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Balchik's Role in 1940 Diplomatic Disputes

Queen Maria invested heavily in developing the royal domain in Balchik both financially and emotionally. She saw it as an important site of national memory and symbol of her power over her subjects. When territorial disputes with Bulgaria emerged in 1940 over the Cadrilater region, Queen Maria's remains being located in Balchik became a key part of Romania's argument to maintain control over the town. Diplomats promoted the idea that Balchik could not be ceded due to the Queen's heart being there, hoping it would strengthen Romania's negotiating position with Bulgaria, Germany, and Italy over the town's fate.

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72 views1 page

Balchik's Role in 1940 Diplomatic Disputes

Queen Maria invested heavily in developing the royal domain in Balchik both financially and emotionally. She saw it as an important site of national memory and symbol of her power over her subjects. When territorial disputes with Bulgaria emerged in 1940 over the Cadrilater region, Queen Maria's remains being located in Balchik became a key part of Romania's argument to maintain control over the town. Diplomats promoted the idea that Balchik could not be ceded due to the Queen's heart being there, hoping it would strengthen Romania's negotiating position with Bulgaria, Germany, and Italy over the town's fate.

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FLORIN ANGHEL

SITES OF MEMORY IN DIPLOMATIC DISPUTES.


THE ROYAL DOMAIN FROM BALCIC IN ROMANIAN-BULGARIAN
NEGOTIATIONS IN THE SUMMER OF 1940
(Summary)

Keywords: Queen Maria, Royal domain, national memorys places, Cadrilater,


Summer 1940

The overwhelming personality of Queen Maria, with the whole emotional and
financial investment in the construction, development and promotion of the symbolic
history of the Royal domain in Balchik, together with the infusion of interest
especially artistic, touristic and of the high society from the most refined elite that
Romanian society possessed have slowly but surely made possible that the little town on
the Black Seas shore, absolutely unknown until the middle of the 20s, got access to the
highest steps in the hierarchy of the national memorys places.
Queen Maria exploited, in a political manner included, the afferent mythology of
her property/the place designed to suggest her power over her subjects, and insisted, in
her will and testament, that her heart after her death should be placed in the
minuscule orthodox chapel of the domain. Undoubtedly, being a first-class politician,
Maria took into account, and not lastly, the profound obligation that she would have
reserved to the future Romania, in the effort to maintain the Cadrilater, or most of it, in
the relentless territorial dispute with Bulgaria, triggered with even more vigor after the
signing of the Peace Treaty of 1913.
The heart itself and Marias political will power have constituted the beginning of
a fairly bitter argumentation of the politicians and of the public opinion at the thought of
ceding the town on the seashore, when it had become obvious that none of the
Cadrilater could be saved any more. So as to strengthen the opposition, symbolic
religious rituals were carried out in Balchik, meant to outline as visible as possible the
importance of this territory to the mythology of national history. Furthermore, the
presence of the Queens heart in Stella Maris little church was to be the supreme
weapon of political and diplomatic debates (with Germany, Italy and Bulgaria) in
favour of keeping the town, in any form, regardless of how bizarre or inconstant it
would have been.
The idea, immediately diffused in the media, was obstinately promoted from
part of diplomats in Summer 1940, both in negociations with Bulgarians but with
Germany and Italy, too.

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