Silviu Brucan (born Saul Bruckner; 18 January 1916 – 14 September 2006) was a Romanian Communist politician. He became a critic of the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu. After the Romanian Revolution, Brucan became a political analyst. Early life He was born in Bucharest to wealthy Jewish parents living in Berzei Street, near Matache Măcelaru Market. His father was a wholesale wool merchant who imported fabrics from England in the aftermath of World War I, suits of fine English fabrics being a luxury item that was popular among the Romanian bourgeoisie that was rising in the wake of an economic boom. He attended the German-language Evangelische Schule of Luterană Street and the Saint Sava National College. In 1929 came the Wall Street Crash, leading to the Great Depression and a slump in the luxury industry, including English clothes. As a result, Brucan's father's shop in Șepcari Street went bankrupt, and the Brucan family was left penniless. They moved into a modest apartment on Vlad Țepeș Street. Brucan's father found a job as a fabric expert working for a German merchant, but as that was not enough to feed a family of six, Silviu Brucan began giving private lessons to pupils of wealthy families, thus gaining access to the world of the rich landowners and industrialists. In his memories, Brucan said that the sharp contrast between the world of luxury of the privileged classes and the misery of those who worked hard all day to earn a living and the feeling of social injustice strongly influenced him. As a social outcast (his father had been indicted for fraudulent bankruptcy) and as a Jew in the 1930s, he was prevented by the Iron Guard supporters from formally studying at the University of Bucharest. Nevertheless, with the help of some friends, he attended some courses at the university, such as the lectures of historian Nicolae Iorga, the philosopher Constantin Rădulescu-Motru, the aesthetician Tudor Vianu, and the philosopher Nae Ionescu. Early activism Brucan joined the left-wing movement at the age of 18. He was attracted by the opinions found in leftist and antifascist weekly newspapers such as Stînga (The Left), Era Nouă (New Era) and Cuvîntul Liber (Free Word). Brucan joined communist groups, which organized "cultural evenings" at the houses of some supporter. There, he met literate communist supporters such as Alexandru Sahia. He began reading Marxist literature and soon was co-opted into party operations,