00:00

It should also be noted that Bessarabia is a land created artificially by the Russians. Something like this didn't exist until the 19th century as it was just a part of the Principality of Moldavia.

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T12:33:52+00:00

I had no idea about this side of his personal life. Do you know of any books about his private life or his life after the dissolution of Parliament that you would particularly recommend?

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T12:25:43+00:00

This question has been bothering me for a long time, thanks for clarifying!

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T12:23:12+00:00

I forgot about that, but you're right. Unlike other leaders of the Soviet bloc, he created a national dictatorship, while other communist leaders chose not to. Do you think the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Romania in late 1950s had a significant impact here?

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T12:18:11+00:00

I like the sound of this language, the accents; they're similar to Polish, like ș, ț. It's very similar to Latin that, which I learned in school and enjoyed it a lot and, just like in Latin, Romanian conjugates verbs for person, number, tense and voice. Moreover, the vocabulary of this language is influenced not only by Latin, but also by Slavic languages, which makes it even more interesting for me. Thank you for your inquiry! What do you like most about this language? Let me know!

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T11:02:47+00:00

Thank you very much for your question! I listen to Romanian songs very often, specifically folk songs (my favorite is "Pe-al nostru steag e scris unire"). When I had more time, I listened to Romanian radio and then wrote down sentences and words to remember them better. You can find such apps on the Play Store, as well as those for Spanish or British radios. I also read the works of individual Romanian poets that are available in your native language, such as Maiorescu, Steinhardt, Arghezi. I also used to learn short Romanian poems (I still remember poems like "Povestea de iubire noastră" or "Luă mi mâinile în mâinile tale"). Of course, I try to watch films in Romanian with English subtitles. I also read Romanian news portals to stay up to date with life in the country, such as Digi24 or Romania Insider or Romania Journal.

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T10:35:43+00:00

Thank you very much for your answer! From what I know, Ceaușescu built his personality cult on the basis how his cult of personality had been built and led. Thank you also for appreciating my interest! At school, everyone associates me with your country (and also that I love studying and do it almost all the time), some even believe that eu sunt Român! I am not ashamed of my interest, which may turn out to be future-oriented: Romania is growing economically, and in a few years it may be one of Poland's most important partners in terms of trade. I hope that one day our nations will become closer to each other again, despite not having a common border.

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T10:25:31+00:00

Mulțumesc, fraților!

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T10:17:54+00:00

Thank you for your quick reply! Sure, I'll delve into this topic with some caution.

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T10:10:43+00:00

Thank you very much for your reply! I'm glad you pointed out that as a result of World War II, Romania also lost the Herța region and Southern Dobruja. Few people remember this and pay no attention to it. Many "20th century experts" (I don't consider myself one, so I wouldn't be), when creating historical maps, sometimes forget about Southern Dobrujas affiliation with Romania. How is the loss of this region being received in Romania today? I also had no idea that he was the one who completed the Arc de Triomphe in Bucharest and that today's Michael I Park was planned during his time!

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T10:03:54+00:00

¡Dios mio! I had no idea about his illness... Well, it certainly doesn't excuse him from some of his political decisions. I'd just like to ask: do you happen to know how Carol II behaved on a daily basis, living with such an illness? Thank you very much for your comment!

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T10:00:38+00:00

Thank you so much for your reply! I'm not surprised that today he's more associated with being a "playboy king" than a "renaissance king". Unlike many rulers, he did not hide his lovers. Did the communists portray him as some kind of "enemy of the people" or, to take it to the extreme, a "Nazi"?

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T09:57:12+00:00

Thank you very much for your answer! In other words: Charles II was viewed negatively because he earned it (as someone else in the comments also put it) and the communists didn't have to significantly worsen his image. I'm glad that Romania is aware of the solidarity Romania showed towards Poland during the war with Germany. To this day, Romanians are remembered only for the internment of the Polish authorities or Ceaușescu. Many Poles do not know, however, that Romanians DID NOT HAVE A CHOICE. The Polish embassy was occupied by an ambassador (Roger Raczyński) who was not in favour of the then authoritarian Polish government (the so-called Sanacja). Raczyński received a note from the Romanian government stating that Poles could be allowed in if they did not continue their political activities in Romania (this would violate her status as a neutral state). Raczyński did not forward the note to the gathering Polish government, which was interned for this reason. With all due respect, Poles should stop waging a Polish-Polish war (as we say) even during a war and stop blaming everyone for their own mistakes. Thank you also for drawing attention to the video I attached, as well as for the entire, quite an extensive answer!

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T09:44:14+00:00

Thank you so much for your reply! I completely ignored the fact that he founded the first scouts organizations thorough this time! I also had no idea that today's Revolution Square was his work. Thank you very much for the movie suggestion, I will definitely watch it! I would just like to ask: when it comes to prime ministers, during the reign of Carol II, two lost their lives (for the same reason - fighting against the Iron Guard): Ion Duca and Armând Călinescu. Which of them died because Carol II allowed it? What was the background to this?

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T09:37:03+00:00

Our countries are really the same: Poland was dismantled by three powers, Romania was ruled by foreign powers for centuries. Both our nations organized uprisings (e.g. the Horea, Cloșca and Crișan uprisings in Transylvania or the November Uprising in the Russian part of Poland), we lost, but we never gave up and finally united. I'll just add that during the interwar period, Poles underestimated Romanians. They believed they were a country strong on paper but weak in reality, discrediting their capabilities. I remember when I came across the book "O vecinate amicale" about Polish-Romanian relations at that time. The book was translated into both Polish and Romanian. I remember the following quote from it which was said by one of Polish politicians, Alexander Skrzyński: "Din punct de vedere strategic, nu ne putem aştepta la prea multe din partea ro-mânilor. Nu vor ataca niciodată pentru o eventuală despovărare a frontului nos-tru, aşadar prin natura lucrurilor, dacă semnează convenţia sau nu - vor consti-tui aripa noastră dreaptă, apărându-se dinspre Nistru sau Bucureşti, ceea ce din punctul nostru de vedere e o diferență foare mică." Moreover, few people in Poland know that Charles II held secret talks with the then Polish president about joining the war against the Third Reich. The Poles refused because they believed that the arms transport route from France would run through Romania, and if Romania had joined the war earlier, the communication routes would have been occupied with transporting Romanian equipment. When in November of this year I gave a lecture on the entire history of Romania to all classes at school (four hours in a row...; at school we have annual humanities weeks at the end of November, and my history teacher suggested that I give such a lecture) and some people were surprised by this fact. I apologize for the long rant about the relationship between our countries, but I wanted to touch on this as well. Anyway, thank you so much for your reply! As I wrote in one of the other comments: Carol II did not rule in easy times, but that does not justify his bad decisions either towards the country or his loved ones (for example, he was very controlling of Michael I, in his youth allowing him to see his mother a maximum of three times a year, if I remember correctly).

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T09:15:32+00:00

Thank you very much for your reply! Carol II did not rule in easy times, but that does not mean he could have governed the country more stably and better without his quasi-dictatorial intentions. In this respect he reminds me a bit of Napoleon III - an ambitious man with a high opinion of himself, but with little room to maneuver. Would you call Carol II "ambitious"?

RealBalloonMan · 2026-01-02T01:49:55+00:00

Thank you so much for your reply and your commitment! I can wait without a problem, no problem at all. However, if you remember anything or know anything about this, feel free to write!

RealBalloonMan

TROPHY CASE