Catherine Caradja
Encyclopedia
Princess Catherine Olympia Caradja (born Ecaterina Olimpia Creţulescu on January 28, 1893, died May 26, 1993) was a celebrated Romania
n aristocrat and philanthropist
. Born in Bucharest
, she grew up in England
and France
, and lived in Romania from 1908 to 1952, when she escaped from the communist regime
on a Danube
boat. An expatriate
in the United States
for 35 years, and a longtime resident of the Hill Country
of Texas
, she returned after the Romanian Revolution of 1989
to Bucharest, where she died a centenarian
.
Princess Caradja is known for her humanitarian work in the interbellum
, and especially for her efforts to ease the burden of captivity for over a thousand American and British
airmen
, taken prisoner
during the bombing of Romania in World War II
. She cared for them on her property and in the hospitals she ran; those activities earned her the nickname "Angel of Ploieşti
" among the crews. In 1977, she was awarded the George Washington Honor Medal by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge
.
, the daughter of Princess Irina Cantacuzino and Prince Radu Creţulescu. Caught in a financial struggle between her parents' families, she was abducted
at the age of three by her father, who took her to England, and placed her in an orphanage
under an assumed name. Her mother (who divorced her father, and remarried to Prince Nicolae Ghica) kept looking for her, but died in 1906. The princess was accidentally found in 1908 in a French convent by an aunt, who helped her escape, and brought her back to Romania, where the courts put her in custody of the Cantacuzino family
. She was raised by her maternal grandmother and her maternal grandfather, Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, the Prime Minister of Romania at the turn of the 20th century.
The princess was educated in England, France, Romania, and Belgium
, and spoke five languages. In 1914, just before the start of World War I
, she married Prince Constantin Caradja (1892–1962), a member of the Caradja
family. After German
troops entered Romania in 1916 (see Romanian Campaign (World War I)
), she flew from Bucharest
with her two daughters, Irène Mathilde Catherine (born the year before) and Marie Constance Lucie (born ten days before). After taking refuge in Moldavia
, she started working as a volunteer in a 30-bed hospital for typhus
patients (she contracted the disease herself).
After the Armistice
, Princess Caradja went back to Bucharest, and devoted herself to social work, most notably, at Saint Catherine's Crib, a complex of orphanages started by her mother, which housed more than 3,000 children. In 1920, she gave birth to a third daughter, Alexandra. The second daughter died in Vienna
in 1933, while her eldest daughter and her husband (Constantin Emandi) were killed in the deadly earthquake of November 10, 1940.
The princess first became known internationally as a result of her opposition to Romania's alliance with Nazi Germany
during the Second World War
(see Romania during World War II
). When the oilfields at Ploieşti
were bombed by the Allies
in August 1943 in Operation Tidal Wave, she personally took custody of surviving Allied crews, saw that they were cared for in her hospitals, and facilitated their escape to Italy
. During the Allied bombings of spring and summer 1944
, several American airmen landed on her estate at Nedelea, after either emergency landing
or parachuting
. Throughout the war, she eased the burden of captivity for more than one thousand flyers who had been shot down. Those deeds earned her the nickname "Angel of Ploieşti" among the airmen. One of the pilots who survived crash landing, and escaped thanks to her efforts, was Richard W. Britt, who recounted the story in a book, many years later.
According to FBI
Director J. Edgar Hoover
, Princess Caradja had an affair during the war with Frank Wisner
, who was working in Bucharest as chief of OSS
operations in southeastern Europe
. Claiming that Caradja was a Soviet
agent, Hoover passed that information to Senator
Joseph McCarthy
, who was investigating at the time Wisner and the Office of Policy Coordination
.
After the Communist regime
was established in Romania, her orphanages and foundation were nationalized in 1949. Her daughter, who had left for Paris
in 1948, helped the princess escape in early 1952, with assistance from the French secret services; she left the country on a Danube
tanker
, arriving after 8 weeks in Vienna. During the winter of 1954-55, the princess directed relief efforts for children in Algiers
, in the wake of the September 9, 1954 earthquake. She traveled widely, giving talks in France on "Life Behind the Iron Curtain
", and speaking at the BBC
.
; soon after landing, she appeared on the Dave Garroway
show. She resided in the U.S. for more than 35 years, mainly in the town of Comfort
(in the Hill Country
of Texas
), but also in Baltimore, Maryland and in Kansas City
. While traveling across America, speaking at various venues, she found more than five hundred of the former prisoners of war
she knew from Romania. She organized a reunion in Dallas, Texas
on August 28, 1972, an event that continued to be held each year for many years, with the Princess as the guest of honor and main speaker. On August 27, 1976, during the U.S. bicentennial year
, she helped present a Peace Monument for the Freedoms Foundation
at the Valley Forge National Historical Park
; in January 1977 she was awarded the George Washington Honor Medal by the Foundation.
In 1978 she befriended Ottomar Berbig, an antiques
dealer in West Berlin
. The princess was keen to adopt Berbig, as her family had no male heirs to carry the family name. Berbig took the name of Ottomar Rodolphe Vlad Dracula Prince Kretzulesco
, and the adoption was formalized in 1990.
After the Romanian Revolution of 1989
, the new Romanian government decided in early 1991 to return to Princess Caradja more than 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of her estate. In mid-1991, she went back to her native country, taking up residence in her old orphanage.
She died at age 100, on May 26, 1993, and was buried in the family tomb, in Bucharest
. A memorial service was held at the historic Kretzulescu Church
.
Her daughter, Alexandra, died in 1997; she is survived by her granddaughter, Princess Brianna Caradja, and two great-grandsons.
, December 15, 2005
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 aristocrat and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. Born in Bucharest
Bucharest
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....
, she grew up in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and 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...
, and lived in Romania from 1908 to 1952, when she escaped from the communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
on a Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
boat. An expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for 35 years, and a longtime resident of the Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, she returned after the Romanian Revolution of 1989
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
to Bucharest, where she died a centenarian
Centenarian
A centenarian is a person who is or lives beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average life expectancies across the world are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only...
.
Princess Caradja is known for her humanitarian work in the interbellum
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
, and especially for her efforts to ease the burden of captivity for over a thousand American and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
airmen
Airman
An airman is a member of the air component of a nation's armed service. In the United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force , it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank...
, taken prisoner
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
during the bombing of Romania in World War II
Bombing of Romania in World War II
The bombing of Romania in World War II comprised two series of events: until August 1944, Allied operations, and, following the overthrow of Ion Antonescu's Fascist dictatorship, operations by Nazi Germany....
. She cared for them on her property and in the hospitals she ran; those activities earned her the nickname "Angel of Ploieşti
Ploiesti
Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....
" among the crews. In 1977, she was awarded the George Washington Honor Medal by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge
Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge
The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge is a national, non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization, founded in 1949. The Foundation is located adjacent to the Valley Forge National Historical Park, near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, U.S., and sits on ground that was once part of...
.
Early years
She 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....
, the daughter of Princess Irina Cantacuzino and Prince Radu Creţulescu. Caught in a financial struggle between her parents' families, she was abducted
Child abduction
Child abduction or Child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor from the custody of the child's natural or legally appointed guardians....
at the age of three by her father, who took her to England, and placed her in an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
under an assumed name. Her mother (who divorced her father, and remarried to Prince Nicolae Ghica) kept looking for her, but died in 1906. The princess was accidentally found in 1908 in a French convent by an aunt, who helped her escape, and brought her back to Romania, where the courts put her in custody of the Cantacuzino family
Cantacuzino family
The Cantacuzino or Cantacuzène family is an old boyar family of Wallachia and Moldavia, a branch of Greek Kantakouzinos family, allegedly descended from the Byzantine Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus. No definite genealogical links between Byzantine Greek and Romanian Cantacuzinos have been established...
. She was raised by her maternal grandmother and her maternal grandfather, Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, the Prime Minister of Romania at the turn of the 20th century.
The princess was educated in England, France, Romania, and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and spoke five languages. In 1914, just before the start of World War I
World 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...
, she married Prince Constantin Caradja (1892–1962), a member of the Caradja
Caradja
Caradja, Karadja or Caragea is an aristocratic family of Byzantine and Phanariote Greek origins, present as dignitaries in the Ottoman Empire, and established as hospodars and boyars in the Danubian Principalities from the late 16th century...
family. After German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
troops entered Romania in 1916 (see Romanian Campaign (World War I)
Romanian Campaign (World War I)
The Romanian Campaign was part of the Balkan theatre of World War I, with Romania and Russia allied against the armies of the Central Powers. Fighting took place from August 1916 to December 1917, across most of present-day Romania, including Transylvania, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian...
), she flew from Bucharest
Bucharest
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....
with her two daughters, Irène Mathilde Catherine (born the year before) and Marie Constance Lucie (born ten days before). After taking refuge in Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
, she started working as a volunteer in a 30-bed hospital for typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
patients (she contracted the disease herself).
After the Armistice
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
, Princess Caradja went back to Bucharest, and devoted herself to social work, most notably, at Saint Catherine's Crib, a complex of orphanages started by her mother, which housed more than 3,000 children. In 1920, she gave birth to a third daughter, Alexandra. The second daughter died in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1933, while her eldest daughter and her husband (Constantin Emandi) were killed in the deadly earthquake of November 10, 1940.
World War II and aftermath
Nazi 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...
during the Second World War
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...
(see Romania during World War II
Romania during World War II
Following the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, the Kingdom of Romania officially adopted a position of neutrality. However, the rapidly changing situation in Europe during 1940, as well as domestic political upheaval, undermined this stance. Fascist political forces such as the Iron...
). When the oilfields at Ploieşti
Ploiesti
Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....
were bombed by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
in August 1943 in Operation Tidal Wave, she personally took custody of surviving Allied crews, saw that they were cared for in her hospitals, and facilitated their escape to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. During the Allied bombings of spring and summer 1944
Bombing of Romania in World War II
The bombing of Romania in World War II comprised two series of events: until August 1944, Allied operations, and, following the overthrow of Ion Antonescu's Fascist dictatorship, operations by Nazi Germany....
, several American airmen landed on her estate at Nedelea, after either emergency landing
Emergency landing
An emergency landing is a landing made by an aircraft in response to a crisis which either interferes with the operation of the aircraft or involves sudden medical emergencies necessitating diversion to the nearest airport.-Types of emergency landings:...
or parachuting
Parachuting
Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...
. Throughout the war, she eased the burden of captivity for more than one thousand flyers who had been shot down. Those deeds earned her the nickname "Angel of Ploieşti" among the airmen. One of the pilots who survived crash landing, and escaped thanks to her efforts, was Richard W. Britt, who recounted the story in a book, many years later.
According to FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
Director J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
, Princess Caradja had an affair during the war with Frank Wisner
Frank Wisner
Frank Gardiner Wisner was head of Office of Strategic Services operations in southeastern Europe at the end of World War II, and the head of the Directorate of Plans of the Central Intelligence Agency during the 1950s....
, who was working in Bucharest as chief of OSS
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
operations in southeastern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Claiming that Caradja was a Soviet
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....
agent, Hoover passed that information to Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
, who was investigating at the time Wisner and the Office of Policy Coordination
Office of Policy Coordination
The Office of Policy Coordination was a United States covert psychological operations and paramilitary action organization. Created as an independent office in 1948, it was merged with the Central Intelligence Agency in 1951....
.
After the Communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
was established in Romania, her orphanages and foundation were nationalized in 1949. Her daughter, who had left 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...
in 1948, helped the princess escape in early 1952, with assistance from the French secret services; she left the country on a Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
tanker
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
, arriving after 8 weeks in Vienna. During the winter of 1954-55, the princess directed relief efforts for children in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, in the wake of the September 9, 1954 earthquake. She traveled widely, giving talks in France on "Life Behind the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
", and speaking at the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
In America
In December 1955, Caradja received a visa to come to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; soon after landing, she appeared on the Dave Garroway
Dave Garroway
David Cunningham "Dave" Garroway was the founding host of NBC's Today from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing, relaxed, and relaxing style belied a battle with depression that may have contributed to the end of his days as a leading television personality—and, eventually, his life...
show. She resided in the U.S. for more than 35 years, mainly in the town of Comfort
Comfort, Texas
Comfort is a census-designated place in Kendall County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,363 at the 2010 census. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
(in the Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
), but also in Baltimore, Maryland and in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. While traveling across America, speaking at various venues, she found more than five hundred of the former prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
she knew from Romania. She organized a reunion in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
on August 28, 1972, an event that continued to be held each year for many years, with the Princess as the guest of honor and main speaker. On August 27, 1976, during the U.S. bicentennial year
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
, she helped present a Peace Monument for the Freedoms Foundation
Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge
The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge is a national, non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization, founded in 1949. The Foundation is located adjacent to the Valley Forge National Historical Park, near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, U.S., and sits on ground that was once part of...
at the Valley Forge National Historical Park
Valley Forge National Historical Park
Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site where the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–1778 near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, during the American Revolutionary War. The National Historical Park preserves the site and interprets the history of the Valley Forge encampment. ...
; in January 1977 she was awarded the George Washington Honor Medal by the Foundation.
In 1978 she befriended Ottomar Berbig, an antiques
Antiques
An antique is an old collectible item. It is collected or desirable because of its age , beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features...
dealer in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
. The princess was keen to adopt Berbig, as her family had no male heirs to carry the family name. Berbig took the name of Ottomar Rodolphe Vlad Dracula Prince Kretzulesco
Ottomar Rodolphe Vlad Dracula Prince Kretzulesco
Ottomar Rodolphe Vlad Dracula Prinz Kretzulesco, born Ottomar Berbig was a flamboyant German socialite who achieved fame through a claim of adopted lineage from Vlad Dracula, the inspiration for Count Dracula....
, and the adoption was formalized in 1990.
Back to Romania
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
, the new Romanian government decided in early 1991 to return to Princess Caradja more than 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of her estate. In mid-1991, she went back to her native country, taking up residence in her old orphanage.
She died at age 100, on May 26, 1993, and was buried in the family tomb, in Bucharest
Bucharest
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....
. A memorial service was held at the historic Kretzulescu Church
Kretzulescu Church
Kretzulescu Church is an Eastern Orthodox church in central Bucharest, Romania. Built in the Brâncovenesc style, it is located on Calea Victoriei, nr. 45A, at one of the corners of Revolution Square, next to the former Royal Palace....
.
Her daughter, Alexandra, died in 1997; she is survived by her granddaughter, Princess Brianna Caradja, and two great-grandsons.
External links
"Prinţesa prizonierilor", at the Romanian Ministry of Defense Mihai Diac, "Veteranii de război americani, recunoscători pentru modul in care au fost trataţi in prizonierat în România", GândulGândul
Gândul is a Romanian daily newspaper published in Bucharest. It was founded in May 2005 by Mircea Dinescu, who used to write a daily editorial called "Vorba lu' Dinescu", and Cristian Tudor Popescu, who was also the editor-in-chief until January 2008. Its initial circulation was about 52,000...
, December 15, 2005