Alecu Constantinescu
Encyclopedia
Alexandru "Alecu" Constantinescu (March 10, 1872 - March 28, 1949) was Romania
n trade union
ist, journalist and socialist
and pacifist
militant, one of the major advocates of the transformation of the Romanian socialist movement into a communist
one.
, Romania's capital, in the family of tailor Ion Constantinescu. He enrolled in highschool, however due to financial problems he was forced to abandon it and work as an apprentice in an upholstery
workshops. During this period he became acquainted with socialist ideas through the works of the early Romanian socialists Constantin Dobrogeanu Gherea, Anton Bacalbaşa and Constantin Mille
. In the 1890s he became a founder of one of the earliest Romanian trade unions, the Professional Association of Upholsterers, and later joined the Romanian Social Democratic Workers' Party (PSDMR). However he soon grew disillusioned with the party leadership, and began attacking it for what he considered to be political and ideological inconsistency. The party itself was dissolved in 1899, when a large part of the leadership joined the National Liberal Party
.
, Ştefan Gheorghiu and Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor
. At the end 1902 he departed for Paris
, France
, however he kept contacts with Romanian workers' movement, occasionally sending articles for the socialist newspaper 1 Mai ("May Day
"). Returning to Romania in 1904, he worked along Frimu and Bujor towards the reorganisation of the Romanian trade unionism. In August 1906, the Conference of trade unions and socialist circles elected Constantinescu secretary of the General commission of the trade unions, the first Romanian general labour organisation. In the same period he joined the editorial board of România Muncitoare
, becoming its executive editor. The newspaper was the main socialist venue of the time, and helped organise several strikes. Alecu Constantinescu himself began in 1906 a tour of Romanian cities, helping organise the local workers, in the hope of creating an unified national trade union. In 1907, during the Romanian Peasants' Revolt
he was in Paşcani, in Moldavia, one of the centres of the rebellion. Due to his activism among the local workers in support of the peasants he was imprisoned for lèse majesté
, however the Fălticeni
court cleared him of charges few weeks later.
In late June he participated in the second Conference of trade unions and socialist circles that took place in Galaţi
, and in August he was part of the Romanian delegation to the Stuttgart
Congress
of the Second International
, along Christian Rakovsky
and N. D. Cocea
. Around this time he also became the editor of the trade union section of România Muncitoare. Between 1906 and 1910 he organised Cercul Amicilor ("The circle of friends"), an association that offered political education and guidance for the trade union leaders from Bucharest and the other Romanian cities. In 1908, with the help of other socialist militants, Alecu Constantinescu also founded a youth wing, Cercul ucenicilor ("The circle of apprentices"), whose goal was to train young workers for the leadership of the socialist movement. When the socialist party was refounded in 1910 as the Romanian Social Democratic Party
(PSDR), Constantinescu, Frimu, D. Marinescu and Bujor were elected in its executive committee. In the subsequent years Alecu Constantinescu participated in various workers' actions supported by the party.
, Alecu Constantinescu supported the neutrality of Romania and joined the pacifist movement. He led the proceedings of the August 1914 extra-ordinary Congress of the PSDR that adopted a strong anti-war declaration, and participated in the July 1915 Bucharest Inter-Balkan Socialist Conference that adopted a similar position. Constantinescu and the PSDR also supported the resolutions of the Zimmerwald Conference
. In August 1916, after Romania joined the war on the side of the Entente
, he was the founder and leader of a Central Committee for anti-war and anti-imperialist action. The attitude of the party led the Romanian authorities to outlaw it. As Romania was rapidly overrun by the forces of the Central Powers
during the autumn on 1916, the Romanian government and an important part of the Romanian elite took refuge in Iaşi
, in eastern Romania. Constantinescu chose to stay in German-occupied Bucharest, where he attempted to reorganise the socialist movement. He succeeded in creating a clandestine "maximalist faction", favourable to the Bolsheviks, and continued to spread anti-war propaganda. In 1917 Constantinescu and Frimu attended the Socialist Conference in Stockholm, and afterwards Constantinescu left for the newly-Soviet Russia
, while Frimu returned to Romania.
Constantinescu returned to Romania in November 1918 and was one of the main organisers of the large workers' demonstration in Bucharest on the 13th of December, which was brutally suppressed by the Romanian government. He escaped capture, but nevertheless the Court Martial of the Second Army Corps sentenced him to death in absentia
, and he was thus forced into hiding. During this period he actively militated for the transformation of the Socialist Party of Romania
into a communist party. Constantinescu was eventually captured in the summer of 1920, and was imprisoned in the fort of Jilava
. In December 1920 he made a successful bid for escape, along Constantin Agiu and other communist militants. As a 20,000 lei
reward was put on his head, he was forced to leave for Bulgaria in early 1921, and from there to the Soviet Russia. In Moscow
he taught Romanian and French language at the Western Section of the Communist University
. He was also part of the Romanian delegation to the Third Congress of the Comintern
in the summer of 1921. While he was in Russia, another Romanian court sentenced him to death in absentia, as part of the Dealul Spirii Trial.
In 1923 Alecu Constantinescu left Soviet Russia for France, where he stayed until 1935. There he joined the Association of the Romanian Communists in France and occasionally sent articles to be published in the Romanian press. However he lost to a large degree contact with the communist leadership in Romania. In 1935 he returned to the Soviet Union
, and in 1937 he was back Romania. He was quickly apprehended and sent for trial before the War Council of the Second Army Corps. The court found that prescription had intervened, and decided to set him free on February 6, 1938.
-supported general Ion Antonescu
and the fascist Iron Guard
gained the power in Romania, Constantinescu, as most communist leaders in Romania, was interned in a concentration camp. During the World War II
he was successively interned at Miercurea Ciuc, Caracal
and Târgu Jiu
. Set free after Romanian changed sides
and joined the Allies in August 1944, he worked for the Bucharest section of the Romanian Communist Party
. In 1948 he was a delegate at the congress that decided the unification of the Romanian Communist and Social-Democratic party into the Romanian Workers' Party. He died in Bucharest in 1949.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist, journalist and socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
militant, one of the major advocates of the transformation of the Romanian socialist movement into a communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
one.
Early life
Constantinescu was born in BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Romania's capital, in the family of tailor Ion Constantinescu. He enrolled in highschool, however due to financial problems he was forced to abandon it and work as an apprentice in an upholstery
Upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English word upholder, which referred to a tradesman who held up his goods. The term is equally applicable to domestic,...
workshops. During this period he became acquainted with socialist ideas through the works of the early Romanian socialists Constantin Dobrogeanu Gherea, Anton Bacalbaşa and Constantin Mille
Constantin Mille
Constantin Mille was a Romanian journalist, novelist, poet, lawyer, and socialist militant, as well as a prominent human rights activist...
. In the 1890s he became a founder of one of the earliest Romanian trade unions, the Professional Association of Upholsterers, and later joined the Romanian Social Democratic Workers' Party (PSDMR). However he soon grew disillusioned with the party leadership, and began attacking it for what he considered to be political and ideological inconsistency. The party itself was dissolved in 1899, when a large part of the leadership joined the National Liberal Party
National Liberal Party (Romania)
The National Liberal Party , abbreviated to PNL, is a centre-right liberal party in Romania. It is the third-largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in the Senate: behind the centre-right Democratic Liberal Party and the centre-left Social...
.
Involvement in socialism
Alecu Constantinescu continued to collaborate with some former PSDMR members who remained dedicated to the workers' cause, such as I. C. FrimuI. C. Frimu
Ion Costache Frimu was a Romanian socialist militant and politician, a leading member of the Romanian Social Democratic Party and labor activist...
, Ştefan Gheorghiu and Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor
Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor
Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor was a Romanian lawyer, journalist and socialist militant. An important figure in the early Romanian labour movement, he embraced communism during World War I and organised Romanian armed detachments in Odessa in support of the October Revolution, hoping to foment a...
. At the end 1902 he departed for Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, however he kept contacts with Romanian workers' movement, occasionally sending articles for the socialist newspaper 1 Mai ("May Day
International Workers' Day
International Workers' Day is a celebration of the international labour movement and left-wing movements. It commonly sees organized street demonstrations and marches by working people and their labour unions throughout most of the world. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries...
"). Returning to Romania in 1904, he worked along Frimu and Bujor towards the reorganisation of the Romanian trade unionism. In August 1906, the Conference of trade unions and socialist circles elected Constantinescu secretary of the General commission of the trade unions, the first Romanian general labour organisation. In the same period he joined the editorial board of România Muncitoare
România Muncitoare
România Muncitoare was a socialist newspaper, published in Bucharest, Romania....
, becoming its executive editor. The newspaper was the main socialist venue of the time, and helped organise several strikes. Alecu Constantinescu himself began in 1906 a tour of Romanian cities, helping organise the local workers, in the hope of creating an unified national trade union. In 1907, during the Romanian Peasants' Revolt
1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt
The 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt took place in March 1907 in Moldavia and it quickly spread, reaching Wallachia. The main cause was the discontent of the peasants about the inequity of land ownership, which was in the hands of just a few large landowners....
he was in Paşcani, in Moldavia, one of the centres of the rebellion. Due to his activism among the local workers in support of the peasants he was imprisoned for lèse majesté
Lèse majesté
Lese-majesty is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.This behavior was first classified as a criminal offence against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome...
, however the Fălticeni
Falticeni
Fălticeni is a city in Suceava County, Romania, capital of the former Baia County . As of 2003 the population is 28,899, and the city covers an area of 28,76 km², of which 25% are orchards and lakes. The city is 25 km away from Suceava, the capital of the county...
court cleared him of charges few weeks later.
In late June he participated in the second Conference of trade unions and socialist circles that took place in Galaţi
Galati
Galați is a city and municipality in Romania, the capital of Galați County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, in the close vicinity of Brăila, Galați is the largest port and sea port on the Danube River and the second largest Romanian port....
, and in August he was part of the Romanian delegation to the Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
Congress
International Socialist Congress, Stuttgart 1907
The International Socialist Congress, Stuttgart 1907 was the Seventh Congress of the Second International. It was held from 18 to 24 August, 1907.-Debates:# Militarism and international conflicts...
of the Second International
Second International
The Second International , the original Socialist International, was an organization of socialist and labour parties formed in Paris on July 14, 1889. At the Paris meeting delegations from 20 countries participated...
, along Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky was a Bulgarian socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and Soviet diplomat; he was also noted as a journalist, physician, and essayist...
and N. D. Cocea
N. D. Cocea
N. D. Cocea was a Romanian journalist, novelist, critic and left-wing political activist, known as a major but controversial figure in the field of political satire...
. Around this time he also became the editor of the trade union section of România Muncitoare. Between 1906 and 1910 he organised Cercul Amicilor ("The circle of friends"), an association that offered political education and guidance for the trade union leaders from Bucharest and the other Romanian cities. In 1908, with the help of other socialist militants, Alecu Constantinescu also founded a youth wing, Cercul ucenicilor ("The circle of apprentices"), whose goal was to train young workers for the leadership of the socialist movement. When the socialist party was refounded in 1910 as the Romanian Social Democratic Party
Romanian Social Democratic Party (defunct)
The Romanian Social Democratic Party was a social-democratic political party in Romania. It published the magazine România Muncitoare, and later Socialismul, Lumea Nouă, and Libertatea.-Early party:...
(PSDR), Constantinescu, Frimu, D. Marinescu and Bujor were elected in its executive committee. In the subsequent years Alecu Constantinescu participated in various workers' actions supported by the party.
World War I
Following the start of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Alecu Constantinescu supported the neutrality of Romania and joined the pacifist movement. He led the proceedings of the August 1914 extra-ordinary Congress of the PSDR that adopted a strong anti-war declaration, and participated in the July 1915 Bucharest Inter-Balkan Socialist Conference that adopted a similar position. Constantinescu and the PSDR also supported the resolutions of the Zimmerwald Conference
Zimmerwald Conference
The Zimmerwald Conference was held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 through September 8, 1915. It was an international socialist conference, which saw the beginning of the end of the coalition between revolutionary socialists and reformist socialists in the Second International.-...
. In August 1916, after Romania joined the war on the side of the Entente
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
, he was the founder and leader of a Central Committee for anti-war and anti-imperialist action. The attitude of the party led the Romanian authorities to outlaw it. As Romania was rapidly overrun by the forces of the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
during the autumn on 1916, the Romanian government and an important part of the Romanian elite took refuge in Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
, in eastern Romania. Constantinescu chose to stay in German-occupied Bucharest, where he attempted to reorganise the socialist movement. He succeeded in creating a clandestine "maximalist faction", favourable to the Bolsheviks, and continued to spread anti-war propaganda. In 1917 Constantinescu and Frimu attended the Socialist Conference in Stockholm, and afterwards Constantinescu left for the newly-Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
, while Frimu returned to Romania.
Constantinescu returned to Romania in November 1918 and was one of the main organisers of the large workers' demonstration in Bucharest on the 13th of December, which was brutally suppressed by the Romanian government. He escaped capture, but nevertheless the Court Martial of the Second Army Corps sentenced him to death in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
, and he was thus forced into hiding. During this period he actively militated for the transformation of the Socialist Party of Romania
Socialist Party of Romania
The Socialist Party of Romania was a Romanian socialist political party, created on December 11, 1918 by members of the Romanian Social Democratic Party , after the latter emerged from clandestinity...
into a communist party. Constantinescu was eventually captured in the summer of 1920, and was imprisoned in the fort of Jilava
Jilava
Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava.The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin meaning "humid place". Jilava was the location of a fort built by King Carol I of Romania, as part of the capital's defense system...
. In December 1920 he made a successful bid for escape, along Constantin Agiu and other communist militants. As a 20,000 lei
Romanian leu
The leu is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 bani . The name of the currency means "lion". On 1 July 2005, Romania underwent a currency reform, switching from the previous leu to a new leu . 1 RON is equal to 10,000 ROL...
reward was put on his head, he was forced to leave for Bulgaria in early 1921, and from there to the Soviet Russia. In Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
he taught Romanian and French language at the Western Section of the Communist University
Communist University of the National Minorities of the West
The Communist University of the National Minorities of the West , was created by a 28 November 1921 decree of the Council of People's Commissars and charged with training party cadres from the western regions of Russia and the Volga Germans.In...
. He was also part of the Romanian delegation to the Third Congress of the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
in the summer of 1921. While he was in Russia, another Romanian court sentenced him to death in absentia, as part of the Dealul Spirii Trial.
In 1923 Alecu Constantinescu left Soviet Russia for France, where he stayed until 1935. There he joined the Association of the Romanian Communists in France and occasionally sent articles to be published in the Romanian press. However he lost to a large degree contact with the communist leadership in Romania. In 1935 he returned to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and in 1937 he was back Romania. He was quickly apprehended and sent for trial before the War Council of the Second Army Corps. The court found that prescription had intervened, and decided to set him free on February 6, 1938.
World War II
In 1940, when GermanNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
-supported general Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
and the fascist Iron Guard
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
gained the power in Romania, Constantinescu, as most communist leaders in Romania, was interned in a concentration camp. During the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was successively interned at Miercurea Ciuc, Caracal
Caracal
The caracal is a fiercely territorial medium-sized cat ranging over Western Asia, South Asia and Africa.The word caracal comes from the Turkish word "karakulak", meaning "black ear". In North India and Pakistan, the caracal is locally known as syahgosh or shyahgosh, which is a Persian term...
and Târgu Jiu
Târgu Jiu
Târgu Jiu is the capital of Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight villages are administered by the city: Bârseşti, Drăgoeni, Iezureni, Polata, Preajba Mare, Româneşti, Slobozia and Ursaţi.-History:The city takes its name...
. Set free after Romanian changed sides
King Michael's Coup
King Michael's Coup refers to the coup d'etat led by King Michael of Romania in 1944 against the pro-Nazi Romanian faction of Ion Antonescu, after the Axis front in Northeastern Romania collapsed under the Soviet offensive.-The coup:...
and joined the Allies in August 1944, he worked for the Bucharest section of the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
. In 1948 he was a delegate at the congress that decided the unification of the Romanian Communist and Social-Democratic party into the Romanian Workers' Party. He died in Bucharest in 1949.