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Paul Goma
Paul Goma (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈpa.ul ˈɡoma]; October 2, 1935 – March 24, 2020) was a Romanian writer, known for his activities as a dissident and leading opponent of the communist regime before 1989. Forced into exile by the communist authorities, he became a political refugee and resided in France as a stateless person. After 2000, Goma expressed opinions on World War II, the Holocaust in Romania and the Jews, claims which have led to widespread allegations of antisemitism.
Goma was born to a Romanian family in Mana village, Orhei County, then in the Kingdom of Romania, now part of Moldova.[citation needed]
In March 1944, the Goma family took refuge in Sibiu, Transylvania. In August 1944, finding themselves in danger of involuntary "repatriation" to the Soviet Union, they fled to the village of Buia, by the Târnava Mare River. From October to December 1944, the family hid in the forests around Buia. On January 13, 1945, they were captured by Romanian shepherds and turned over to the Gendarmerie in Sighișoara, where they were interned at the "Centrul de Repatriere" ("Repatriation Center"). There, Eufimie Goma forged documents for his family; however, Maria Goma's brother, who didn't have forged papers, was "repatriated to Siberia". In June 1945, taking advantage of the forged documents, they returned to Buia. Later on, Paul Goma would describe his family's refugee saga in the novels Arta refugii ("The Art of Refuge", a wordplay on the Romanian words for "refuge" and "taking flight"), Soldatul câinelui ("Dog's Soldier"), and Gardă inversă ("Reverse Guard").[citation needed]
Goma graduated from Făgăraș’ Radu Negru High School in 1953. In 1954, he was admitted to the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest. In November 1956, he was part of the Bucharest student movement of 1956: during a seminar, he read out to other students parts of a novel he had written about a student who establishes a movement that is similar to the ones in Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Goma was arrested on the charge of attempting to organize a strike at the University of Bucharest and he was sentenced to two years in prison. He served his sentence at the prisons in Jilava and Gherla, and then was put under house arrest in Lătești (a former village of the Bordușani commune) until 1963.
As a former political prisoner, he was not allowed to resume his studies and he had to work as a manual labourer until 1965 when a decree allowed former prisoners to study at the university. In September 1965, he was re-admitted as a first-year student at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest.[citation needed]
At the end of August 1968, Goma became a member of the Romanian Communist Party, in an act of solidarity with the Romanian position during the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia (Romania did not take part, indeed condemning the invasion).
Several months later, Goma attempted to publish a novel, Ostinato (based on his experiences with the secret police), but it was not allowed by the censors after one of them claimed to recognize one character as Elena Ceaușescu. Nevertheless, he published the novel in translation in West Germany in 1971, as a result of which, Paul Goma was excluded from the Communist Party. [citation needed]
During the summer of 1972, he was allowed to visit France, where he wrote Gherla, a novel based on his experiences in the Gherla Prison. This book was also denied publication in Romania but was published in France in 1976.
Paul Goma
Paul Goma (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈpa.ul ˈɡoma]; October 2, 1935 – March 24, 2020) was a Romanian writer, known for his activities as a dissident and leading opponent of the communist regime before 1989. Forced into exile by the communist authorities, he became a political refugee and resided in France as a stateless person. After 2000, Goma expressed opinions on World War II, the Holocaust in Romania and the Jews, claims which have led to widespread allegations of antisemitism.
Goma was born to a Romanian family in Mana village, Orhei County, then in the Kingdom of Romania, now part of Moldova.[citation needed]
In March 1944, the Goma family took refuge in Sibiu, Transylvania. In August 1944, finding themselves in danger of involuntary "repatriation" to the Soviet Union, they fled to the village of Buia, by the Târnava Mare River. From October to December 1944, the family hid in the forests around Buia. On January 13, 1945, they were captured by Romanian shepherds and turned over to the Gendarmerie in Sighișoara, where they were interned at the "Centrul de Repatriere" ("Repatriation Center"). There, Eufimie Goma forged documents for his family; however, Maria Goma's brother, who didn't have forged papers, was "repatriated to Siberia". In June 1945, taking advantage of the forged documents, they returned to Buia. Later on, Paul Goma would describe his family's refugee saga in the novels Arta refugii ("The Art of Refuge", a wordplay on the Romanian words for "refuge" and "taking flight"), Soldatul câinelui ("Dog's Soldier"), and Gardă inversă ("Reverse Guard").[citation needed]
Goma graduated from Făgăraș’ Radu Negru High School in 1953. In 1954, he was admitted to the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest. In November 1956, he was part of the Bucharest student movement of 1956: during a seminar, he read out to other students parts of a novel he had written about a student who establishes a movement that is similar to the ones in Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Goma was arrested on the charge of attempting to organize a strike at the University of Bucharest and he was sentenced to two years in prison. He served his sentence at the prisons in Jilava and Gherla, and then was put under house arrest in Lătești (a former village of the Bordușani commune) until 1963.
As a former political prisoner, he was not allowed to resume his studies and he had to work as a manual labourer until 1965 when a decree allowed former prisoners to study at the university. In September 1965, he was re-admitted as a first-year student at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest.[citation needed]
At the end of August 1968, Goma became a member of the Romanian Communist Party, in an act of solidarity with the Romanian position during the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia (Romania did not take part, indeed condemning the invasion).
Several months later, Goma attempted to publish a novel, Ostinato (based on his experiences with the secret police), but it was not allowed by the censors after one of them claimed to recognize one character as Elena Ceaușescu. Nevertheless, he published the novel in translation in West Germany in 1971, as a result of which, Paul Goma was excluded from the Communist Party. [citation needed]
During the summer of 1972, he was allowed to visit France, where he wrote Gherla, a novel based on his experiences in the Gherla Prison. This book was also denied publication in Romania but was published in France in 1976.