Elena Bacaloglu
Elena (Hélène) Bacaloglu | |
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Impressionism |
Elena A. Bacaloglu, also known as Bakaloglu, Bacaloglu-Densusianu, Bacaloglu-Densușeanu etc. (Francized Hélène Bacaloglu; December 19, 1878 – 1947 or 1949), was a Romanian journalist, literary critic, novelist and fascist militant. Her career in letters produced an introduction to the work of Maurice Maeterlinck (1903), several other critical essays, and two novels. She married and divorced writer Radu D. Rosetti, then Ovid Densusianu, the Symbolist poet and literary theorist.
Bacaloglu lived most of her later life in the Kingdom of Italy, where she affiliated with the literary and political circles. Her subsequent work included campaigns for Pan-Latinism and Romanian irredentism. This second career peaked upon the close of World War I, when Bacaloglu became involved with Italian fascism. Introduced to Benito Mussolini and Benedetto Croce, she helped transplant fascism on Romanian soil. Her National Italo-Romanian Cultural and Economic Movement was a minor and heterodox political party, but managed to earn attention with its advocacy of political violence.
This classical Romanian fascist movement merged into the more powerful National Romanian Fascio, then reconstructed itself under Bacalogu's own leadership. It survived the troubles of 1923, but was disbanded by government order in 1925, and was entirely eclipsed by the Iron Guard. Shunned by Mussolini, Bacaloglu lived her final decades in relative obscurity, enmeshed in political intrigues. Her fascist ideas were taken up by some in her family, including her brother Sandi and her son Ovid O. Densusianu.
Biography
Early life and literary debut
The Bacaloglus, whose name is the
Elena was born in Bucharest on December 19, 1878.
The marriage did not last: by 1897, unable to make ends meet, Rosetti deserted his wife and daughter, who moved back into Alexandru Bacaloglu's home. In June 1898, she attempted suicide by shooting herself in the chest, and was saved by an emergency intervention on her right lung.
Bacaloglu's editorial debut was in 1903, when
In 1906, Bacaloglu also published her
Relocation to Italy
Meanwhile, Bacaloglu had separated from Densusianu, divorcing him in 1904.[26] Having traveled through much of Western Europe,[6] she spent most of her time in Italy, writing articles for Il Giornale d'Italia, Madame, and the political magazine L'Idea Nazionale.[27] For a few months in 1908, she had an affair with the poet-playwright Salvatore Di Giacomo, whose Assunta Spina she translated for Convorbiri Critice (August 1909).[27] She later married a third time, to an Italian.[28]
In the early 1910s, Bacaloglu was living in Rome, where, in September 1912, she published a monograph about the love affair between Romanian poet Gheorghe Asachi and his Italian muse, Bianca Milesi.[29] A recipient of the Bene Merenti medal, granted by the Romanian King Carol I,[30] she translated into French the prose work of his consort, Carmen Sylva.[31] She also represented Romania at the Castel Sant'Angelo National Exhibit, and, as "Hélène Bacaloglu", gave French-language conferences about Di Giacomo. During the period, she came into conflict with Romanian antiquarian Alexandru Tzigara-Samurcaș. Mandated by the Romanian government, Tzigara replaced Bacaloglu at the National Exhibit's Romanian Committee. He described Bacaloglu as an illegitimate, self-appointed, representative, and noted that the Italian press also mistrusted her abilities.[32] Bacaloglu presented her own version of the events in a protest to the curators, later published as a brochure.[33]
Her conferences on Di Giacomo were received with more sympathy: Alberto Cappelletti gave them a good review in Il Giorno, and E. Console republished them as a fascicle, but all such collaborations ended abruptly when her collaborators became dissatisfied with her character and the quality of her prose.[34] She still continued to be held in esteem by her Romanian peers and, in 1912, was voted into their Romanian Writers' Society.[13]
Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, Bacaloglu turned to political activism and
Her efforts to popularize the Romanian cause among the troops fighting on the
According to Victor Babeș, the Transylvanian doctor and publicist, Elena Bacaloglu was "the great propagandist of Romanianism abroad, and especially so in Italy".[38] The cause of "Greater Romania" fascinated two of Bacaloglu's three brothers: Victor, the author of patriotic plays,[39] created one of the first all-Romanian newspapers in Bessarabia; George fought with distinction during the war of 1916, fulfilled several diplomatic missions, and was later a Prefect of Bihor County, Transylvania.[40] Elena, Constantin and Victor were all correspondents for George Bacaloglu's cultural review, Cele Trei Crișuri, well into the 1930s.[41]
Fascist experiment
After the war, Elena Bacaloglu remained in Italy as a correspondent of
Just as she was embarking on this ideological mission, Bacaloglu was drawn into a conflict with the Romanian political establishment. In the
Mussolini himself acknowledged Bacaloglu's admiration. He corresponded with Bacaloglu, sending her point-by-point instructions about "Latin expansionism" and about economic cooperation against
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Fascism in Romania |
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At some point in 1921, with Mussolini's acquiescence, Bacaloglu established an Italo–Romanian fascist association, later known as
The Romanian branch of Italian fascism was always minor, and vied for attention with a plethora of paramilitary groups. As suggested by Costantini, it shared their
Antifascist clampdown and disgrace
Throughout its short existence, Bacaloglu's association was very vocal in condemning the Romanian status-quo and the Treaty of Versailles. She believed that the Little Entente, which was partly dedicated to countering Italian irredentism but included Romania, would leave the two countries prey to capitalist and Jewish exploitation.[63] Some reports suggest that the "Romanian fascio" took it upon itself to threaten enemies of the deposed, but politically ambitious, Crown Prince Carol (who did not in fact approve of the Romanian fascists).[64] In October 1923, Nicolae Iorga, a historian who opposed Carol's return, accused the organization of sending him hate mail.[64]
The MNFIR became the object of government repression, soon after the antisemitic student Corneliu Zelea Codreanu was arrested on charges of terrorism. Codreanu had attempted to assassinate the staff of Adevărul, including the Jewish manager Iacob Rosenthal, and, during the interrogations, implicated other fascist alliances. His testimony was disputed by Vestul României, the pro-fascist newspaper of Timișoara, which claimed: "The attempt [...] is not the work of terrorists, as was quickly proclaimed by some of our colleagues, but the mere revenge of one Sandi Bacaloglu who wished to defend the honor of his sister, that had been compromised by one Adevărul article, wherein it had been claimed that Elena Bacaloglu had been convicted for immodesty by the appellate court of Genoa."[65] Several other theories circulate regarding Codreanu's motivation, but it is known that his group of assassins included an FNR man, Teodosie Popescu, and also that the act was celebrated in the FNR media.[66]
The news was taken up in another Transylvanian paper, Clujul, which claimed that "the lawyer Bacaloglu" had "taken revenge on his sister's slanderer".[67] Also according to Clujul, Vifor, who lived in Rome and was not involved in the Rosenthal incident, remained recognized as the "fascist leader"—as FNR president. Meanwhile, George Bacaloglu, interviewed by the press, denied any connection with his sister's movement.[68] According to historian Armin Heinen, the MNFIR was never a fully fledged party, whereas Vifor's more powerful movement could present a more attractive platform to some of Bacaloglu's disillusioned followers.[69] The FNR was explicitly Nazi as well as corporatist, and as such still had little to do with the Mussolinian program.[70] Somewhat larger in numbers, it managed to absorb two other nationalist political clubs, emerging from this fusion with a program supporting dictatorial politics and the expulsion of all foreigners.[71]
Sandi Bacaloglu was soon imprisoned, facing charges of attempted assassination and sedition.[72] The court only cleared him of the more serious charges, and fined him 50 Lei.[73] Accounts differ as to what became of Elena Bacaloglu's fascist party. She is credited as a founder of the successor National Fascist Movement (MNF), closed down by Romanian Police in 1925.[74] However, this mainly Transylvanian party did not have a direct link with the Bacaloglus. Before the police clampdown, the FNR announced in Clujul its goal of destroying "the intrigues of foreigners", and its motto ("The Fascio does not forget!").[75] It also informed Transylvanians that Sandi Bacaloglu, recently freed and presenting himself as a Mussolini envoy, was not a fascist, and could not claim to represent any local fascist party.[75]
Bacaloglu became a persona non grata and was deported from Italy once Mussolini grew aware of her dissident stance.[76] A Romanian police report of the period suggests that "the Fascist Party of Romania" intended to join up with Cuza and Codreanu's National-Christian Defense League (LANC) and the Romanian Action, into a "National Christian Party".[77] In October 1925, however, Cuza officially announced that the National Romanian Fascio, the Romanian Action, and the Transylvanian Social-Christian Party had voted to dissolve and merge with the League, with the common goal being "the elimination of the kikes". Sandi Bacaloglu signed his name to the appeal as a Fascio representative, and became a member of the LANC's executive council, on par with Ioan Moța, Ion Zelea Codreanu, Iuliu Hațieganu, Valeriu Pop, Iuniu Lecca.[78] Afterward, Sandi Bacaloglu ran in the general election of 1926 on the same list as Cuza and Codreanu.[79]
In 1927, his sister still held claim to being leader of "the national fascist movement", with temporary headquarters in "the Solacoglu House",
Later years
In 1928, Bacaloglu left Romania on a visit to the Kingdom of Spain, where she continued to campaign for Pan-Latinism and collaborated with La Gaceta Literaria.[31] The latter introduced her as "that Central European feminine type, dedicated to journalism, to embassy work, to zigzagging and daring missions."[31] For his part, Vifor had probably put his activity on hold by January 1929, when he was assigned a diplomatic post in Barcelona.[82] He later returned to Bucharest as a representative of Balcan Oriente news agency.[83] Also in 1929, the Romanian fascio was revived a third and final time, when a certain Colonel August Stoica tried to use it in his coup against government, variously described as an "operatic plot"[52] or a "shambolic conspiracy".[84] The conspirators were rounded up and made subject to a public trial, during which prosecution invoked the Mârzescu Law against fascist as well as communist sedition.[85]
Bacaloglu herself remained active on the margin of Romanian politics, witnessing from the side as Prince Carol retook his throne with the help of Iuliu Maniu and the National Peasants' Party. She approached the Maniu government and the Foreign Ministry with offers of support and complaints about past persecutions, but these were poorly received.[8] She was eventually allowed to return to Italy in support of the Romanian propaganda effort, protected by the National Peasantist undersecretary, Savel Rădulescu (and, allegedly, by the League of Nations' Nicolae Titulescu), but lost endorsement in a subsequent transfer of power.[86] She continued with her appeals to Rebreanu (who was also being asked to help George Bacaloglu revive Cele Trei Crișuri)[87] and writer-bureaucrat Eugen Filotti. In 1931, she claimed that a conspiracy, headed by diplomat Filip Lahovary and the leaders of the National Liberal Party, wanted to assassinate her "through hunger" and prevented her from even talking to people of influence.[88] Bacaloglu also stated that, in exchange for recognition of financial support, she could obtain Mussolini's endorsement for the National Peasantists, who were in the opposition.[88]
Sandi Bacaloglu carried on a LANC activist and then joined the successor
Always a staunch critic of fascism,[94] Ovid Densusianu Sr died unexpectedly on June 8, 1938, after surgery and sepsis.[95] A year into World War II, Elena was again living in Rome, but had to return to Romania because, as she put it, "fake Latin nationalists" wanted her gone.[8] She was issued new papers attesting her move to Bucharest, and was still living there in April 1945.[96] During the same interval, Titus Vifor reactivated his fascism. He was assigned by the Iron Guard's "National Legionary State" to direct the Romanian Propaganda Office in Rome, together with writers Aron Cotruș and Vintilă Horia,[97] and, in May 1941, became its president.[83]
In old age, Bacaloglu witnessed the
Bacaloglu died later that year (or, according to some sources, in 1949),
Notes
- OCLC 3662349
- ^ a b c Gheorghe G. Bezviconi, Necropola Capitalei, Nicolae Iorga Institute of History, Bucharest, 1972, p.58
- Editura Academiei, Bucharest, 1975, p.38, 247–248, 325–326, 525–526
- ^ Babeș, p.12. Vital dates in Onofrei et al., p.239, 242
- ^ Vestul României, Nr. 32/1923, p.3, 4
- ^ a b c Calangiu et al., p.xxi
- ^ Nastasă (2010), p.51, 117, 133–134, 310. See also Calangiu et al., p.xxi
- ^ a b c d e f (in Romanian) Nicolae Scurtu, "Note despre prozatoarea Elena Bacaloglu" Archived 2015-06-24 at the Wayback Machine, in România Literară, Nr. 22/2015
- ^ Nastasă (2010), p.133–134
- ^ Călinescu, p.593
- ^ a b c "Diverse. Din Capitală. Drama din strada Lucacĭ", in Epoca, June 18, 1898, p.2
- ^ "Ultime informațiuni", in Epoca, December 24, 1896, p.3
- ^ a b c Nastasă (2010), p.51
- ^ Calangiu et al., p.xxxv; Nastasă (2010), p.134
- ^ Nastasă (2010), p.50–51
- ^ Calangiu et al., p.xxxvi
- ^ ISBN 9975-9992-9-8
- ^ Calangiu et al., p.xxi, xxxvi; Mitchievici, p.130–133; Onofrei et al., p.243
- ^ Mitchievici, p.131–133, 135
- ^ Mitchievici, p.132
- ^ a b Calangiu et al., p.xxi; Onofrei et al., p.243
- ^ P. N., "Recenzii. Elena Bacaloglu, În luptă", in Viața Românească, Nr. 4/1906, p.175–176
- ^ "Secțiunea literară. Premiul Năsturel", in Analele Academiei Române. Seria II, Vol. XXIX, 1906–1907, p.251, 266–267
- ^ Elena Bacaloglu, "Vis și realitate", in Noua Revistă Română, Nr. 9/1908, p.129–137
- ^ "Revista Revistelor", in Noua Revistă Română, Nr. 6/1909, p.306
- ^ Calangiu et al., p.xxxv; Nastasă (2010), p.57, 117, 275
- ^ a b Sallusto, p.174
- ^ Payne, p.135
- ^ Calangiu et al., p.xxi; Călinescu, p.983; Onofrei et al., p.242–243
- ^ a b c d e Burcea (2005), p.101
- ^ a b c "Transeuntes literarios", in La Gaceta Literaria, Nr. 46/1928, p.4
- ISBN 973-95405-1-1
- ^ "Memento", in Noua Revistă Română, Nr. 23/1912, p.356; Onofrei et al., p.243
- ^ Sallusto, p.174–175
- ^ Tomi, p.280–282
- ^ a b c d e (in Italian) "2a tornata di venerdì 16 giugno 1922. Interrogazioni e interpellanza", in Atti Parlamentari. Legislatura XXVI: CXXVII, p.6329
- ^ Tomi, p.281–282
- ^ Babeș, p.12
- ^ Onofrei et al., p.242
- ^ Babeș, p.12–13
- ISBN 973-27-0980-4
- ^ "O mare prietenă...", p.95
- ^ Bucur, p.77; Heinen, p.103
- ^ a b c Heinen, p.103
- ^ "O mare prietenă...", p.95–96
- ^ (in Italian) "2a tornata di lunedì 2 agosto 1920. Interrogazioni e interpellanza", in Atti Parlamentari. Legislatura XXV: LXXIX, p.4672
- ^ Epure, p.116; Heinen, p.103
- ^ "O mare prietenă...", p.96
- ^ Epure, p.116
- ^ Clark, p.38; Heinen, p.102–104
- ISBN 978-606-8377-28-5
- ^ ISBN 84-7488-497-7
- ^ Nastasă (2011), p.218, 234, 238, 240, 243, 268, 301, 304–305
- ^ Constantini, p.20
- ^ Constantini, p.19
- ^ Clark, p. 38; Heinen, p.103–104
- ^ Bucur, p.77; Constantini, p.19–20; Epure, p.115–116; Heinen, p.102–104
- ISBN 978-973-46-3855-0
- ^ Bucur, p.77; Constantini, p.20; Heinen, p.103
- ^ Constantini, p.20; Heinen, p.103
- ^ Nastasă (2011), p.40
- ^ Bucur, passim
- ^ Heinen, p.102–103
- ^ ISBN 978-606-8030-53-1
- ^ Vestul României, Nr. 32/1923, p.3
- ^ Clark, p.56, 60, 203
- ^ (in Romanian) "Martirul Rosenthal", in Clujul, Nr. 31/1923 (digitized by the Babeș-Bolyai University Transsylvanica Online Library)
- ^ (in Romanian) "Fascismul în Bihor", in Vestul României, Nr. 29/1923, p.2 (digitized by the Babeș-Bolyai University Transsylvanica Online Library)
- ^ Heinen, p.103–105
- ^ Payne, p.135–136
- ^ Constantini, p.20; Heinen, p.104
- ^ Vestul României, Nr. 32/1923, p.4
- ^ "Știri", in Renașterea. Organul Oficial al Eparhiei Ortodoxe a Vadului, Feleacului, Geoagiului și Clujului, Nr. 26/1924, p.7
- ^ Constantini, p.20; Heinen, p.103; Payne, p.135
- ^ a b (in Romanian) "Mișcarea fașcistilor români. Programul fașcistilor", in Clujul, Nr. 6/1924 (digitized by the Babeș-Bolyai University Transsylvanica Online Library)
- ^ Burcea (2005), p.101, 106; Constantini, p.20; Heinen, p.103
- ^ Nastasă (2011), p.324–325
- ^ (in Romanian) A. C. Cuza, "Chemare către toți românii", in Înfrățirea Românească, Nr. 11/1925, p.3–4, 10 (digitized by the Babeș-Bolyai University Transsylvanica Online Library). See also Mezarescu, p.47–48
- ^ "200 Anti-Semitic Leaders Are Candidates for Election in Roumania", Jewish Telegraphic Agency release, May 12, 1926
- ^ Moldovan, p.42
- ^ Moldovan, p.24
- ^ (in Spanish) "Cámara de Comercio rumanoespañola", in La Vanguardia, January 9, 1929, p.8 (hosted by La Hemeroteca de La Vanguardia desde 1881)
- ^ a b Burcea (2005), p.102
- ^ Bazil Gruia, "Complotul fascist", in Chemarea Tinerimei Române, Nr. 21/1929, p.4
- ^ "Procesul fasciștilor", in Dreptatea, September 15, 1929, p.2
- ^ Burcea (2005), p.101, 106
- ^ Moldovan, p.45–46
- ^ a b Moldovan, p.44
- ^ Mezarescu, p.327
- ^ "Incăerare între cuziști și membri ai grupării 'Svastica de foc'", in Adevărul, May 30, 1937, p.5
- ^ Nastasă (2010), p.310
- ^ Calangiu et al., p.xxxvi; Călinescu, p.1032
- ^ Veronica Turcuș, "Din raporturile intelectualității universitare clujene interbelice cu elita academică italiană: Emil Panaitescu în corespondență cu Giuseppe Lugli", in the Romanian Academy (George Bariț Institute of History) Historica Yearbook 2011, p.10
- ^ Perpessicius, "Note. O. Densușianu și fascismul", in Revista Fundațiilor Regale, Nr. 4/1945, p.932–933
- ^ Nastasă (2010), p.429–430, 448–449, 463–464. See also Calangiu et al., p.lxxvi
- ^ "Partea II. Particulare", in Monitorul Oficial, April 24, 1945, p.2520
- ^ (in Italian) Carmen Burcea, "L'immagine della Romania sulla stampa del Ventennio (II)" Archived 2018-04-21 at the Wayback Machine, in The Romanian Review of Political Sciences and International Relations, No. 2/2010, p.31
- ^ Calangiu et al., p.xxxv
References
- (in Romanian) "Buletin politic etc.", in Vestul României, Nr. 32/1923 (digitized by the Babeș-Bolyai University Transsylvanica Online Library)
- "O mare prietenă a Italiei: Elena Bacaloglu", in Cele Trei Crișuri, Nr. 7-8/1933, p. 95–96
- Victor Babeș, "Răspuns rostit de D-l Prof. Dr. Victor Babeș", in George Bacaloglu, Ardealul ca isvor cultural: Discurs de recepțiune rostit la Ateneul Român la 1 iunie 1924. Publicațiile Secției de Propagandă Crișul Negru, No. 10, Cele Trei Crișuri, Oradea-Mare, 1924, p. 12–16
- ISBN 0-7190-6083-4
- (in Romanian) Carmen Burcea, "Propaganda româneascã în Italia în perioada interbelică", in Revista de Științe Politice și Relații Internaționale, No. 1/2005, p. 94–108
- Anca Calangiu, Mihai Vatan, Maria Negraru, Ovid Densusianu 1873–1938. Biobibliografie, OCLC 895141035
- George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române de la origini până în prezent, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1986
- Roland Clark, Sfîntă tinerețe legionară. Activismul fascist în România interbelică, ISBN 978-973-46-5357-7
- Emanuela Costantini, Nae Ionescu, Mircea Eliade, Emil Cioran: antiliberalismo nazionalista alla periferia d'Europa, Morlacchi Editore, Perugia, 2005. ISBN 88-89422-66-1
- (in Romanian) Nicoleta Epure, "Relațiile româno-italiene de la sfârșitul Primului Război Mondial la 'Marșul asupra Romei' (noiembrie 1918 – octombrie 1922). Geneza unor contradicții de lungă durată"[permanent dead link], in the Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University Analele UCDC. Seria Istorie, Vol. I, Nr. 1, 2010, p. 112–117
- Armin Heinen, Legiunea 'Arhanghelul Mihail': o contribuție la problema fascismului internațional, ISBN 973-50-1158-1
- Ion Mezarescu, Partidul Național-Creștin: 1935–1937, ISBN 978-606-748-256-0
- ISBN 978-606-588-133-4
- (in Romanian) Andrei Moldovan, "Din corespondența lui Liviu Rebreanu", in Vatra, Nr. 11/2011, p. 20–68
- Lucian Nastasă,
- (in Romanian) Intimitatea amfiteatrelor. Ipostaze din viața privată a universitarilor "literari" (1864–1948) Archived 2016-03-03 at the e-book version at the Romanian AcademyGeorge Bariț Institute of History
- (in Romanian) Antisemitismul universitar în România (1919–1939). Mărturii documentare, Editura Institutului pentru Studierea Problemelor Minorităților Naționale & ISBN 978-606-92744-5-3
- (in Romanian) Intimitatea amfiteatrelor. Ipostaze din viața privată a universitarilor "literari" (1864–1948) Archived 2016-03-03 at the
- Neonila Onofrei, Lucreția Angheluță, Liana Miclescu, Cornelia Gilorteanu, Tamara Teodorescu, Bibliografia românească modernă (1831–1918). Vol. I: A-C, Editura științifică și enciclopedică, Bucharest, 1984
- ISBN 978-0-299-14874-4
- Filippo Sallusto, Itinerari epistolari del primo Novecento: lettere e testi inediti dell'archivio di Alberto Cappelletti, Luigi Pellegrini Editore, Cosenza, 2006. ISBN 88-8101-321-5
- (in Romanian) Raluca Tomi, "Italieni în slujba Marii Uniri. Mărturii inedite"[permanent dead link], in Revista Istorică, Nr. 3–4/2010, p. 279–292 (republished by The Research Group for the History of Minorities[permanent dead link])