Summary note of the informative investigation in the DUI “Scriitorul” on Nicu Aurel Steinhardt (31 July 1982) NETER
31 July 1982.
Summary note of the informative investigation in DUI “The Writer” concerning Nicu Aurel Steinhardt.
Ministry of the Interior
IMB Securitate
No. 134/R.I./001623/31.07.1982
Top Secret Spec. No. 1
[Copy No. 2 was sent to Dir. I via the address where DUI is controlled (Mr. Robu I.).
Analysis note in DUI “Scriitorul” concerning Steinhardt Nicu Aurel
Steinhardt Nicu Aurel is the son of Oscar and Antoinette, born on 29.07.1912 in Bucharest, residing at Ion Ghica str. nr. 3, sector 3.
He came from a family of wealthy Jewish intellectuals, which enabled him to study law in Bucharest, specialising in France and England, where he obtained his doctorate. He then worked as a lawyer and legal adviser until 1958. During this period, he also carried out an intense public activity, being a friend of Mircea Eliade, Constantin Noica, Petru Comarnescu and other men of letters.
In 1960 he took part in the trial of the group formed by Constantin Noica, Vladimir Streinu, Dinu Pillat and others, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison for incitement against the social order. In fact, he hosted them in his home (although he knew they had to live there) and supported them materially. At the trial he refused to testify, claiming that he would not do so against his friends and former schoolmates.
After being pardoned in 1964, he took a job as an unskilled worker at the “Stăruința” company, from which he was medically retired in 1968 after a road accident and received a pension of 800 lei.
As he had a very good knowledge of French, English and German, he began to give private lessons and to do translations for the Cartea Românească publishing house. For this, as well as for the fact that he had worked for various publications in the past and had the support of Vladimir Streinu, the authorities of the Writers’ Union granted him a monthly pension of 700 lei.
In May 1968 he applied to leave the country permanently. As he had no relatives in the country, the party and state authorities approved his request, but the Belgian state, to which he had asked to emigrate, did not grant him a visa, even after repeated interventions by his relatives in that country.
As a result, he abandoned his plan to leave the country permanently and asked to be allowed to visit Belgium as a tourist, but this was not granted either.
Being a religious fanatic, during his imprisonment, under the influence of his friends, including Constantin Noica, as well as the priest Mina Dobzeu and the current Bishop of Huși, he agreed to be baptised and converted from the Mosaic religion to Orthodoxy.
From 1970 he began to visit various monasteries in the country, where he had the opportunity to settle in one of them. On the recommendation of Constantine Noica and on his own personal conviction, he decided to settle in the Rohia Monastery in Rohia County. Maramureș county, where, according to him, there was more peace. Here he made friends with Abbot Man Serafim and began to spend much of the year organising and inventorying the monastery library.
In 1972, a typewritten work was found in Steinhardt Nicolae’s house, entitled “The Diary of Happiness”, in which, from a profoundly mystical position, he launched a series of insults and slanders against the regime in our country, apologised for the Legionary organisation and commented hostilely on the way in which the trials of political prisoners were judged and how they were treated in prison.
He also made tendentious comments on the measures taken by the Party and the State in the field of literature.
After checking and researching, it was found that the work had not been distributed and had only been given to two or three people for consultation.
The work was presented to the leading bodies of the Council of Culture and the Writers’ Union and returned to them with instructions not to publish or use it in this form.
After being warned by the Securitate, Steinhardt Nicu stopped writing such works and selected some purely literary material, which he published in several volumes at the Cartea Românească and Dacia publishing houses in Cluj.
With the help of his former prison friends and other people from the publishing world, such as Valentin2 Streinu, Ion Caraion, Alexandru Paleologu, Marin Preda and others, he published a number of works of literary criticism and essays, as well as some translations from English and French. His last book, published in 1982, is dedicated to the poetry of Geo Bogza, one of his friends, along with other writers of the same ilk, and he considers himself a “Lovinescian”.
In parallel with these concerns, Steinhardt Nicu persevered in establishing as many links as possible with elements of the emigration, including Eugen Ionescu, Mircea Eliade, Virgil Ierunca, Monica Lovinescu, Vlad and Sanda Stolojan, Emil Cioran, Alexandru Ciorănescu, George Tomaziu, Ștefan Baciu and others, including former prisoners.
Some of these people were classmates at school and college and he remained close friends.
In 1978 he received an invitation from Eugen Ionescu’s family to visit France. Although he was initially refused permission to visit, after several memos and hearings, including with the IGM management, he was granted permission to visit Belgium, France and Switzerland for several months, staying with his cousin who lived in Belgium.
At the end of 1979, because of his possession of foreign currency, the passport authorities allowed him to visit France, Switzerland, Spain, Germany and Belgium for a further four months, staying at the home of Mircea Eliade in Paris and at the Chevetogne monastery in Belgium.
Both on the first and especially on the second trip, he came into contact with a number of people from Romania who were part of the reactionary emigration or who worked for the radio station “Free Europe”, such as Virgil Ierunca, Monica Lovinescu, Eugen Ionescu, Dumitru Țepeneag, the Stolojan couple, Emil Cioran, Paul Goma and others, with whom he attended various literary meetings and with whom he discussed the literary phenomenon in our country as well as socio-political life in our country.
After his return to the country, Nicu Steinhardt, in his contacts with the Securitate and the information network, justified and motivated some of the hostile actions of the above-mentioned elements, stating that their position could be determined by the actions taken against them in our country by not publishing their literary works (e.g. Eugen Ionescu).
He said that he admired Paul Goma’s courage, even though he did not fully agree with his actions and what he wrote.
During his last visit to France and Belgium, he visited several monasteries and churches, including the Romanian Orthodox Church in Paris, where Vasile Boldeanu is a priest.
Under the influence of conversations with priests and monks there, he began to acquire “a great peace of mind and acceptance of the world”, a sense of religious and ideological tolerance. He decided to become a monk, which he did secretly in 1980 at the Rohia Monastery, Maramureș County, where he enjoys a special status as he is not obliged to remain permanently in the monastery.
Steinhardt Nicu is currently being processed through an informative prosecution file under ind. 134/R.L., and in his work we cooperate with other inspectorates, including ISJ Maramureș, Vâlcea and Timiș, as well as with UM 0544, whose file is under the control of Directorate I.
As a result of the measures taken so far, the following main problems have been identified:
The aforementioned, in his new position as a monk, has devoted himself with great passion to Christian causes, considering this to be the most suitable path for himself, and has retired to the Rohia Monastery, where he intends to remain until the end of his life. He did not, however, give up his house in Bucharest, which he left in the care of his cousin and a maid so as not to lose his Bucharest identity card.
At the monastery, his main task was to inventory a library of about 20,000 volumes, but he did not give up his literary interests. His writings are published both in Bucharest, by Cartea Românească or Albatros, and in Cluj, by Dacia, and he is in contact with the directors of these publishing houses.
He is appreciated and esteemed by a large number of literary people in the country for his erudition, but he has closer relations with Alexandru Paleologu, Ion Alexandru, Geo Bogza, Eugen Simion, Crohmălniceanu, Constantin Noica. Some of them, especially Ion Alexandru, also visited him at Rohia Monastery.
Another of Nicu Steinhardt’s concerns was to maintain his relations with the aforementioned emigrants, with whom he frequently exchanged literary publications, receiving in return works published abroad. For the same reasons, he listened to the broadcasts of the “Free Europe” radio station, commenting on literary and religious programmes.
Although he generally adopts a realistic and objective attitude, he also makes some tendentious comments, for example, he expressed his disapproval of the fact that the priest Calciu had been “unjustly condemned”. He also referred to a “Free Europe” programme on the “Association of Former Political Prisoners in Romania”.
Another aspect that came to light was that Steinhardt Nicu used to make trips to other monasteries in the country, especially those in Vâlcea and northern Oltenia, where he came into contact with other priests and monks. When he travelled to Cluj-Napoca for literary reasons, he was also accommodated in the Patriarchal House. On the occasion of one of these journeys, he was hosted by the priest Andercuț from Turda, who was hostile towards him, told him about his time in prison and tried to influence him negatively.
Although he was of Jewish origin, the person in question held certain views that betrayed his sympathy for the Legionary organisation, which is also explained by the fact that many of his friends were Legionaries. In a conversation with one of his relatives, he said: “In fact, the Legion also had socialist elements, which were very incompatible. In Germany, too, the party was called National Socialist, but they never got round to doing the right thing, which was to have very great social reforms in their programme, even though they were initially supported by big German industry. If Hitler had lived and won the war, he would have made some very great reforms in Germany and everywhere else where he was master”.
Recently, there has been a growing resignation in Nicu Steinhardt’s attitude, due both to his advanced age and, above all, to the fact that his illness has worsened and he has recently undergone surgery.
Under these circumstances, he travels less and many of his relatives, including those from abroad, have expressed their intention to visit him at Rohia Monastery, as he will not come to Bucharest until the end of the year.
Given the fact that Steinhardt Nicu is still hostile to the regime in our country, that he is in contact with a number of former prisoners in the literary and cultural field, as well as with former prisoners living abroad and other reactionary elements in emigration, there is a danger that he could be drawn into committing acts against state security.
In order to learn more about Steinhardt Nicu’s concerns, manifestations and relations during his stay in Bucharest and at the Rohia Monastery, as well as during his travels in the country, we will take the following measures:
1. The informer “Adrian Cozmescu” will be instructed to determine the activities he carries out when he arrives in Bucharest and the persons he contacts on this occasion.
In September this year, the existing possibility will be used to send the informant to the Rohia Monastery, where he has been invited to pay a visit with his wife (Note: the informant could not travel during this period).
Deadline: 1.IX. 1982.
In charge: Captain Robu Joseph.
2. Throughout Steinhardt Nicu’s stay at the Rohia Monastery, the informer “Pop Vasile” from the monastery will be instructed to collect data on the current views of the target, the people who visit him, and in particular whether they enter into relations with foreign citizens, as well as whether they write and intend to send hostile material.
The same informer will initiate measures to positively influence the target.
Deadline: 30.IX. 1982.
In charge: Captain Robu Iosif,
Lieutenant Colonel Bob L,
Lieutenant Major Doban A.
3. In order to know the behaviour and the activities of the person in question, as well as his connections during his visits to the monasteries in Vâlcea County, the informer “Ghica” of the 1st ISJ Vâlcea Service will be contacted, who will also be able to contact him at the Rohia Monastery.
Deadline: 30.IX. 1982.
In charge: Captain Robu Iosif,
Mr. Bilă Gh.,
Captain Badea I.
4. In order to control Steinhardt Nicu’s links with elements of the reactionary emigration, to prevent him from being drawn into hostile activities, or to prevent the removal of material with inappropriate content, measures will be taken in line with Special Unit “S” and in cooperation with UM 0544/225.
Deadline: 30.IX. 1982.
In charge: Captain Robu Iosif.
5. With the assistance of Directorate I, the possibility of surveillance by the TO of the contacts and conversations between the person concerned at the Rohia Monastery and the persons visiting him will be examined.
Deadline: 30.IX.1982.
In charge: Captain Robu Iosif,
Lieutenant Colonel Bob I.,
Lieutenant Major Doban A.
6. If Steinhardt Nicu returns to the capital and we have information that he intends to make contact with emigrants or other suspicious elements, he will be checked at home by TO means and placed under surveillance.
Deadline: 30.IX.1982.
In charge: Captain Robu Joseph.
The proposed measures will be completed according to the operational situation.
Captain Robu Iosif
Head of Service, Captain Măierean Vasile
(ACNSAS, information file, file no. 207, volume 5, pp. 262-265; document reproduced in Nicu Steinhardt in the Securitate files (1959-1989), edited by Clara Cosmineanu, Nemira Publishing House, Bucharest, 2005, pp. 241-248).