Aristide or Aristid Blank, also spelled Blanc or Blanck (January 1, 1883 – January 1, 1960), was a Romanian financier, economist, arts patron and playwright. His father, Mauriciu Blank, an assimilated and naturalized Romanian Jew, was manager of the (BMB), a major financial enterprise. Aristide took up jobs within the same company, and introduced various new ideas for development with a series of pamphlets. He was drafted as a junior officer in the Second Balkan War and again in World War I, though he did not see action during the latter; instead, he advanced causes related to Romanian nationalism, as well as his own agenda, in the Russian Republic, in the Far East, and eventually in France. He also began expanding BMB investments, branching out into maritime transport and founding CFRNA/CIDNA airlines. This period witnessed his attempt at setting up a press empire around the twin dailies Adevărul and Dimineața, and his brief engagement with Epoca.
Inheriting his father's position at the BMB, Blank expanded its activities and expenditures, setting aside money for graft, and allowing his staff to engage in accounting fraud. By 1923, he was sponsoring nationalist propaganda writings, working alongside historians Nicolae Iorga and Vasile Pârvan, as well as advocating for a regime of free trade. He set up his own publishing house, Cultura Națională, and a literary agency, which was for a while managed by philosopher Nae Ionescu—ultimately sacked by Blank upon the discovery of embezzlement. Blank, who allegedly alternated mainstream politics with support for the far-left, found himself pitted against the antisemitic far-right, being brutalized by the National Christian Defense League and marked for retribution by the Iron Guard.
Beginning in the early 1920s, Blank cultivated Crown Prince Carol, who took over as King of Romania after a 1930 coup. Emerging as Carol's economic adviser, Blank joined the resulting camarilla, an affiliation which shielded him from the consequences of BMB mismanagement. The enterprise crashed in 1931, unable to absorb the effects of the Great Depression. Blank was removed from his managerial position following intervention by the National Bank of Romania, but used political channels to preserve some measure of control, and was instrumental in toppling National Bank Governor Mihail Manoilescu, who did not wish to refinance the BMB. His influence fluctuated for the remainder of Carol's reign; still unable to fully control the BMB, he still owned Discom, a lucrative retailer for products of state monopolies. In the 1930s, he helped develop Eforie and Techirghiol into summer resorts.
Public antisemitism and fascism took the forefront during the late years of Carlism and the early years of World War II. This period saw Blank marginalized, and resulted in additional scrutiny of the BMB affair, at the end of which he was sentenced to pay 600 million lei in damages. Blank reemerged as BMB manager after King Michael's Coup of 1944, but he and his business were finally repressed by the communist regime from 1948. In 1953, he was sentenced to 20 years for high treason, but managed to have that verdict overturned in 1955. After international pressures, he was allowed to emigrate in 1958, and lived his final months in Paris. His children from his successive marriages and affairs include American soldier Milenko Blank and French press magnate Patrice-Aristide Blank.
Biography
Early life Born in Bucharest on the first day of 1883Claudiu Secașiu, "Biografia lui Aristide Blank (I)", in Realitatea Evreiască, Issues 520–521 (1320–1321), July–August 2018, p. 15 (New Style: January 13), Aristide was the son of Mauriciu Blank. Through his paternal lineage, he belonged to the Sephardi minority within the local Jewish community,Annamaria Damian, "Expoziția El Bucarest sefardi. 500 anos de historia contados en 100 imagenes", in Revista de Istorie a Evreilor din România, Issue 2 (18), 2017, p. 15; George Gîlea, "Datorie de onoare pentru Mauriciu Blank", in Realitatea Evreiască, Issues 526–527 (1326–1327), November 2018, p. 25; Maschio & Păduraru, p. 287 and was distantly related to linguist Moses Gaster.Alexandru Mirodan, "Dicționar neconvențional al scriitorilor evrei de limbă română. G. Gaster, Moses", in Minimum, Vol. XII, Issue 141, December 1998, p. 53 His clan, originally known as Derrera el Blanco, had first settled in Wallachia during the 18th century, but their Judaism prevented them from obtaining naturalization.Maschio & Păduraru, p. 287 Martinho de Brederode, Portuguese ambassador to Romania in 1920, described Aristide as the first Jew to have ever made his way into Romania's high society.Stoica, p. 203 By then, the family's ethnic background was still largely unknown to the Romanian public, with the Jewish publication Mântuirea noting in 1920 that Aristide was of "obscure origin".Zarafopol, "Imprumutul Blank", in Furnica, Vol. XV, Issue 27, April 1920, p. 11 As reported in 1924 by L'Univers Israélite, he was fully assimilated, "Jewish only in origin";C. R., "Y-a-t-il un antisémitisme roumain?", in L'Univers Israélite, Vol. 79, Issue 47, August 1924, p. 367 the same year, Opinia newspaper assessed that Blank was "a Semite seen by other Jews as a renegade [...] assimilated to the point of exhibiting all Romanian vices, [and] the parent of Romanian Christian children"."România este Antisemită?", in Opinia, August 23, 1924, p. 1 In the early 1910s, the junior banker reportedly endorsed Radu D. Rosetti's movement in support of cremation."Informațiuni", in Adevărul, March 17, 1913, p. 2
Around 1880, Mauriciu was entering the financial elite of the newly established Principality of Romania, having served as head of the Marmorosch Blank Bank (BMB) since 1874. At the time of Aristide's birth, it was the most powerful private bank in the fledgling Romanian Kingdom.Mucenic, pp. 339–343 Blank's political friend and enemy, Constantin Argetoianu, claims that Mauriciu had a marriage of convenience to Aristide's mother Betina Goldenberg, who was "ugly as well as vulgar, avaricious as well as venomous".Argetoianu (1997), p. 270 She was contrarily described by her Rabbi, Jacob Itzhak Niemirower, as "pious" in her Judaism, "a symbol of the Hebrew concept of life [as] both festive and holy.""Inhumarea rămășițelor pământești ale d-nei Bettina Blank", in Adevărul, March 10, 1930, p. 5 One of Aristide's sisters was married off to another financier, Adalbert Csillag, who would experience complete bankruptcy. Another sister, Margot, married industrialist Herman Spayer, whose residence on Batiștei Street was briefly used by the BMB.Waldman & Ciuciu, pp. 124–125 The family finally received Romanian citizenship in 1883,Maschio & Păduraru, p. 291 shortly after Aristide's birth.
According to a hostile note by French journalist Jean Mourat, Blank Jr was "raised in luxury, so as to keep up with good traditions."Jean Mourat, "Les millionaires meurent dans leur lit", in Ce Soir, May 1, 1937, p. 10 Aristide received an elite education, and was possessed of an artistic sensibility;Nicolae Cajal, Hary Kuller, Contribuția evreilor din România la cultură și civilizație, pp. 70–71. Bucharest: Editura Hasefer, 2004. however, Argetoianu portrays him as "highly intelligent [but] lacking a serious culture", his main attributes being ambition, jealousy, and eventually paranoia.Argetoianu (1997), pp. 68, 70 He became a published poet in his teenage years. In 1899 Foaia Populară put out his debut poem, Bătrâna;Florin Faifer, "Memoria scenei. Aristide Blank, un neînțeles", in Scena, Vol. I, Issue 4, August 1998, pp. 34–35 this was followed in April 1900 by Despărțire, a pastiche from Eduard von Feuchtersleben that he signed as "Aristide Blanc", also in Foaia Populară in April 1900.Aristide Blanc, "Despărțire (după Feuchtersleben)", in Foaia Populară, Issue 16/1900, p. 5 Blank took a graduation diploma from the University of Bucharest Faculty of Law and Philosophy. His first career from 1904 was as a lawyer affiliated with the bar association of Bucharest.
In February 1905, Blank's translations of poems by Mihai Eminescu into German saw print in the Czernowitzer Allgemeine Zeitung."Gedichte von M. Eminescu", in Literaturisch-belletristische Beilage der Czernowitzer Allgemeine Zeitung, Issue 58, February 1905, p. 1 He experimented in other fields as well: in March 1905, he played violin for attendees of a BMB banquet;R., "Banchetul dela 'Bulevard'", in Adevărul, March 24, 1905, p. 3 he was also interested in automobiles, and in early 1908 was issued license plate "118", as one of Romania's first registered car-owners.Silviu N. Dragomir, "Un București mai puțin cunoscut (60). Numerele de circulație au fost introduse încă din anul 1908", in Cotidianul, 30 April 1996, p. 4 He had spent most of 1905 undergoing specialization at banks in the City of London, and had been appointed branch subdirector at the BMB."Informațiunĭ", in Conservatorul, September 7/20, 1905, p. 3 In late 1906, he had also toured the Aromanian communities in Salonica vilayet, donating 1,500 lei for the upkeep of their schools."Informațiunĭ", in Universul, December 9, 1906, p. 2 In October 1908, he announced his engagement to Marietta Culoglu, daughter of politician Emanoil Culoglu, the "distinguished nationalist","Noutăți. Logodnă", in Tribuna, Vol. XII, Issue 230, October 1908, p. 6 and herself noted as an activist for women's suffrage.Ștefania Mihăilescu, Din istoria feminismului românesc. Antologie de texte (1838–1929), p. 187. Iași: Polirom, 2002. As argued by Culoglu's critics, their relationship was engineered by Alexandru C. Constantinescu of the National Liberal Party (PNL), who thus obtained Blank as an asset for his clique.Alexandru Bădărău, "Alecu Constantinescu", in Opinia. Ziar Politic Cotidian, November 20, 1926, p. 1 Aristide and Marietta were wed in January 1909, during a civil ceremony attended by Vintilă Brătianu, Emil Costinescu, and Vasile Morțun."O căsătorie în lumea mare", in Tribuna, Vol. XII, Issue 287, January 1909, p. 10 In June of that year, he became a Knight of the Order of the Crown of Romania."Decorațiunĭ. Urmare și sfîrșit", in Universul, June 18, 1909, p. 2
After giving up his law practice, Blank Jr closely followed his father's career in finance. By 1910, he was providing free lessons in political economy for the benefit of BMB employees,"Ultime informațiunĭ", in Dimineața, April 2, 1910, p. 3 and also serving on the board of directors for various BMB branches, including Moldova Bank of Iași and the Aromanian Bank of Commerce.Mucenic, p. 344 He was inducted into the Order of Commercial and Industrial Merit in 1912, when he also served on the committee to establish the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies.Waldman & Ciuciu, p. 120 In June 1913, Blank was blackmailed by Seara newspaperman Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești, who had inaugurated a smear campaign against the BMB. According to notes left by Searas Mateiu Caragiale, Blank "trapped" Bogdan-Pitești with direct support from the Romanian Police.Ion Vianu, Investigații mateine, p. 39. Cluj-Napoca & Iași: Biblioteca Apostrof & Polirom, 2008. This refers to a sting operation at Flora Restaurant, where Blank heard Bogdan-Pitești and his associate Adolf Davidescu state their demands while policemen were standing by."Șantagiul Serei", in Opinia. Ziar Conservator-Democrat, June 18, 1913, p. 1 Obtaining legal assistance from Take Ionescu, Blank took Bogdan-Pitești to court and won, resulting in his rival's imprisonment.Ion Rusu Abrudeanu, România și războiul mondial: contribuțiuni la studiul istoriei războiului nostru, p. 114. Bucharest: Editura Socec, 1921 A month after, Romania entered the Second Balkan War, with Blank enlisted as a Land Forces officer in Southern Dobruja. It was here that he first met historian and politician Nicolae Iorga, with whom he would cooperate on cultural ventures in the early 1920s.Țurlea, p. 134
World War I