Dem. Theodorescu (most common rendition of Demetru Theodorescu or Teodorescu, first name also Mitică; October 26, 1888 – April 11, 1946) was a Romanian journalist, humorist, and critic, remembered for his social-themed novels but also for his controversial political stances. A committed opponent of the National Liberal Party establishment, Theodorescu frequented the avant-garde and socialist circles. During World War I, he transformed himself into a supporter of the Central Powers, and lived the occupation of Romania as a collaborationist. Like his friend Tudor Arghezi, he was imprisoned on a verdict of treason, but pardoned in December 1920.
Returning to the literary and political press, gravitating between Contimporanul, Adevărul, and Cuvântul, Theodorescu radicalized his vision of public affairs. He came to support fascism, and publicly praised the Iron Guard movement before and during World War II. In late 1944, the return of multi-party rule led to his marginalization and public condemnation.
Theodorescu's work as a satirical novelist was generally considered an extension of his journalistic polemics, although various critics and historians also made a point of noting the author's literary skill. Comprising three standalone books, but tied together as a "Mischianu family" saga, it stirred controversy for its political undertones and, in some cases, for its frank eroticism.
Biography
Early life The son of Ion and Aurelia Theodorescu, the future writer hailed from the village of Roești, in Vâlcea County, where he was born on October 26, 1888Călinescu, p. 774Ion Simuț, "Theodorescu, Dem.", in Aurel Sasu (ed.), Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române, Vol. II, Editura Paralela 45, Pitești, 2004, p. 706. (some sources have 1889).Crohmălniceanu, p. 339; Straje, p. 720 A high school student in Craiova, he published poems and philosophical fragments in Ramuri. Between 1900 and 1910, Theodorescu began contributing to the daily press of Bucharest, using such aliases as D.T., D.C.H., D. Chirca and, later on, Todry,Straje, pp. 193, 194, 720, 721, 726 also enlisting at the University of Bucharest Faculty of Letters. He sent pieces to N. D. Cocea's socialist review, Facla, under the pen name Fidelio (used before him by the literary critic Ilarie Chendi).Straje, pp. 263, 720 His literary debut was in humorous drama, with the one-act play Domnul Traian Traianescu-Laocoon ("Mr. Traian Traianescu-Laocoon", 1907).Crohmălniceanu, p. 599
Around 1912, Theodorescu was a sympathizer of the Symbolist movement, the radical side. Alongside journalists Nae Ionescu and Constantin Beldie, he was employed by the literary and art magazine Insula, put out by poets Ion Minulescu and N. Davidescu.Cernat, pp. 26–28 As assessed by literary historian Paul Cernat, Insula represented Symbolism "in revolt", "segregated" from cultural conservatism.Cernat, p. 27 Theodorescu and Ionescu wrote collectively or interchangeably on the same satirical column, as Nae & Mitică.Cernat, p. 28; Straje, pp. 352, 472, 720 Both had as main targets the iconic figures of traditionalism (Alexandru Vlahuță) or moderate aestheticism (Victor Eftimiu, Eugen Lovinescu, Cincinat Pavelescu).Cernat, p. 28 In tandem, Theodorescu was co-opted on the staff of Constantin Rădulescu-Motru's Noua Revistă Română, where he usually signed his contributions as Ravaillac, Ravaiac, and (presumably) Teo.Straje, pp. 590, 712, 720–721 He also signed with his name, covering topics such as the British railway strike. "Bibliografii. Noua Revistă Română", in Tribuna Poporului, September 5, 1911, p. 8 (digitized by the Babeș-Bolyai University Transsylvanica Online Library)
World War I controversies Theodorescu became more politically involved with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. During the early stages of the war, when Romania balanced her neutrality, Theodorescu was working as Chief Editor of the political daily Dreptatea, under patrons Nicolae Fleva and Pache Protopopescu. He pushed the newspaper into a position of full support for the Entente Powers, making use of strong anti-Germanic imagery: "Once you meet a German, wring his neck!"Boia, p. 319 He urged Romania to enter the war on the Central Powers and annex Transylvania, while condemning the Germanophile politicians of the day—Alexandru Marghiloman, of the Conservative Party, was a canalie ("scoundrel"), and Ioan Slavici an "enemy of the national ideal".
During 1915, as the Central Powers gained the upper hand, Dreptatea slowly discarded the Ententist cause, and took a neutralist stance.Boia, p. 94, 319 Theodorescu returned with sarcastic comments on Ententists such as Octavian Goga and Take Ionescu, accused of having "sold" Romania to the Russian Empire. As Toader Chirca, Theodorescu was already contributing articles to Libertatea, the Germanophile sheet managed by Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești; in November 1915, he formalized this affiliation, and resigned from Dreptatea. At Libertatea, and subsequently at Cronica, he became colleagues with poet-journalist Tudor Arghezi, the only one among Libertatea contributors to have proved himself more prolific than Theodorescu, as well as with writers such as Adrian Maniu, Perpessicius, Dragoș Protopopescu, I. C. Vissarion, and Ion Vinea.Boia, pp. 103, 319 In the essay Morala cea nouă, carried by Cronica in May 1916, Theodorescu opined that the German Empire was a model-civilization. In his view, the German order stood to conquer and subdue "rampant" individualism, thus turning the page on the ideals of the French Revolution.Boia, p. 320
Some three months later, a National Liberal government of Ion I. C. Brătianu announced Romania's affiliation to the Entente. This put a stop to Libertatea and Cronica, which went out of print immediately.Boia, p. 194 The following moths were chaotic, leading to the invasion of Romania by the Central Powers; Bucharest fell after a month-long attack, but the legitimate government continued to resist the enemy in Moldavia. Others, including Theodorescu and various other Germanophiles, opted to remain in Bucharest. Gazeta Bucureștilor, the collaborationist daily put out by Slavici and Arghezi, enlisted Theodorescu, who contributed there mainly under the pseudonym Ion Olteanu.Boia, pp. 96, 320
Theodorescu was by then fully committed to the Central Powers and the puppet administration set up by Lupu Kostaki. In August 1917, during what was designed as the final German attack on Moldavia, Gazeta Bucureștilor carried his appeal Pedeapsa ("Punishment"). It presented the Germans as liberators, noting that "our true enemy" was the "hideous" political system set up by Take Ionescu and Brătianu. His articles turned against high society Francophilia (or Franțuzomania, "Frenchy-mania"), perceived as the real reason for war: "Those dames who spoke in French, they have for the large part created Romania's war."
Early in 1918, as the state authorities in Moldavia considered alternatives for peace with the Germans, the old Germanophile leader Marghiloman was awarded Premiership. There followed a transitional period, during which Marghiloman negotiated the Buftea Armistice. Although an old rival of Marghiloman's, Theodorescu found himself promoted Chief Editor of the Conservative daily, Steagul, for which he began reusing his old pen name, Fidelio.Straje, p. 720 For a while, he was even relocated to Iași, the former seat of Brătianu's government, where he served as head of government censorship.
Imprisonment and return This interregnum came to an abrupt end in November 1918, when the Armistice of Compiègne signaled a general defeat for the Central Powers. Marghiloman presented his resignation, leaving his former allies exposed to formal investigations for treason. As D. Ghirca, Theodorescu became staff writer for Pamfil Șeicaru's Țara Nouă, working alongside Cezar Petrescu, Victor Ion Popa, and Gib Mihăescu. This newspaper campaigned for an emergent left-wing group, the Peasants' Party, which channeled its efforts into defeating the "oligarchic" National Liberal establishment.Fănel Todorașcu, "The Journalistic Path of Pamfil Șeicaru, I. From The Quiver to The Word", in the Danubius University Acta Universitatis Danubius, Nr. 1/2001, pp. 97–98 He registered as a party member in or around February 1919.Ion Ilincioiu, "Studiu introductiv", in Vasile Niculae, Ion Ilincioiu, Stelian Neagoe (eds.), Doctrina țărănistă în România. Antologie de texte, Editura Noua Alternativă & Social Theory Institute of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 1994, pp. 9–10.
In March of that year, Theodorescu, Arghezi, Slavici, Saniel Grossman and Dumitru Karnabatt were all taken into custody, pending trial. They stood accused of having placed themselves in direct service to the occupying power, for which Theodorescu received a five-year prison term.Boia, p. 339 Theodorescu was also purged from the Romanian Writers' Society, based on the motion of its President, Mihail Dragomirescu. Luminița Marcu, "Incendiarul ziarist Ion Vinea", in Observator Cultural, Nr. 154, February 2003 However, in 1920, Editura Socec published his debut as a satirical novelist: În cetatea idealului ("In City of the Ideal").Călinescu, p. 1020; Crohmălniceanu, p. 599
The sentenced journalists were held together in Văcărești Prison until December 1920, when they were officially pardoned by King Ferdinand. The monarch responded to pressures from a Transylvanian National and Peasantist government, which mainly saw the sentencing as a political squabble between the National Liberals and their adversaries.Boia, p. 344 Theodorescu soon returned to his career in the press, with articles published in Cocea's Rampa and in the illustrated monthly Gloria României.Ileana-Stanca Desa, Dulciu Morărescu, Ioana Patriche, Adriana Raliade, Iliana Sulică, Publicațiile periodice românești (ziare, gazete, reviste). Vol. III: Catalog alfabetic 1919–1924, Editura Academiei, Bucharest, 1987, pp. 436–437, 736–737 Theodorescu was also hosted by Flacăra, a tribune of moderate Symbolism, where he published a critique of, his old rival Goga, whose work in poetry, he argued, had become too docile and mainstream.Nicolae Iorga, Istoria literaturii românești contemporane. II: În căutarea fondului (1890–1934), Editura Adevĕrul, 1934, pp. 264–265 His return as a literary columnist was also consecrated by Adevărul daily, with a February 1922 review of Eugeniu Botez's stories.Constantin Mohanu, Jean Bart (Eugeniu Botez). Viața și opera, Editura Biblioteca Bucureștilor, Bucharest, 2001, pp. 184–185, 395. Theodrescu served as editor of both Adevărul and its supplement Dimineața.
In June 1922, Theodorescu's former Cronica associate, Vinea, issued the influential magazine Contimporanul. Later a tribune for the artistic avant-garde, it was at the time mainly a political venue with socialist and Peasantist leanings, as evidenced by its original list of contributors: Theodorescu, Arghezi, Eugen Filotti, Benjamin Fondane, Henric Streitman, Nicolae N. Lupu, Camil Petrescu.Cernat, pp. 132–133 Theodorescu's earliest contribution to the paper was a defense of the Socialist-Communist Party, whose members, affiliates of the Comintern, faced prosecution for dissent (see Dealul Spirii Trial).Cernat, p. p132