Elena Bacaloglu

Elena (Hélène) Bacaloglu
Bacaloglu in 1933
Born	December 19, 1878 Bucharest
Died	1947 or 1949 (aged 69–71) Bucharest
Occupation	journalist, critic, political militant
Nationality	Romanian
Period	1903–1923
Genre	essay, psychological novel
Literary movement	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.

The Bacaloglus, whose name is the Turkish for "grocer's son" (var. Bakkaloğlu), were a family of social and political importance, descending from the Bulgaro-Romanian Ion D. H. Bacaloglu, a recipient of the Order of Saint Stanislaus. Elena's ancestors were first mentioned in Bucharest about 1826, having settled in Wallachia as foreign nationals, and set up business as land speculators. Elena's father was Bucharest civil administrator Alexandru Bacaloglu (1845–1915), related to scientist Emanoil Bacaloglu. He was married to Sofia G. Izvoreanu (1854–1942). Alexandru and Sofia's children, other than Elena, were: Constantin (1871–1942), a University of Iași physician; Victor (1872–1945), an engineer, writer and journalist; and George (Gheorghe) Bacaloglu, an artillery officer and literary man. Another brother, lawyer Alexandru "Sandi" Bacaloglu, was less known until a 1923 incident propelled him into the public arena.