The diaries of the former senior political representative of the United States to Romania from 1944 to 1947, Burton Y. Berry, provide a first-hand account of the communist takeover of Romania, as seen through the eyes of an American diplomat. Born on 31 August 1901 in Fowler, Indiana, Burton Y. Berry completed his studies at Indiana University before joining the United States Foreign Service. From 1928 to 1944 he served in various posts at American diplomatic missions in Turkey, Greece, Iran, and Egypt. In 1944 he was appointed as senior political representative for the United States in Romania, with the personal rank of Minister. As General Cortlandt Van R. Schuyler, the chief of the U.S. military representation on the Allied Control Commission in Romania described it, Berry's primary task was to establish and maintain informed channels with the king and the Romanian government. From this position, Berry witnessed first-hand the events that led to the installation of a communist regim