77 Facts About Henric Streitman

Henric Stefan Streitman was a Romanian journalist, translator and political figure, who traversed the political spectrum from socialism to the far-right.

Henric Streitman returned to it following a death in the family, though he continued to publicize his agnosticism in his essays of the 1930s.

Henric Streitman discarded socialism before 1916, moving closer to the National Liberal Party, and working alongside Ion G Duca and Constantin Banu.

Henric Streitman endorsed the Allies during the early stages of World War I, and was consequently detained by the German Army following its occupation of southern Romania.

Henric Streitman was sent us a hostage to Bulgaria, but released by the end of 1917; returning to Bucharest, he was recovered by the Germanophile press, endorsing Romania's capitulation.

When Henric Streitman returned to public life in the 1920s, it was primarily as an anticommunist.

Henric Streitman turned to collaboration with the military-fascist dictatorship of Ion Antonescu during World War II, becoming president of the Central Jewish Office.

Henric Streitman's was a largely ceremonial office, with many of its functions supplanted by the executive leader, Nandor Gingold.

Ultimately sidelined in December 1942, Henric Streitman survived the war by a few years.

Henric Streitman was a native of Piatra Neamt town, which is located in mountainous Western Moldavia.

The Streitmans practiced Judaism, and, like the majority of Romanian Jews living before 1920, were non-emancipated, and not yet eligible for Romanian citizenship; later in life, Henric rejected being labeled with the term "Israelite", which he regarded as a pretentious euphemism.

Henric Streitman's articles covered a vast category of subjects, introducing the Romanian public to developments in sociology, hard science, and philology.

The only speaker of German in that group, Streitman is presumably by some as the author of articles signed I Chilieanu.

Henric Streitman studied physics and chemistry at the universities of Gottingen, Zurich, Berlin, and then at the Technical College Stuttgart.

In Germany, Henric Streitman was university colleagues with several prominent Romanian intellectuals of various political hues: Barbu Branisteanu, Gheorghe Gh.

Henric Streitman traveled out of Central Europe, and heard lectures in philosophy at Rome University.

Henric Streitman's work was acknowledged in the literary profession, and discussed by Constantin Stamatin-Nazone in his 1894 essay Profiluri.

Henric Streitman accepted the invitation, as did his colleagues Branisteanu and Henric Sanielevici; most Romanian journalists rejected it, noting that their newspapers were in fact banned from even reaching Transleithania.

Henric Streitman was reportedly harassed by General Ion Algiu, leader of the Romanian Police, who asked him to end such activities or be deported as a foreign national.

In February 1903, Henric Streitman was ultimately naturalized Romanian by special vote of the Senate.

Henric Streitman now took on the Christian name "Stefan", which he kept for the rest of his life.

Henric Streitman denounced his own baptism soon after, when his pious mother died, leaving him "overcome with remorse".

Henric Streitman recited the kaddish in her memory at Malbim Synagogue, where he continued to pray regularly, always wrapped in a tallit.

Henric Streitman took his journalistic career further when he a new daily, Prezentul and, in 1908, the weekly Cuvinte Libere.

Henric Streitman bonded with a Symbolist author and Christian socialist, Gala Galaction, and prayed together with him at an unnamed synagogue in December 1908.

Henric Streitman remained a practicing Jew into the 1940s, whereas his wife never reverted back to Judaism.

Henric Streitman was appointed editor in chief of Viitorul, a newspaper put out by the National Liberals, with Ion G Duca and Constantin Banu as managers, while he was a "very close" collaborator of Banu's own review, Flacara.

Still a nominal left-winger, Henric Streitman announced in December 1912 that he would be putting out a new magazine of his own, Realitatea, its mission being to "strip public life of all ideology, of all phraseology"; during those years, he was being approached by right-wing politicians, becoming friends with Duca, then with Constantin Angelescu and Constantin Argetoianu.

In January 1913, Henric Streitman became involved with Romania's first journalists' union, the General Association of the Press.

In 1910 and 1911, Henric Streitman worked as a translator for Biblioteca Lumen company, publishing Henri Murger's Scenes de la vie de boheme, Bebel's Women and Socialism, and the short stories of Vladimir Korolenko.

One of Henric Streitman's last journalistic ventures for 1913 was a series of interviews on the "Jewish Question", which was published as a brochure by the Union of Native Jews.

In tandem, Henric Streitman was the staff writer for Nationalul newspaper, put out by Toma Stelian in support of the Allied Powers.

Henric Streitman stayed behind enemy lines after the occupation of southern Romania.

In October 1917, Radulescu and Henric Streitman were picked out for deportation into Bulgaria; they were selected for a comfortable exile in Troyan, where Henric Streitman appeared "in a mountaineer's attire".

Henric Streitman was active in occupied Bucharest following Romania's armistice, an editorial director of Virgil Arion's Renasterea newspaper, which promoted reconciliation with the Germans.

Henric Streitman became known as the owner of a library and art salon, Hasefer, which occupied a Venetian-style villa in Bucharest.

Henric Streitman was an enthusiastic follower of the party leader, General Alexandru Averescu.

Henric Streitman was nominated for an eligible seat in a Jewish circumscription, in the newly attached region of Transylvania.

Goga campaigned in his favor, telling Jewish voters that "a Jewish intellectual of the Old Kingdom" would be best positioned to advance their demands; Henric Streitman failed at convincing them, probably because Transylvanian Jews wished to be considered separate from the Old-Kingdom Jews.

Henric Streitman met Gaster at Curtici, and led him to Arad, inspiring his subsequent address to the city's Jewish community.

Henric Streitman worked as a councilor for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which probably interrupted his senatorial mandate.

At that stage, Henric Streitman was being courted by the radical modernists and the avant-garde.

Henric Streitman's essays were featured in Contimporanul, a political and art magazine put out by Cocea's pupil, Ion Vinea: his name appears Contimporanul pages from the very first issue, on June 3,1922.

Henric Streitman thus joined the original Contimporanul crew, which mainly comprised left-wing or politically independent social critics, generally adverse to the National Liberal Party.

Henric Streitman was one of the guest writers for the special issue honoring Tudor Arghezi's contribution to literary life.

Henric Streitman defended some members of the group, arguing that there was no evidence for their labeling as traitors and terrorists.

Henric Streitman's text was seen as provocative and tasteless by the National Liberal newspaper, Miscarea.

Henric Streitman took 270 votes, whereas the second-placed Stinodela Scala, a National Liberal, only took 9.

The antisemitic attack on Henric Streitman was taken up in Parliament by the opposition National-Christian Defense League, through the voice of Transylvanian Valeriu Pop.

Henric Streitman was publicly defended by another parliamentarian, Misu Papp-Craiova, who called himself a man of "antisemitic principles".

Henric Streitman announced at the time that he was writing a "major book" of Biblical criticism, which focused on Paul the Apostle and Jewish Christianity.

Henric Streitman still served in the Foreign Ministry after the National Liberals carried the day, and, during the mandate of Nicolae Titulescu, traveled extensively in Europe.

One anecdote suggests that Henric Streitman unwittingly uncovered Titulescu's superficiality while traveling with him through the Kingdom of Italy.

The Romanian diplomat asked Henric Streitman to explain Italian fascism, and was informed about its precursor, Georges Sorel; Titulescu "went deep into his thoughts for a moment", persuaded that he had once met Sorel.

Henric Streitman remained active as an adviser of the Romanian far-right.

In 1929, Henric Streitman launched a new magazine of his own, the short-lived Observatorul Politic si Social, with contributions from Mihail Manoilescu.

Henric Streitman signed up for the 1931 electoral campaign as a PP candidate, again in Bukovina.

When, in 1932, Goga left the PP to found his own National Agrarian Party, Henric Streitman followed suit, thereafter serving on that group's executive committee and writing for Goga's Tara Noastra.

Fellow writer Alexandru Robot notes that Henric Streitman had remained in part an investigative journalist, since he still "squeezed himself though the keyholes of various ministries".

Henric Streitman endured as a confidant of Duca, who had since become chairman of the National Liberal Party.

Henric Streitman recorded how Streitman and Clarnet colluded to obtain larger gifts from their political patron Titulescu.

Underneath this covering, "it would seem to me that Mr Henric Streitman is a religious man".

On June 5,1935, Henric Streitman was present at Filantropia Hospital for the funeral wake of Octavian's brother, Eugen Goga.

Uj Kelet contrarily claimed that Henric Streitman had "cut off all contact" with Goga following the unification.

Henric Streitman explained that: "In life, one must learn to abstract the opinions in one's writings".

At the time, Henric Streitman was completing an edition of works by Ion Heliade Radulescu, which was to feature his comparative essay on the links between Radulescu's poetry and the Bible.

An occasional contributor to the Zionist review Renasterea Noastra, Henric Streitman was still personally involved in debates about the "Jewish Question" in Romania.

Henric Streitman was selected by Lecca to preside over this body, taking over as such on February 7,1942.

Henric Streitman probably owed his appointment to his good rapport with all sides of the political spectrum, and especially to his friendship with Antonescu's friend, Veturia Goga.

The cleric notes that he attended CE meetings chaired by Henric Streitman, who used his speaking time to insult Zissu.

Henric Streitman recalls having insulted not just Streitman, but Rabbi Safran; he was only arrested because a Romanian inspector general, present at that meeting, deduced that he had insulted Antonescu.

Henric Streitman's supervision was assigned to the 31st Police Precinct, which still recorded his address as Calea Plevnei 72.

Henric Streitman later moved to the left, joining the Jewish Democratic Committee, which accepted Loewenstein-Lavi.

In March 1945, public prosecutor Mihail de Mayo interrogated Safran and Henric Streitman regarding their history with the CE.

Henric Streitman was placed under investigation by a "purification committee" assigned to the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania.

Henric Streitman survived the 1947 establishment of a communist regime, which, although anti-Zionist, preferred to ignore him and his political stances.

Samson believed that Henric Streitman was a "remarkable writer", whose style evoked Francois Rabelais.