Salvator P. Cupcea (also known as Salvador Cupcea; August 8, 1908 – 1958) was a Romanian psychologist, physician, and political figure. From beginnings as a researcher for the Victor Babeș University of Cluj, alongside his friend Alexandru Roșca, he became noted as a pioneer of experimental psychology and psychoanalysis, studying in particular the social marginals. He later immersed himself in the social hygiene and eugenics movement, also specializing in genetic medicine, biological anthropology, and criminology. A collaborator of Iuliu Moldovan, he taught classes at the latter's Institute for much of World War II, when he focused on studying the intelligence of various body types.
During those years, Cupcea flirted with fascism, and endorsed a biopolitical "national hygiene" program. In 1944, he reemerged as a supporter of the Romanian Communist Party and liberal eugenics, serving as Health Minister and representative to the World Health Organization. A founder of the Cluj Medical University and administrator of its Psychiatric Clinic, his final work was in human ecology, food science, and cardiology.
Biography
Origins and family
Salvator was born in Carei (Nagykároly), Szatmár County, at the time part of Austria-Hungary. His was a family of importance in the Romanian Eastern Catholic community of Crișana region. His father, Petru Cupcea (1875–1940), was a priest, later the Protopope of Supur and honorary Archdeacon, who was active in the Romanian National Party from 1909. Although ethnically Romanian, his paternal and maternal ancestors, the Cupceas and the Rednics, had been received into the Hungarian nobility of Partium, tracing their aristocratic titles to 1609 and 1349 respectively. Petru's wife, Augusta, was the distant descendant of peasants from Tiream, and daughter of George Pteancu. A Romanian educator and honorary citizen of Carei, Pteancu was also leader of the Marian Congregation branch in Năsăud. Augusta's brother, Alexandru Coriolan Pteancu (1878–1956), was a theologian, antiquarian, schoolteacher, political figure, and honorary Protopope.
The couple, who moved frequently in keeping up with Father Cupcea's successive assignments, had six children born in various localities, of whom Salvator and three sisters reached maturity. The eldest, Maria (1903–1980), was an educator, composer, and celebrated stage and film actress. She was for a while married one of Salvator's physician colleagues, Victor Munteanu, and had a son by him, Dan Munteanu, who became a noted biologist. Another sister, Lucia, became the wife of Leontin Ghergariu (1897–1980), a philologist, adult educator, museum curator and sports enthusiast. The youngest of the Cupcea siblings, Emilia, taught at the Biological Institute of Cluj.
Cupcea's early childhood saw the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and the region's incorporation with Romania. Directly involved in the process, Alexandru Pteancu was appointed chief inspector of secondary schools by the Romanian-led Regional Directorate. There followed an interlude of Hungarian Soviet rule, during which Inspector Pteancu narrowly escaped execution. Father Cupcea, who had pledged Carei's support for the Great Assembly, was also targeted, being kidnapped and sent to Debrecen, where he was reportedly tortured. Rescued by his coreligionists, he made his way to Oradea, which fell to the Romanians in the military operations of 1919.
Early career
In 1925, when Crișana had been secured for Greater Romania, Salvator graduated from Carei's Lucaciu High School, where he had become best friends with his schoolmate, Alexandru Roșca. They both had a keen interest in psychology, and were urged on by their schoolteachers to pursue studies in the field. Enlisting at the University of Cluj (known back then as "Upper Dacia University"), they attended the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, specializing under Professor Florian Ștefănescu-Goangă at the Cluj Institute of Psychology. Together, they worked on Ștefănescu-Goangă's applied psychology teams, alongside various other young men who became figures of importance on the scientific, political, and literary scene: Nicolae Mărgineanu, Mihai Beniuc, Liviu Rusu, Lucian Bologa, and Teodor Bugnariu.