Romania Landscape, Buildings, National Life

Originally published in 1933, Romania by Kurt Hielscher is an astonishing volume of photographs depicting the life of Romanian people in the interwar era. In 1931 he was invited by the Romanian government to visit the country. “As time went on,” he said “every day, every week I loved the country more.” It was a love that grew throughout 1931 and 1932 and resulted in over 5000 photographs of which 304 were finally selected for this album. Unfortunately in 1944, an Allied bombing destroyed his life’s work after hitting his workshop in Poland. He lost over 40,000 photographs and negatives. This photo album is a recreation of Hielscher’s work and brings an homage to the love and appreciation he showed for Romania. Featuring over 300 black and white and sepia photographs, a colorized cover, a preface from Octavian Goga, and an introduction by Ernest H. Latham, Jr., it’s a one-of-a-kind collection for anyone interested in the history of Romania.

Octavian Goga was born in Rasinari, near Sibiu, and attended Eötvös Loránd University. Goga was a Romanian politician, an active member in the Romanian nationalist movement in Transylvania, a poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. His most popular books include Poezii, A Prayer, Ne cheama pamântul, and Cântece fara tara. 
He died on May 7, 1938, in Ciucea, Romania. Ernest H. Latham, Jr. is an American historian and diplomat. He served as the American cultural attaché in Romania between 1983 and 1987. He is the author of Timeless and Transitory, and numerous articles and reviews about Romania. He edited and reintroduced Athene Palace by Countess R. Waldeck, republished in several editions and translations. He revised the entries on Romania for the Encyclopaedia Britannica, edition 2000. He was a Fulbright Professor in Romania, at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, and at the University of Bucharest. Kurt Hielscher (1881-1948) was one of the most famous German photographers of the interwar period. He was renowned for his books portraying various countries of Europe.