At the end of WWII, the Romanians in Austria formed the National Romanian Committee to lobby the Allies for mutual help
At the end of WWII, the Romanians in Austria formed the National Romanian Committee to lobby the Allies for mutual help. The Romanian refugees were interned in the Linz camp by the American military government as former enemies. On Radio Linz, the Romanians even had a programme to communicate better with each other and keep hope alive for a better post-war situation for Romania. The community of Romanians in Austria was diverse, including people who had been taken prisoners by the German army, students, industrial workers, and former members of the Iron Guard who had left Romania in 1941. The Orthodox priest Richard Grabovschi was an officer during the war and was one of the founders of the National Romanian Committee.
In an interview given to Radio Romania's Oral History Centre in 1998, he remembers how it all began:
"There were 350 to 370 of us in the camp, which was in some former barracks of the Romanian army. We created this committee and called it the National Romanian Committee and went to see the American authorities. The problem was that none of us could speak English. We arrived at the military command centre for Upper Austria, and while speaking amongst ourselves on the corridor, we were approached by someone dressed in American uniform but wearing no rank insignia or badges and who spoke to us in Romanian. He asked us why we'd come and we told him all about it. He told us his name was Gheorghe Leuca, that he had a PhD in Germanic studies and that he was working as a German language interpreter for the American military command. He offered to come with us to see the American commander. We stated our case before the American, he listened to us and told us he would review our situation."
After this interview, conditions improved for the Romanians in the camp. The members of the Committee wrote a letter to the American authorities urging them not to see the Romanians as former enemies and take into account the fact that the Romanian army had fought alongside the Allied forces after August 23rd 1944. Following the Committee's request, the Romanians in the Linz camp were counted up and they agreed to contribute to efforts to clear up bomb sites, the reconstruction of the means of communication, and work in agriculture and in the factories that were still running. The American military authorities even allowed the Romanians to have a programme on the local radio station, every Thursday from 10.30 am to 1 pm. Richard Grabovschi was a presenter in that programme:
"The radio station in Linz was a normal Austrian radio station, which the American military government considered the best means of communication among national committees and the people of different nationalities who were living in the region, so that these people should be informed by means of a radio broadcast. At first, we were allotted a-quarter-of-an-hour slot, which was later extended to a half hour, and it was up to us to decide who would speak at the microphone. I was young and they decided to choose me. The broadcast included pieces of Romanian music such as 'Long live the King'!, 'On our flag' and 'Three colors' as well as more lively songs by Maria Tanase, Ioana Radu and Mia Braia and also communiqués or announcements. Our announcements sounded like this: 'Ion Popescu from x region is looking for his cousin or sister who is allegedly a refugee in a certain region of Austria or in Germany. Those who know about her are kindly asked to share this information with him or with the people at the Romanian National Committee.' Also on the radio we announced when we were going to make field recordings. But to prevent unpleasant things from happening, we had to write our announcements in advance for them to be checked before going on air. The announcement was: 'Dear listeners, this is Upper Austria radio station in Linz, I'm sub-lieutenant Richard Grabovschi, the representative of the Romanian National Committee on the microphone."
In time, Grabovschi decided to go to the US where a National Committee was still active:
"I got the visa in the autumn of 1951 and I went to the US in 1952. I landed in New York in early June. This committee I am talking about had been functioning for some time. For about 2 years I had read journals published in the US such as 'Solia', the bishopric's publication, or 'America', the official paper of the Union of Brotherly Societies. There was also a magazine called 'The People's Paper' issued by Gheorghe Stanculescu and from time to time we also received a magazine issued by the Greek Catholic church in America."
Most of the members of the Romanian National Committee in Austria chose to leave, after things had become clear as to the future turn of events. And Radio Linz was a means by which they could find themselves and their freedom.
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