Gheorghe Buzatu was director of the Institute and is the author of numerous books, including Maresalul Antonescu in fata istoriei. Kurt W. Treptow is the author of Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula, and editor of A History of Romania.

The trial of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, leader of the Legionary Movement in Romania, marked a critical moment in the history of the country between the two World Wars. It destroyed the last vestiges of democracy and laid the groundwork for the establishment of the royal dictatorship by Carol II. Romanian Crucible presents the transcript of the trial, for the first-time in English translation, edited and accompanied by an introductory study by two leading specialists on Romanian history, Gheorghe Buzatu and Kurt W. Treptow. The book also contains a series of appendixes, which include journal entries from Codreanu in prison.