PROLEGOMENE LA FELIX CULPA ELIADE, EVREII ȘI ANTISEMITISMUL
Synopsis
This article seeks to explore, for the first time, the issue of Mircea Eliade’s relationship with Jews and antisemitism, drawing on all available primary sources, both manuscript and printed. The main source is, of course, Eliade’s Romanian archive, of which only a part is accessible in public repositories. The time period examined here covers the middle phase of his formative years: high school and university (1921–1928). The Indian period, as well as the post-Indian years up to 1936, at the onset of his
political engagement, will be the subject of a future article. The body of sources analyzed here reveals that Eliade was exposed early on to both Jewish culture – through his readings and interactions with Jewish colleagues – and to the antisemitic currents of his time. A contextualized analysis of these sources shows that, despite the emotional impact of his first encounter with antisemitism in the winter of 1922–1923, the young Eliade chose to rely on his own critical judgment. When he was unable to reach a definitive conclusion, he opted to temporarily suspend his judgment.
