The Significance of the Year 1918 in Romanian History

IONUȚ COJOCARU
Abstract
1918 officially marks the end of the Great War. It was the year most awaited by humanity at the time. An era ended, and hopes such as unity, diversity, multiculturalism, and equal opportunities emerged. The age of empires was waning, nation-states were consolidating within their territories, and unity of language was one of the classifying factors regarding the states’ composition. The Romanians of Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina also wanted the Romanian-speaking region between the Dniester and the Tisza, where they were and still are in the majority, to finally have the right to establish a state. They hoped the medieval period’s project and ideas would ultimately take shape.
The year of the centenary celebrations of the Great Union has given historians of good faith the opportunity to evoke the personalities of the Great Union: those who sacrificed themselves for their country, those who believed in the national ideal, and those who had a purpose. The Union generation wanted and succeeded. Together with the previous generations, their efforts prevailed in shaping national identity and unity. Let us remember 1917. Bucharest was under occupation, the government was in exile in Iași, and the hope for the Union seemed remote. The leaders of the time brought about change and national fulfilment only months later. Regrettably, part of the Union Generation ended up in communist prisons. 1918 was the year of Romanian pride. It is the year of the national ideal. 1918 is—or should be—the most famous event in our history. 1918 is the year we can refer to as the year of national unity, the year in which hopes were fulfilled, the year of the Romanians’ confidence in their strength, and the year Romania became Greater.
Keywords: 1918, Bessarabia, Bukovina, Transylvania, Ion I. C. Brătianu.