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Adriana Georgescu-Cosmovici

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Adriana Georgescu-Cosmovici (July 23, 1920 – October 29, 2005) was a political prisoner and memoirist from Romania, who emigrated to Western Europe in 1948.[1][2]

Biography

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Born in Bucharest, Adriana Georgescu completed her secondary studies in 1939 at the Ion Heliade Rădulescu High School.[1] After graduating in 1944 from the Faculty of Law of the University of Bucharest, she became the private secretary of General Nicolae Rădescu. After the fall of the Rădescu government on February 28, 1945, she was arrested on July 29 of that year; held at Malmaison Prison in Bucharest, she was subjected to rape and torture.[3] In her memoirs, she recounted the manner in which she had been tortured by a team of which Alexandru Nicolschi was a member, and indicated that the latter had been one of the three to have threatened her with guns.[4] She also detailed various torture methods (including vicious beatings of detainees) Nicolschi personally engaged in during interrogations at Malmaison Prison.[5] After a trial (where she detailed the torture and rape she endured during interrogation), she was sentenced in September 1945 to 4 years of prison[3] for "plotting against the social order". She was pardoned by King Michael I in April 1947.[1] Rearrested in August of that year, she was released after a few weeks of investigation.[6]

On August 2, 1948, she managed to leave Romania clandestinely, together with her future husband, Ștefan Cosmovici, taking refuge in Vienna, then in Paris.[6] Later, she became a correspondent for Radio Free Europe (1952–1957 and 1965–1967) and BBC Radio's Romanian section.[7] After marrying the English officer and author Frank Lorimer Westwater, she became a citizen of the Great Britain in 1961.[1][6] She died in London at age 85.[1]

Works

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  • Au commencement était la fin: la dictature rouge à Bucarest, (Paris: Hachette, 1951)
  • 1951: La început a fost sfârșitul, published in Romania by Humanitas Publishing House, 1992, and Cultural Foundation Memoria, 1999. ISBN 973-99523-0-5. Translated into Spanish as Al principio fue el fin, Xorki Publishing, Madrid, 2018. Translator: Joaquín Garrigós.

Honours

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In 2000, she was awarded the National Order of Faithful Service, in the rank of Commander.[6]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e George Marcu; Rodica Ilinca (April 6, 2012). "Personalități feminine din România (I)". Ziarul Financiar (in Romanian). Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  2. ^ Marcu 2017.
  3. ^ a b Codruța Simina (April 27, 2017). "Modele de Curaj. Adriana a vorbit despre violul și tortura din pușcărie". pressone.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  4. ^ Dennis Deletant (1999). Communist Terror in Romania. Gheorghui-Dej and the Police State, 1948-65. London: C. Hurst & Co. pp. 122–123. ISBN 9781850653868.
  5. ^ Mihai Burcea; Marius Stan. "Alexandru Nicolschi, ilegalist comunist, spion sovietic, deținut și general de securitate" (PDF). bucovinaprofunda.com (in Romanian). Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Adriana Georgescu". Memorial of the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance. March 20, 2015.
  7. ^ Florin Manolescu, The Encyclopedia of Romanian Literary Exile Archived 2018-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, Bucharest, 2003

Bibliography

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  • Marcu, George (2017). Notable Women from Romania. From Yesterday and Today. Bucharest: Meronia Publishing House.
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