Robert Levy
Ana Pauker
The Rise and Fall of a Jewish Communist
$35.00, £24.95 hardcover
9780520223950
Available Now
419 pages, 6 x 9 inches, 20 b/w photographs, 1 map
March 2001, Available worldwide
Also in: Jewish Studies; Biography
March 2001, Available worldwide
Also in: Jewish Studies; Biography
Downloadable eBook version available:
Adobe E-Reader at ebooks.com, $15.95
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In her own day, Ana Pauker was named "The Most Powerful Woman in the World" by Time magazine. Today, when she is remembered at all, she is thought of as the puppet of Soviet communism in Romania, blindly enforcing the most brutal and repressive Stalinist regime. Robert Levy's new biography changes the picture dramatically, revealing a woman of remarkable strength, dominated by conflict and contradiction far more than by dogmatism. Telling the story of Pauker's youth in an increasingly anti-Semitic environment, her commitment to a revolutionary career, and her rise in the Romanian Communist movement, Levy makes no attempt to whitewash Pauker's life and actions, but rather explores every contour of the complicated persona he found expressed in masses of newly accessible archival documents.
"Of interest to students of the history of communism in Eastern Europe and of one of its most important figures."—George Cohen, Booklist
"Though Pauker the person remains enigmatic, the political figure's complexities and contradictions, as portrayed by Levy, belie the caricature her homeland clings to, and challenge simplistic notions of the Cold War's darkest hours."—Publishers Weekly
"In private as in public respects, [Pauker's] life was indeed destructive and sad, adding more than fair share to the sum of human misery. Robert Levy's achievement is to bring out the terror and the pity of it."—Times Literary Supplement
"Ana Pauker is a rip-roaring story . . . a whiz of a read. . . . I am personally grateful to Robert Levy for writing a thoughtful, meticulous biography . . . that fills the gaps in a mystery that haunted my early radical journey. More important, he reassesses her role in Eastern block history and provides answers to many questions about Romania's special conditions in the immediate aftermath of World War II that I had never thought to frame. Ana Pauker: The Rise and Fall of a Jewish Communist explores the impossible contradictions inherent in being an urbane atheistic assimilationist, and a woman, in a fiercely nationalistic, predominantly peasant, deeply paranoid satellite state. Without gliding over Pauker's serious delusions, desperate compromises and calculating moves, Levy pulls off a surprising feat by offering a credible defense for many of her actions."—the Nation
"Levy's warm absorbing and well-documented political biography brings the life of this important figure to well-deserved attention. This is an extraordinarily detailed portrait of an ambitious woman."—Jerusalem Post
"A careful reexamination of the largely overlooked Ana Pauker. [Levy's] use of documents and witnesses is solid . . . and he is smart enough to paint her as an authoritarian politician torn by contradictions, rather than completely rehabilitating her."—Jerusalem Report
"A meticulously documented political biography of a powerful Jewish communist leader in Romania."—Forward
"Robert Levy's book on Ana Pauker is an exciting example of the depth of research that can be carried out in the postcommunist world. Levy uses a wide variety of documents . . . to draw one of the most detailed political biographies we have of any communist leader in the postwar period."—Norman Naimark, Slavic Review, upcoming (Summer 2002)
"Drawing extensively on never before available archival materials, Levy provides a detailed and nuanced portrait of this Romanian communist leader who played a major, international role during the early days of the Cold War."—Choice
"Though Pauker the person remains enigmatic, the political figure's complexities and contradictions, as portrayed by Levy, belie the caricature her homeland clings to, and challenge simplistic notions of the Cold War's darkest hours."—Publishers Weekly
"In private as in public respects, [Pauker's] life was indeed destructive and sad, adding more than fair share to the sum of human misery. Robert Levy's achievement is to bring out the terror and the pity of it."—Times Literary Supplement
"Ana Pauker is a rip-roaring story . . . a whiz of a read. . . . I am personally grateful to Robert Levy for writing a thoughtful, meticulous biography . . . that fills the gaps in a mystery that haunted my early radical journey. More important, he reassesses her role in Eastern block history and provides answers to many questions about Romania's special conditions in the immediate aftermath of World War II that I had never thought to frame. Ana Pauker: The Rise and Fall of a Jewish Communist explores the impossible contradictions inherent in being an urbane atheistic assimilationist, and a woman, in a fiercely nationalistic, predominantly peasant, deeply paranoid satellite state. Without gliding over Pauker's serious delusions, desperate compromises and calculating moves, Levy pulls off a surprising feat by offering a credible defense for many of her actions."—the Nation
"Levy's warm absorbing and well-documented political biography brings the life of this important figure to well-deserved attention. This is an extraordinarily detailed portrait of an ambitious woman."—Jerusalem Post
"A careful reexamination of the largely overlooked Ana Pauker. [Levy's] use of documents and witnesses is solid . . . and he is smart enough to paint her as an authoritarian politician torn by contradictions, rather than completely rehabilitating her."—Jerusalem Report
"A meticulously documented political biography of a powerful Jewish communist leader in Romania."—Forward
"Robert Levy's book on Ana Pauker is an exciting example of the depth of research that can be carried out in the postcommunist world. Levy uses a wide variety of documents . . . to draw one of the most detailed political biographies we have of any communist leader in the postwar period."—Norman Naimark, Slavic Review, upcoming (Summer 2002)
"Drawing extensively on never before available archival materials, Levy provides a detailed and nuanced portrait of this Romanian communist leader who played a major, international role during the early days of the Cold War."—Choice
"This is not a psychodrama. Rather, this is a sociopolitical tragedy, extremely valuable, deeply researched, and fascinating. There is very little that is as important as this book about any of the top communist leaders other than the most famous ones such as Lenin, Stalin, and Mao. . . .The subject is so important, the book so well done and so revealing, and the human interest so compelling, Levy's book will become one of the essential works on the history of communism in Eastern Europe."—Daniel Chirot, author of Modern Tyrants
"This outstanding, thought-provoking political biography of one of the most prominent figures of European communism offers an original and balanced approach to Pauker's contradictory role in the history of both Romanian and international communism. . . . Engagingly written and very convincingly structured, this is not a dry historical account but a vivid reconstruction of a turbulent political life."—Vladimir Tismaneanu, author of Fantasies of Salvation
"This outstanding, thought-provoking political biography of one of the most prominent figures of European communism offers an original and balanced approach to Pauker's contradictory role in the history of both Romanian and international communism. . . . Engagingly written and very convincingly structured, this is not a dry historical account but a vivid reconstruction of a turbulent political life."—Vladimir Tismaneanu, author of Fantasies of Salvation
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Early Years
2. In the Movement
3. In Power
4. The Agriculture Secretary
5. Party Purges
6. Jewish Emigration
7. "The Empress's Brother"
8. The Purge
Epilogue
Appendix: Biographical Notes
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
1. Early Years
2. In the Movement
3. In Power
4. The Agriculture Secretary
5. Party Purges
6. Jewish Emigration
7. "The Empress's Brother"
8. The Purge
Epilogue
Appendix: Biographical Notes
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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