Nationalism and Antisemitism in Interwar Romania: The Case of Nicolae Davidescu
Nationalism and Antisemitism in Interwar Romania: The Case of Nicolae Davidescu

Summary/Abstract: This article aims to present the nationalism and antisemitism promoted by N. Davidescu in the interwar period. I was interested to analyze the first and so far unnoticed connections with these ideologies, that he had at the beginning of his literary career. The ambiguities of the early part of his life became a violent form of antisemitism in the later 1930s. Using unclear concepts such as “Romanian spirit”, “collective soul”, and “territorial collectivity”, he developed an antisemitic ideology with the goal of demonstrating the dangerous character of the Jews’ presence in Romania. They were accused of dominating the country and ruining its economy. The Jews were portrayed as aggressors, and the Romanians were threatened to be subjugated by them. The only chance to defeat those depicted as conquerors was to erect a totalitarian state that would successfully defend the Romanian people.

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