“War against the Double Alliance would be a disaster”. Ilie Bărbulescu, the “Seara” newspaper, and Romania’s neutrality (1914-1916)

Abstract

In the attempt of reconsidering and properly understanding the so-called Germanophile option of a part of the Romanian society during the Great War, knowing those who have placed themselves on the side of the Central Powers is a sine qua non condition. Apart from the personalities already recognized for this, one must also consider other names who, although not always in the foreground of the events or on the spotlights of the press, presented an unquestionable regional or institutional importance for the realities of those troubles years. One of these figures was Professor Ilie Bărbulescu from the University of Iaşi, well-known back then for his “unpatriotic” views which caused a lively opposition both from students and some of his colleagues. Within our text we refer to his collaboration to the “Seara” newspaper in Bucharest, one of the most important Germanophile periodicals in Romania during the neutrality (1914-1916).