The New Social Mobility: How Communist Policies Changed the Landscape of Romanian Society in the 50s and 60s

Abstract

The economic policies of the communist regime in Romania had a powerful impact on society, transforming it in many regards: behaviorally, professionally, demographically, etc. In this study we propose an analysis of how the ‘new worker’ was constructed, migration to cities and the relationship with the old workforce. For the purposes of our research, we focused on the case‑study of Cluj, taking advantage of its ethnic diversity which offers an extra layer for the analysis, but also because the city had an industrial sector before the communist period. Firstly, we aimed at explaining the demographic process through which a large number of people from the countryside moved to cities in search for an industrial job. This phenomenon can be linked to the effects of collectivization, which changed the social mobility model, as it dissolved the right to own land. Secondly, we aim to understand the ample process of integrating new workers in production and their tense relationship with the old proletariat. This must be understood within the context of urbanization, of migrants and the ‘ruralization of cities.’ The last element brought into discussion will be regarding the role played by old specialists in communist industrialization. Here we will focus on the interesting case of Dezideriu Jenei, chief‑engineer at Tehnofrig, one of the few examples we can retrace from the archives.