Paul Păltănea (en)

Paul Păltănea – a repository of genuine history

With Paul Păltănea we have always had a wide repertoire of issues to discuss and clarify. At least towards me he showed an unexpected generosity. He aged beautifully and wisely, as few of those in their old age know how to do. He passed as an unquestionable authority, at least in matters of the history of the I had a long and fruitful correspondence with Paul Păltănea, depending on the dead ends I encountered in my occasional local history research. Rereading the correspondence between us and reconstructing the circumstances in which it was born, it is almost unbelievable that Galați […]

Paul Păltănea, the exemplary librarian

It was a privilege and a great honour to be around Mr. Păltănea for almost 30 years. Mr. Păltănea was an extraordinary, charming person, a profound historian, in love with the truth, researching the smallest and seemingly insignificant details. As a librarian, he meticulously and professionally compiled reference catalogues: 1. Catalogue of manuscripts and letters in the Urechia Library – Bucharest, 1979 (1435 manuscripts and autograph letters, bibliographically described, the summary in two simple but essential sentences to know the content of the documents, mostly in French, but also in Italian, Spanish, Greek, manuscripts donated by V. A. Urechia, his […]

“The unjust troubles were the strengthening force of my passage through time”

Mr. Paltănea, I would like to start by asking you to outline a few biographical and professional milestones. I was born in Bucharest on 24 June 1924 and came to Galați with my family in 1926. I attended primary school at School No. 1 in Galați, now the Monastery of the Saints Archangels Michael and Gabriel, under the guidance of the headmaster Constantin Popovici, an excellent teacher at the time. Between 1935 and 1943, I continued my studies at the “Vasile Alecsandri” gymnasium. When I was in the fourth class (today the eighth), impressed by the erudition of most of […]

“Paul Păltănea, a young scholar that was systematically ruined”

I am convinced that you are the student, perhaps even the friend, of great personalities in the world of culture. Give us some examples. How does a former child from a Moldavian village feel in such a world? I will mention only two personalities of whom I am very happy to have been a contemporary. First of all, Marin Preda; the power of his epic fascination lies in his insolence, in his gift for reinventing the world in new images that have something of the original charm of creating the world. Then I would like to mention a young historian, […]

Paul Păltănea, the historian with a perfect behaviour

Paul Păltănea, another fellow sufferer with us in the dungeons of Aiud. Paul Păltănea, with his impeccable manners and vast knowledge of history, did much to maintain our morale and courage in the face of all the diabolical attempts to exterminate us by means of hunger, cold and torture. Born in Bucharest on 25 June 1924, his parents took him to the city of Galati (1926), where he attended primary school (1931-1935) and the “Vasile Alecsandri” high school (1935-1943). He enrolled at the University of Bucharest and studied at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, Department of History (1943-1947). From […]