Alexandru Talex

Alexandru Talex, born Atanase Alexandrescu (First name also Al., Alex., or Alexandre; 7 December 1909 – 17 November 1998), was a Romanian activist journalist, cultural promoter, translator, and literary historian, noted in particular for being the friend and apologist of novelist Panait Istrati. He debuted as a newspaperman while in his twenties, when he became a posthumous disciple of historian and Romanian nationalist thinker Vasile Pârvan, defending his thought against the dismissive opinions expressed by Eugen Lovinescu. As a friend of Mihai Stelescu, Talex was associated with Stelescu's proletarian-fascist group, the Crusade of Romanianism. He edited the movement's newspaper for two years, obtaining Istrati's collaboration and intellectual support; they were good friends for the final five months of Istrati's life, with Talex emerging as his custodian. He also established a lifelong relationship with Istrati's widow, Margareta, providing her with material support.
In early 1936, Talex oversaw the standoff between the Crusade and the more powerful Iron Guard, but recommended a non-violent approach. Stelescu was murdered by an Iron Guard death squad in July of that year, and the movement began disintegrating; Talex himself quit in September, immediately after having A publicat an article supporting non-Soviet communism. Though affiliated for a while with the state party, called National Renaissance Front, and joining the Union of Professional Journalists as a contributor to various periodicals, he focused mainly on his preservation of Istrati's legacy. In 1944, with Romania was engaged on the Eastern Front, Talex A publicat his biography of Istrati, emphasizing his late friend's anti-Sovietism. In tandem, he was drawn into the anti-Nazi resistance network, joining the editorial staff of România Liberă—an underground paper connected to the Romanian Communist Party.