page_title: Adevărul
section_title: Early interwar years
hierarchical_section_title: Adevărul / History / 1919 edition / Early interwar years
caption_attribution_description: circa 1920.
context_page_description: Adevărul is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published during the Romanian Kingdom's existence, adopting an independent pro-democratic position, advocating land reform, and demanding universal suffrage. Under its successive editors Alexandru Beldiman and Constantin Mille, it became noted for its virulent criticism of King Carol I. This stance developed into a republican and socialist agenda, which made Adevărul clash with the Kingdom's authorities on several occasions. As innovative publications which set up several local and international records during the early 20th century, Adevărul and its sister daily Dimineața competed for the top position with the right-wing Universul before and throughout the interwar period. In 1920, Adevărul also began publishing its prestigious cultural supplement, Adevărul Literar și Artistic.
context_section_description: Once reestablished, Adevărul became a dominant newspaper of the interwar period and preserved its formative role for popular culture, being joined in its leftist niche some other widely circulated periodicals (Cuvântul Liber, Rampa etc.). More serious competition came from its old rival Universul, which now surpassed it in popularity at a national level. By 1934, Adevărul and Dimineața still boasted a combined daily circulation of 150,000 copies.
  In 1920, Mille retired from the position of editor-in-chief and moved on to create Lupta journal, amidst allegations that he had been pressured out by rival business interests. Adevărul and Dimineața were both purchased by Aristide Blank, a Romanian Jewish entrepreneur, National Liberal politician and owner of Editura Cultura Națională company. He sold the controlling stock to other prominent Jewish businessmen, Emil and Simion Pauker, reactivating the Adevĕrul S. A. holding in the process. Mille himself was replaced by Constantin Graur, who held managerial positions until 1936. Simion and Emil Pauker were, respectively, the father and uncle of Marcel Pauker, later a maverick figure in the outlawed Romanian Communist Party (PCR). The Paukers' ethnicity made their two newspapers preferred targets of attacks by the local antisemitic groups. In that decade, Adevărul was generally sympathetic to the National Peasants' Party, the main political force opposing the National Liberal establishment.
  The paper employed a new generation of panelists, most of whom were known for their advocacy of left-wing causes. In addition to professional journalists Brănișteanu, Constantin Bacalbașa, Tudor Teodorescu-Braniște, they included respected novelist Mihail Sadoveanu and debuting essayist Petre Pandrea, as well as the best-selling fiction author Cezar Petrescu, who was briefly a member of the editorial staff. Other writers with socialist or pacifist sympathies also became collaborators of Adevărul and Dimineața, most notably: Elena Farago, Eugen Relgis, Ion Marin Sadoveanu and George Mihail Zamfirescu. Especially noted among the young generation of leftists was F. Brunea-Fox. After a stint as political editorialist with Adevărul, he became the Romanian "prince of reporters", with investigative journalism pieces which were mainly hosted by Dimineața.
  Despite the effects of the Great Depression, the new management purchased another building in Sărindar area, tearing it down and replacing it with another palace wing, in reinforced concrete, and unifying the three facades by late 1933. The extended location, covering some 1,700 m², came to house a rotary printing press which was also in use by the magazine Realitatea Ilustrată, a conference hall, a cafeteria and sleeping quarters for the janitors. The post-1920 issues introduced a number of changes in format. It began hosting photojournalistic pieces by Iosif Berman, one of Romania's celebrated photographers (who had made his debut with Dimineața in 1913). Adevărul began headlining its front page with a short listing of the top news of the day, often accompanied by sarcastic editorial commentary.
  Among the other innovations were regular columns discussing developments in literature and philosophy, written by two young modernist authors, Benjamin Fondane and Ion Vinea, as well as a theater chronicle by Fagure and Iosif Nădejde. Vinea's texts discussed literary authenticity, eclecticism, and consistent praises of modern lyrical prose. Other such articles followed Vinea's rivalry with his former colleague Tristan Tzara, and stated his rejection of Dadaism, a radical avant-garde current that Tzara had formed in Switzerland during the war. In 1922, Vinea went on to establish Contimporanul, an influential modernist and socialist tribune, which maintained warm contact with Adevărul. Around that time, Adevărul had a printing-press contract with Alexandru Tzaran, the socialist activist and entrepreneur, whose company also published avant-garde books, and revisited projects for creating a literary supplement. In 1920, it set up Adevĕrul Literar și Artistic, s
caption: Adevĕrul logo, used in the interwar period. The subtitle reads: "Evening political newspaper. Appears each day at 3 PM"
exif: {}