Alex Mihai Stoenescu
Encyclopedia
Alex Mihai Stoenescu is a Romania
n historian, writer, journalist and politician.
in 1984, while he worked as an engineer at a factory in Băneasa
. However, he claims it was out of patriotism and he only gave technical details about some equipment bought by the company for which he worked.
After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, he worked as a journalist and then as chief of the Press Department of the National Defense Ministry. In 1998, president Emil Constantinescu
intended to name him spokesman of the presidency, until he learnt about his collaboration with the Securitate.
Stoenescu was a vicepresident of Uniunea Forţelor de Dreapta, resigning from it in 2000, following the unsatisfactory results in the local elections, joining the National Liberal Party
in August 2000. In 2006, Stoenescu joined the New Generation – Christian Democratic Party, being chosen vice-president in charge with its doctrine. He was also part of the team of historians whom Gigi Becali
commissioned to write the "true history of Romania". Stoenescu was among the several important members of this party to resign in 2007.
and the 1989 revolution.
In his work The Army, the Marshall and the Jews, dedicated to the Antonescu era, he claims that the Iaşi pogrom
occurred because Antonescu "practically ceded" the city's Romanian sovereignty to the Germans, who were thus responsible for the mass killings. This attitude is considered by Romanian Holocaust scholar Michael Shafir as being "deflective negationism", a form of Holocaust denial
in which the guilt is deflected toward other groups, such as the Germans. The book also claims that the deaths of thousands of Jews in the "Death Trains" in Romania can be attributed to negligence, not intent. He also accepted without question the era's propaganda that those embarked were "communists" who attacked the Romanian and German troops, while concluding that it was not the first time in history when thousands of innocents paid for the deeds of "a handful of [Jewish communist] culprits".
Stoenescu's multi-volume work History of coup d'etats in Romania also received harsh criticism because of its depiction of Romanian far-right groups. For instance, he claims that the Iron Guard
was not anti-semitic in its early days, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
being originally just an anti-communist and his anti-semitism being a reaction to the Jews' preference of left-wing politics and thus they brought the threat of Bolshevism. The same book also claims that the "Death Squads" of the Legionnaire movement were not really groups of assassins, but just "legionnaires willing to risk their life", who did not intend "to bring death on others", their image being allegedly distorted by the Communist propaganda.
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 historian, writer, journalist and politician.
Biography
According to his own admission, Stoenescu collaborated with the SecuritateSecuritate
The Securitate was the secret police agency of Communist Romania. Previously, the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului. Founded on August 30, 1948, with help from the Soviet NKVD, the Securitate was abolished in December 1989, shortly after President Nicolae Ceaușescu was...
in 1984, while he worked as an engineer at a factory in Băneasa
Baneasa
Băneasa is a borough in the north side of Bucharest, near the Băneasa Lake . Like all north-side districts of Bucharest, it is relatively sparsely populated, with large areas of parkland...
. However, he claims it was out of patriotism and he only gave technical details about some equipment bought by the company for which he worked.
After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, he worked as a journalist and then as chief of the Press Department of the National Defense Ministry. In 1998, president Emil Constantinescu
Emil Constantinescu
Emil Constantinescu was President of Romania from 1996 to 2000.He graduated from the law school of the University of Bucharest, and subsequently started a career as a geologist...
intended to name him spokesman of the presidency, until he learnt about his collaboration with the Securitate.
Stoenescu was a vicepresident of Uniunea Forţelor de Dreapta, resigning from it in 2000, following the unsatisfactory results in the local elections, joining 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...
in August 2000. In 2006, Stoenescu joined the New Generation – Christian Democratic Party, being chosen vice-president in charge with its doctrine. He was also part of the team of historians whom Gigi Becali
Gigi Becali
George Becali is a controversial Romanian politician and businessman, mostly known for his involvement in the Steaua Bucureşti football club.He has been a Member of the European Parliament since June 2009.-Biography:...
commissioned to write the "true history of Romania". Stoenescu was among the several important members of this party to resign in 2007.
Work
Stoenescu's historical work has been considered controversial, especially his works about the rule of Ion AntonescuIon 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 1989 revolution.
In his work The Army, the Marshall and the Jews, dedicated to the Antonescu era, he claims that the Iaşi pogrom
Iasi pogrom
The Iaşi pogrom or Jassy pogrom of June 27, 1941 was one of the most violent pogroms in Jewish history, launched by governmental forces in the Romanian city of Iaşi against its Jewish population, resulting in the murder of at least 13,266 Jews, according to Romanian authorities.-Background:]During...
occurred because Antonescu "practically ceded" the city's Romanian sovereignty to the Germans, who were thus responsible for the mass killings. This attitude is considered by Romanian Holocaust scholar Michael Shafir as being "deflective negationism", a form of Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
in which the guilt is deflected toward other groups, such as the Germans. The book also claims that the deaths of thousands of Jews in the "Death Trains" in Romania can be attributed to negligence, not intent. He also accepted without question the era's propaganda that those embarked were "communists" who attacked the Romanian and German troops, while concluding that it was not the first time in history when thousands of innocents paid for the deeds of "a handful of [Jewish communist] culprits".
Stoenescu's multi-volume work History of coup d'etats in Romania also received harsh criticism because of its depiction of Romanian far-right groups. For instance, he claims that the 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...
was not anti-semitic in its early days, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or The Legion of the Archangel Michael , an ultra-nationalist and violently antisemitic organization active throughout most of the interwar period...
being originally just an anti-communist and his anti-semitism being a reaction to the Jews' preference of left-wing politics and thus they brought the threat of Bolshevism. The same book also claims that the "Death Squads" of the Legionnaire movement were not really groups of assassins, but just "legionnaires willing to risk their life", who did not intend "to bring death on others", their image being allegedly distorted by the Communist propaganda.
History
- "Istoria loviturilor de stat din România", Vol. I - "Revoluţie şi francmasonerie", 2001
- "Istoria loviturilor de stat din România", Vol. II - "Esecul democraţiei române", 2001
- "Istoria loviturilor de stat din România", Vol. III - "Cele trei dictaturi", 2002
- "Istoria loviturilor de stat din România", Vol. IV, part 1 - "Revoluţia din Decembrie 1989 - o tragedie românească", 2004
- "Istoria loviturilor de stat din România", Vol. IV, part 2 - "Revoluţia din Decembrie 1989 - o tragedie românească", 2005
- "Armata, mareşalul şi evreii", 1998
- "Interviuri despre revoluţie", 2004
- "Dinastia Brătianu", 2002
Literary works
- "Patimile Sfântului Tomaso D'Aquino", 2003
- "Noaptea incendiului", 2000
- "Misiunea dominicană", 1997