Book Review: Intellectuals and Fascism in Interwar Romania. The Criterion Association by Cristina A. Bejan

I vaguely remember a distopyan intellectual landscape in post-communist Romania: after being ruled for decades by a non-elite of (mostly) illiterate individuals - Party and secret police - who pretended to be communists and patriots, lately by a grotesque couple, the Ceaușescus, with a doubtful genealogy, displaying an inimaginable greediness and cruelty towards their own ´people´, the countrymen enjoyed the illusion of the institutional and mind-chaotic freedom. Only one year before the changes, some used to get under the counter versions of the History of Religions written by the exiled scholar Mircea Eliade, or acquired some obscure translation of Heidegger done by a pupil by a recluse scholar that used to be friend with Eliade, Constantin Noica. Now, the book and newspapers stands were overnight full with all kind of books - from porn to writings by authors previously forbidden, due to their non-communist beliefs, as Constantin Noica or Emil Cioran. It seemed that the public wanted books and bread and nothing else... 

The changes of mind of the censorship during communism, in charge with deciding which books should be allowed to be published and which not, were moody, with decision to take a book out of the market occuring within days after the official publication day. The literary value of the book was irrelevant, and the subversive message was relatively unclear, as everything depended on personal sympathies - or antipathies - or the sudden subjective interpretation - and fears - of a censor. I remember how intellectually surprised I was when after reading a book that mom had hidden under a row of children books - Drum fără pulbere/Road without dust by Petre Dumitriu, covering in the ´socialist realistic vein´ the works for setting up the megalomanic Danube-Black Sea Canal, inaugurated in 1984 - I realized that the book has in fact no subversive message at all. There were just some references that maybe, maybe a new political regime may have considered problematic but it was nothing really serious and anti-communist in this book, except that the author fled Romania in 1960. 

The catalogues of the post-communist publishing industry were overwhelmed in the first revolutionary years by an enornmous amount of titles and Romanian authors whose names where on the black list of the censorship - for very very diverse reasons. There were a lot of authors from the exile, there were religious texts - especially pertaining to the Christian Orthodoxy - there were authors that spent time in prison. A big part of those titles were authored by authors that belonged openly to the interwar far right. The publishing houses went a bold step further and started to publish the writings of those ideologues, but also the writings of their German counterparts, that in most cases were the sources of their pride and ideas. Instead, when the Journal of Mihail Sebastian, a Jewish author and playwriter, was published, it ignited a scandal among the nationalist thinkers, as the author reveals the clear oportunism, anti-Semitism and fascism of those considered the luminaries of the Romanian elites. In addition to Noica and Eliade - whose far-right orientation, never publicly assumed, was already the topic that a young researcher, Ioan Petru Culianu openly revealed, to be shortly thereafter shot dead - it was another figure that was re-tuned from the deep disposable Romanian intellectual memory: Nae Ionescu. An oportunistic and hedonistic teacher, whose attributed writings were in fact recollection of notes by some of his students or even various discussions, he enjoyed playing the role of the mandarin at the court of the far right characters of the time. Educated, with university studies abroad, particularly to Germany, he probably enjoyed the game of trading his knowledge for some visibility and power-broking, for being in the end the victim of his own intellectual rapaciousness.

Another very much appreciated author, the French-writing essayist E.M.Cioran, wrote a book Schimbarea la Față a României/The Transfiguration of Romania - that he later dismissed as a youth accident - where he maturely elaborated his expectations for a religious-like change over of his country of birth. Among others, he wrote: ´In everything, the Jews are unique; they don´t have a match in the wold, /they are/ under a curse for which only God is responsible. If I were a Jew I would commit suicide right here´. This version of his book was very fast published after 1989, being followed with an altered variant, omitting the problematic statements.

All those characters, and many many more, populated the intellectual realm of Romania in the early 1990s. Teenagers, keen to find their own intellectual way, separated from the communist world of their parents, avidly enjoyed those writings, the revelation of a national spirit and the freedom of attending religious masses on the occasion of Orthodox Church holidays. Which in itself, is a laudable activity, unless one realized that besides the Orthodox Church, there are also other Christian denominations in the country, co-existing with non-Christian ones. 

But this is exactly what was missing from the Romanian intellectual landscape: a critical approach of the sources and of the history in general. Things moved so fast - this is the pace of the sudden political and social changes, nothing to do about it - and the people with a proper intellectual decency and honesty were missing at the time. Thus, an important critical stage was unfortunately dearly missed.

Intellectuals and Fascism in Interwar Romania. The Criterion Association by US-based historian, poet and playwriter Cristina A. Bejan is, according to my knowledge, the first ever attempt in the English language to analyse critically the biographies and activities of the member of the group that aimed at shaped the intellectual future of interwar Romania. 

Trying to capitalize a ´unique moment in the history of the country´, Criterion was in the early 1930s an important medium of discussion of a large spectre of issues, trying to reflect as many as possible different perspectives. Practically, the most important voices of the cultural realm for decades in Romania had a longer or shorter presence at the events organised between 1932 and 1935. One needs 30 days to create a habit, therefore 3 years of intense intellectual dialogue make it as a long-life habit. 

Minutiously, Cristina A. Bejan is studying biographies and events, interactions and topics approached, displaying an impressive diversity of characters and group dynamics. At a larger scale, it reflects the inner conflicts of a society that for decades was - and in certain respects still - looking for an unyielding intellectual ground. 

Caught between cosmopolitanism and intellectual models from abroad - French, German particularly - they tend to emulate and replicate them at home - with the high rate of failure such an attempt always has. 

The book is a comprehensive work of displaying - and subsequently translating - information not available for the English-speaking researchers. Although attempts to diagnose and evaluate critically the roots of Romanian nationalism and the problematic references they embraced - some were valuable, as the studies of Marta Petreu or the late Zigu Ornea - , this study focused on The Criterion Association is the first of this kind. The fact that after so many years of ´intellectual freedom´ only one such study was published is revelatory for the state of the art of the critical thinking in Romania. But the information that Cristina A. Bejan professionally assembled and analysed made it into a good start to further and further researches on this topic. 

The most recent political and historical developments on the world stage is a proof of how important critical thinking is nowadays. Being at the same time intellectually clear in terms of the set of values to belive in and alert when those values are transgressed may prevent following in the footsteps of the pattern so well described in the 1920s by Julien Benda as ´la trahison des clercs´. 

Thoughts inspired by ´The Colonizer and the Colonized´

A classical book read from a new perspective. Some writings do maintain their availability thanks to their capacity of being adapted to new contexts and situations. Although they may prove obsolete in their initial application, the frame offered might be operational in a completely different area. The intellectual sparkle ensued...

After so many years, I stole some time to re-read again The Colonizer and the Colonized by Albert Memmi. My initial aim was to refresh some of the ideas and try to connect the dots of a project I am working on aimed at featuring intellectual voices from North Africa and the Middle East who wrote against colonialism and about social revolution. Voices like Fanon, Memmi and - the least known Ali Shariati - are some of the authors I am interested to (re)discover in various contexts.

Born in Jewish La Hara suburb of Tunis, Memmi analysed in this beautifully written book the dynamics between the colonizer and the colonized, with a specific interest for North Africa, particularly Tunisia. My edition was published in 1965, with an introduction by J.P.Sartre and a new introduction by Nadine Gordimer. 

There are two main parts of the book, figuring out the ´Portrait of the colonizer´, followed by the ´Portrait of the colonized´. The colonizer mostly speaks French and comes from Europe, while the colonized is usually described as ´lazy´, ´cheap labor´ and ´kept away from power´. I really appreciated the good balance between the economic and social aspects projected against a very complex intellectual background. Thus, Memmi is overcoming the usual Marxist perspective typical for the times of writing the book.

However, although the description of both elements of the power binome is accurate, it does not reflect the realities of the globalization, for instance. In some hot spots in the Middle East, Europeans are moving in search of tax heavens and a high - yet rewarding - salary. They will never be accepted as citizens of their respective countries and not even able to purchase properties there, however, they stay there for the advantages that were built especially for attracting their skills and knowledge to contribute to building societies they will never be part thereof. 

Another thought that inspired me a further development of the ideas exposed in The Colonizer and The Colonized has to do with the power dynamics within a specific - non-democratic - society. A dictatorship - of the proletariat, military, religious elites - is operating as a colonizer against its own people, particularly those who are excepted from the ruling elite. For them too, ´(...) the colonized means little to the colonizer´. They are also presumed unreliable, thieves as well, and often evicted from their own history - as the history of the internally colonized country is constantly re-written in order to answer the expectations - of self-agrandisement too - of the elites. The colonized should as well resemble the colonizer, in an effort of uniformization and brain washing on behalf of the colonizer. 

´Colonization distrusts relationships, destroys or petrifies institutions, and corrupts men, both colonizers and the colonized´, said Memmi. This thoughts can be easily apply to any dictatorship whose terrific impact on the society damages on long terms the chances of a healthy return to normality of an post-democratic new world.

To be continued...

Documenting ´A German Youth´

 

A German Youth, a French-Swiss documentary film co-production, that I watched yesterday on MUBI, diplomatically documents fragments from the rise of The Red Army Faction, a German organisation with terrorist minset created 20 years after the end of the Nazi rule. 

In the late 60s, the whole world was on fire: the Vietnam War was widely contested on the streets, the Cold War was close to his peak, the flower power movement anti-war and holistic in its world was preaching inner meditation and reaching peace - world and interior - including by using a complex drugs cocktail. Germany, too was affected, and offered its own version of coping with the new realities: The Red Army Faction (RAF).

20 years after the end of WWII, it was a new generation, born during after the terrible events, that was taking over. They were angry with their parents, they were angry with the establishment, they were angry with the world punishing them, the Germans. A German Youth, compared to artistic movies made on a similar topic, The Baader Meinhof Complex, documents those times, through archive films featuring the mentalities realm of the time. One can see the brave journalist Meinhof, smoking live while explaining to a row of old men about social justice, or the creative anti-establishment movies played, among others, by another founder of the movement, Gudrun Ensslin.

What the 1h30 documentary helps to understand is the intellectual background of the movement, with its philosophy of intellectual engagement - in the very military sense of the term. A fact that, didn´t occurred in the case of other similar movements in other countries. In France, the 1968 student protests did not lead to airplane hijacking or training by Palestinian military camps. Not too many made the lap to practice what they were writing. German youth did it again, and through the documented intervention one can easily see the roots, although there are a couple of missing chains.

For instance, there is not too much to be seen about the deep wounds of a generation trying to cope with the faults of the previous generation. The voices that Germans paid already too much for the Shoah were high and keep being loud since then. 

Another missing chain is the very complex Cold War background that cannot be ignored because it was very much part of the puzzle. At what extent was Soviet Union - through its usual Stasi-KGB strong chains (for instance, Axel Springer the verbal and physical target of RAF ideologues, the owner of Bild, on the forefront of the yellow press, was also very much involved against the Soviet Union and the division of Berlin, therefore an inconvenient ideological opponent - involved in maneuvring those ´german youth´? What about hijacking airplanes and killing people? Is it worth the cause? Obviously, RAF was by far more than an intellectual book club where people were fighting verbally, socratically, for their right to reach the truth. By not offering the entire contextual information, the risk is that again and again, the terrorism is glorified in the name of freedom and youth´s fight against the rigid academic bureaucracy. 

There is so much to be told about this ´german youth´ and any documentary testimony is important, with the condition of being critically weighted.

The Diplomatic Archives of Ardeshir Zahedi

Diplomatic archives are of valuable importance for historians, but as any source, it should be considered with critical attention.

Shah´s long standing ally and friend, Ardeshir Zahedi - that he described as ´my friend, my father-in-law and beloved King´ - is living since the fall of the regime in his father´s Villa des Roses in Switzerland, somewhere near Montreux and Chillon. A US and UK ambassador to Iran in the 1960s and the minister of Foreign Affairs, he belongs to a family with a steady presence in the Iranian history. His father, General Zahedi, was a short-time replacement of Mossadeq, but has a very tormented political relationship with the Pahlavis and died far away from the country he was exiled from. His mother belongs to the family of Hossein Pirnia (Mo´tamen al Molk) active at the beginning of the 20th century in the political modernisation of Iran. His sister, Homa, represented Hamadan in the Parliament.

Zahedi - his name means ´people of piety´ - graduated agricultural studies at the Utah University but he got mentions for his diplomatic service and a relatively juicy source of gossips for the various court intrigues - that seem to almost got him killed by a bomb after he married Princess Shahnaz, the only child of the Shah and the Egyptian Princess Fawzia Fuad. Zahedi and his wife introduced Farah Dibah to the Shah. Their own marriage was short lived though and Shahnaz, who also lives in Switzerland remarried later Khosrow Jahanbani, son of a top general member of the Qajar dinasty and a St. Petersburg-born Russian aristocrat. 

The handwritten notes by Zahedi published in the volume Window into Modern Iran may not be always all informative relevant but are just a small part of a wider collection that was donated to the Hoover Institution Library and Archives. There are handwritten notes translated from the original Persian, as well as a couple of English telegrams, ´thank-you´ letters but also accounts of various meetings on local issues, such as King Faisal or the King of Jordan. The discussion with King Faisal, for instance, focuses on the dangers of Saddam Baath party for the regional balance, as well as its threats for the traditional Shi´a places of worships in Iraq. It is a mindset of someone who is not religious, part of a government that encouraged secularism, but acknowledging the religious significance of historical connections.

Zahedi remained a patriot of Iran, a patriotism that he understood in his own way. Loyal to his King - the highly respectful ways in which he addresses the Shah in the correspondence is an example of protocolar communication - and one of the few to not leave him as he was forced into Exile - he even made tremendous efforts to secure entry for him, not always successful (for instance, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan refused it) - he also never gave up his country. He remained a proud Iranian and in his frequent public appearances he is never using radical judgements against his people. Ardeshir Zahedi is decent presence in a radicalized public space. 

The Law of Blood. Inside the Nazi Mindset

Going deep into the mindset of a political and intellectual movement requires a lot of attention and hard work. From the small details of the everyday ways of thinking, an academic analyst can pursue the mentality pattern, its genesis, reproduction and alterations. In times when the far right is becoming a frequent mention in political reports, it is about time to return to a recognition process of their roots.

La Loi du Sang. Penser et agir en nazi (The law of blood. Think and act as a Nazi), by Johann Chapoutout that I´ve read in the original French language, is a well research investigation into the history of the Nazi mentality. It focuses on Germany, based on an exhaustive investigation of an impressive intellectual sources and production that covers several decades.

Despite the amount of information filtered, used and quoted, the author succeeds in organising the material in a systematic way, covering main topics which describe the best the intellectual Weltanschauung of the Nazi regime. 

There are so many subjects that are explored in addition to the main topics which help to reveal the deep Nazi mentality. For instance, the relationship between human and nature, which continues to permeate the right (alt-right) mindset, as it assesses a global perspective where the human individuality should be abandonned, mirroring the supreme categorisation based on racial categories. An authentic return to the essentiality of the race is passing through the return to the natural human condition that, according to the intellectual supporters of this idea was derailed by both the Jewish and Christian interpretations of nature. The opposition to ritual slaughtering which is a current thema nowadays has its roots in the cruelty against animals (Tierquälerei) a predilect topic in the Nazi works.

Also nowadays, we can easily read and hear, in newspapers, social media and in the public discourse politicians and media pundits complaining about how the society was corrupted by foreigners who are accepted into the body of the nation if they are following not only the neutral laws, but equally the traditions and cultural norms of the majority (Leitkultur). 

I´ve found this book a real revelation which at a certain point frightened my mind, as I recognized so many patterns of thinking spread all over the public discourse in Germany and abroad. Book like La Loi du Sang are such a helpful intellectual tool for those who will not give up in tracing and countering the far-right intellectual pollution of the public space. It is also a good reminder that the mentalities do have a long history and dealing with all the details of a specific topic is such an extraordinary adventure of the mind.

Rating: 5 stars

#FreeNasrin

In a world half of the time devoid of role models and glamour on rust, there are women fighting for the right of their children to a lies-free world. Women like Nasrin Sotoudeh and Narges Mohammadi in Iran, for instance.

Nasrin Sotoudeh is a human rights activits in Iran, active in defending especially children and women rights and opposer of death penalty and compulsory hijab. Mother of two, she is one of the bravest and most genuine voices in Iran, a role-model for all the prisoners of conscience all over the world. A voice for the voiceless. Modest, humble, strong in her belief in building a better world.

Sotoudeh, who was released shortly a couple of weeks ago, is serving a 38-year sentence for her human rights activism. 

Directed by Jeff Kaufmann, the movie Nasrin, recently released at the Berlin Human Rights Film Festival, was filmed illegally in Iran. From the fragments of various testimonies and snapshots from Sotoudeh´s everyday life, the movie draws the portrait of one of the most inspirational women of this century. There are many women and dissidents associated those days with the fights for rights in Iran, vocal and highly promoted. Nasrin Sotoudeh belives in what she is fighting for with no reward in sight. Her humble fight on behalf of those lacking the right justice and basic freedoms is an example of humanity. Together with Shirin Ebadi, who also appears in the movie, and Narges Mohammadi who appears episodically, Nasrin Sotoudeh is the voice of the prisoners of conscience from Iran and all over the world. 

Nasrin is the diary of a woman whose main superpower is fighting on behalf of the powerless. Strong against tyranny by the force of her fragility.

Academic Freedoms under Attack

Academic freedoms, scholars and students are under threat from governments and non-state military actors from all over the world, according to the latest report issued by Scholars at Risk Network. Covid19 created additional pressures and problems for the academic realm, with universities positions reduced and online harassment increasing. 

It´s my first time reading this report and found it very relevant for the state-of-the arts of academia nowadays. It copes less with legislation and more with different itrusive, aggresive and violent actions of state and non-state actors against members of academia. 

All over the world, campus and academics are not a convenient partner. Universities are places of dissent due to their main intellectual mission. Although supported by the state, financially and logistically, they are the guarantee of freedom and progress. When academics are in chains, the whole country is so. When academics are under permanent threat, including physical one, like in the case of Afghanistan, for instance, where Talibans are regularly raiding campuses and academic compounds killing ramdomly students and teachers, the higher the political and social risks im the country. 

For me, it was interesting to follow up the dramatic situation of the academic life in Yemen, after five years of intense civil war, as well as the latest development in Turkey, where academic life is under threat for years following the escalation of Erdogan´s power, a situation that practically forced many academics to leave the country.

Such reports are very important for the state of the world nowadays, because they show how much is at stake when it comes to academia. And why it is important that academics are protected against the various state-based attempts to give up.