Florin Mirghesiu Vasile Stoica in the U.S. (Bucharest: 2000)

ISBN 973-0-02259-3

 

In January, in an address before Congress, Wilson asks for a Peace without victory, a concept that is unappealing to both warring factions, in April, the United States declares war on Germany. In that period, many exponent of different European nations walked in the U.S. for propaganda. André Tardieu led a French delegation, including well-known thinker Henri Bergson, British Foreign Minister Arthur James Balfour led a British mission, Hinko Hinković and Bogumil M. Vosnjak promoted in the U.S. the Yugoslav cause, Milan Rastislav Štefánik walked to the U.S. to find support of Wilson administration for Czechoslovakian state. In July 1917, Vasile Stoica and Milan Rastislav Štefánik, the most important Slovak leader in First World War, met for the first time and Stoica remained deeply impressed by this meeting.

In the beginning of May 1918, Thomáš Garrigue Masaryk arrived in the United States to promote the idea of a Czechoslovakian State. During a meeting, held in May, Stoica asked Masaryk to lead exponents of stigmatized nations from Austria-Hungary living in the US. This is the beginning of a long and intimate friendship. In the next months, the future president of Czechoslovakia would be a very important collaborator of Stoica.

In the US, Stoica was distinguished for his excellent relations in the public life, the press, the politics and the social field. Thanks to these considerations, Stoica became an ideal candidate to lead the most important organization of the Romanians from the United States, on that time, The Romanian National League of America. Professor Herbert Adolphus Miller convoked the most prominent Romanians from the United States, showing them that “now it is the moment, here in this hall, to decide the destiny of Great Romania by yours votes.” Finally, in July 1918, at first congress, The Romanian National League of America came into being and Vasile Stoica was chosen as the president. The new status brought Stoica more legitimate in his actions. For example, on September 2nd, he granted an audience with Colonel House (national security adviser, avant la lettre), at Magnolia, Massachusetts. Stoica obtained, on November 1918, from the part of Wilson’s administration, the support to the peace conference for Romania.

Deeply expression of exponents from stigmatised nations of Austria-Hungary collaboration was represented by The Mid-European Union, initiated by Herbert Adolphus Miller, Thomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Hinko Hinković, Stoica, Ignacy Paderewski, organise, at the beginning of October. Miller was elected as the director, Masaryk as the president of the organization, and Stoica as the first of the vice-presidents. The most important manifestation of The Mid-European Union was hold in October 23rd-26th, at the well-known Independence Hall, Philadelphia, when “We, representing together more than fifty million people constituting a chain of nations lying between the Baltic, the Adriatic and the Black Seas, comprising Czecho-Slovaks, Poles, Jugoslavs, Ukrainians, Uhro-Rusyns, Lithuanians, Roumanians and Italian Irredentists, Unredeemed Greeks, Albanians, Zionists and Armenians, wholly or partly subject to alien domination” signed Declaration of Common Aims of the Independent Mid-European Nations.

Copyright © MM by Florin Mirghesiu