Vasile Goldiş

Vasile Goldiş was born on 12 November 1862 in his grandfather's ("Teodor Goldiş") house in the village of Mocirla. His parents were "Isaia" and "Floarea" "Goldiş". The family of his father had its origins in Bihor County near Chişcău village. Around 1740 Teodor Goldiş moves with his family to Mocirla where the future political man Vasile Goldiş will be born.

History

The first years of his life are spent in the villages of Mocirla, Seleuş and Cermei in the house of his parents and grandparents. He starts primary school in the village of Cermei in 1869 where he studies the first two grades in Romanian with his teacher Nicolae Albu. He starts third grade at the general school in Padanul Nou ("now Horea in Arad County"). Between 1873 - 1881, he is a student of the Theoretical High School in Arad and he is especially interested in history, literature and philosophy.

On 1 September 1881, he joins the classes of the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy in Arad as a scholar of the Orthodox Church, in 1881 - 1882 and 1884 - 1885 he is a student of the University of Budapest and between 1882 - 1884 he is a student of the University of Vienna. During his student years, he becomes a member of the Petru Maior and "Romania Jună" societies where he learns all the national ideals which will make him an important freedom and political fighter.

After graduating he receives a B.A. and on 1 September 1885 he becomes a professor at Eotvos High School in Budapest. One year later he quits this job for patriotic reasons and establishes himself at Caransebeş, where he will be a professor of history and Latin at the Pedagogic-Teologic Institute.

Being eager to affirm himself in the struggle of the intellectual Romanians for the unification of the country, on 5 March 1888 he sends a letter to Gheorghe Bariţiu requesting a teacher post in Sibiu. A year later, on 1 September 1889, he is appointed professor in Braşov, where he will remain until 1901. He writes many books on Latin, history and constitution for his students. In 1890 he becomes a member and then secretary of the "Romanian House" in Braşov.

Political activity

In 1893 he becomes a member of the National Romanian Party and collaborator of the "Tribuna" newspaper in Sibiu. Between 1895 - 1901 he is a secretary at the Society for creating the Romanian theatre, which supports the young Romanian actors from Transylvania.

Since 1905 Vasile Goldiş devoted himself to the political activity. On 10 January 1905 at the National Romanian Party convention he demands that passive resistance towards the governments in Budapest and Vienna to be put aside and a new active and dynamic tactic which should help the romanian people in Transylvania.

This tactic known as the "new activism" was not immediately adopted by the party but all the leaders were consonant with the idea. He writes with Emanoil Ungureanu and Ioan Mihu a memorial on behalf of the NRP to the government on 13 September 1910.

The memorial contains romanian requests: the legal recognision on the National Romanian Party, enacting the universal vote and to repeal the "Apponyi law". All these requests are rejected and the NRP is dissolved and merged with other parties in Hungary.

The differences in opinions in the National Romanian Party concerning the talks with the hungarian government creates in 1910 - 1911 creates severe dissidences in the NPR resulting two separate parts each with a different idea: the radical orientation sustained by the young members of the party clumped near the Tribuna" news paper Octavian Goga, Ilarie Chendi, Onisofor Ghibu, Vasile Bocu"' and others and the moderate part represented by the older members of the party.

At first Vasile Goldiş is a member of the moderate part but he realises that this conflict will have irreparable consequences on the activity of the party, and together with Aurel Lazăr, Ioan Suciu, Vasile Lucaciu and Ştefan Cicio-Pop he proposes a compromise so that he could maintain the unity of the romanians in Transylvania.

In these conditions he is appointed head of the Românul news paper which was in January 1911 at Arad, which after the cease of printing of the Tribuna news paper in 1912 became the headquarters of the romanian political struggle, preparing the "Great Union" ("Romanian: "Marea Unire"), announcing the imminent collapse of the Austro-Hungaryan Empire. This act of courage, qualified by the Hungarian authorities as a "duplicity and lack of patrotism" determined the suspension of the Tribuna news paper in March 1916, which will reappear near the events at Alba Iulia.

During the First World War Vasile Goldiş continues to fight the official policy which wanted to "nationalize" the local Romanian population in Transylvania. He protests against the abuses endured by the romanian population, against the internment in concentration camps of some Romanians considered to be suspects by the government in different crimes.

At 2 May 1926 he summons the national congress of the National Romanian Party at Sibiu where he is elected as president but he steps down after a short period being pained by the corruption, social injustice and the ambitions of some political men and dedicates his time to cultural activities.

Vasile Goldiş lived his last years in Arad having a modest and austere life. After a short while on 10 February 1934 he dies after a lifetime struggle to constitute a modern Romania. In his honour there were national obsequies and the day he was buried was enacted as a day of national mourning.

External links

* [http://vasilegoldis.sapte.ro/vasilegoldis.html Vasile Goldiş]