The University of Bucharest and the Ministry of Education Announce the Approval of the Curriculum for the Subject „The History of Communism in Romania”, Mandatory Starting with the 2025-2026 School Year

On Monday, December 16^th, 2024, the University of Bucharest and the Ministry of Education co-organized the event 35 years from the Romanian Revolution of 1989: Approval of the Curriculum for the Subject „The History of Communism in Romania”.

The conference was hosted by the Library of the Faculty of Letters at the University of Bucharest, and marks the introduction of a new mandatory subject: The History of Communism in Romania, to be taught to 12th-grade students (full-time learning), and 13th-grade students (night classes and reduced-frequency learning).

The opening of the event was attended by the Rector of the University of Bucharest, Professor Marian Preda, PhD, the Romanian Minister of Education, Ligia Deca, the President of the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile, Professor Daniel Șandru, PhD, the Director of the „ Nicolae Iorga” Institute of History of the Romanian Academy, Mioara Anton, PhD, and history teacher Marcel Bartic.

„I believe there is no better place for the launch of this program than the University of Bucharest. A few metres away from here stands the University balcony, 100 metres away is Kilometre Zero, with the crosses reminding us of the victims of the 1989 Revolution. This is the space where Romanians have gathered over the last 35 years whenever freedom was at risk. As far as I know, in this University, in this building, the Faculty of History offers the only master’s program on the history of communism in Romania, with the faculty Dean, Mr. Gheboianu, being one of our experts in the history of the communist period. Most importantly, throughout the University of Bucharest’s 330 years of history, its professors and students have risen to defend freedom and the values of an open, democratic society”, remarked Rector Marian Preda, PhD, during the opening of the event.

The primary goal of the curriculum is to provide students with the opportunity to understand the peculiarities of Romania’s communist regime, its specific practices and economic policies, as well as its social and cultural impact on Romanian society.

Studying this subject will help students develop a critical perspective on the communist regime and understand its impact on society, individual rights, and the economy.

„For many years, though my voice and that of others, the University of Bucharest has advocated for memorial museums dedicated to totalitarian regimes and their victims in Bucharest, just as other nations that experienced totalitarian regimes have done. We see how the memory of Holocaust victims is preserved worldwide. There is a Holocaust Museum in the centre of Washington, as there is a Holocaust Museum in Germany, in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Romania also needs such a museum dedicated to totalitarianism. Romanians need to know that Romania’s greatest historian, Nicolae Iorga, was cold-bloodedly executed by members of the Iron Guard Movement, as were Virgil Magearu and many other intellectuals,” added Professor Marian Preda.

The content of the new subject is structured in 13 areas, organized both chronologically and thematically. These include an introduction to the study of communist regimes, followed by topics addressing Romania’s political system (state and party institutions, repressive policies, and forms of opposition and dissent), international relations, economic aspects, social structures, and policies in education, health, and culture, as well as the December 1989 Revolution and the memory of the communist regime.

„The current context confirms our need to ensure that our students understand the events that shaped and still influence the present. We have a duty to combat ignorance and manipulation rooted in history. Insufficient knowledge or the lack of understanding of historical facts from the communist period allows for distortions that can impact even electoral behaviour. Starting today, the subject «The History of Communism in Romania » complements our educational efforts to provide young people with a profound understanding of our country’s recent past. It is a lesson about the fragility of freedom and how, through indifference or complicity, evil can become commonplace, as Hannah Arendt warned us. The rise of extremism, intolerance, and authoritarian tendencies shows how crucial historical education is in forming conscious and responsible citizens. Let us never forget: history is not just about the past but about all of us, here and now. Our young people deserve an education that teaches them to cherish freedom, defend democracy, and build a society where, ideally, evil has no place,” emphasized Minister Ligia Deca.

The curriculum for the new subject, developed by the National Center for Policies and Evaluation in Education, was created in collaboration with the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile, the „Nicolae Iorga” Institute of History, the National Institute for the Study of Totalitarianism, the „A. D. Xenopol” Institute of History, the „George Barițiu” Institute of History, the National Council for the Study of the Archives of the Securitate (CNSAS), the International Center for Studies on Communism, the Civic Academy, representatives from the Faculty of History at the University of Bucharest and other higher education institutions, the School Inspectorate of the Bucharest Municipality, and high schools such as „D. Cantemir” Military College in Breaza, „C. Negruzzi” National College in Iași, „C. Negri” National College in Galați, „L. Rebreanu” National College in Bistrița, the National College in Iași, and „D. Cantemir” National College in Onești.

The full event program is available here, and the complete recording of the conference can be watched on the University of Bucharest’s Facebook page.