Legion of the Archangel Michael

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Archangel Michael
Archangel Michael

The Legion of the Archangel Michael (Legiunea Arhanghelul Mihail) also known as The Iron Guard was a nationalist movement active in România. Its doctrine was the believe in God, Nation and Country. Their goal was a spiritual and moral renewal, and the creation of a new individual. They wanted to modify the individual's spiritual structure in order to make him a better person, more intelligent and more honest[1].

Contents

[edit] History

Legion of the Archangel Michael was founded by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu on July 24, 1927 and led by him until his assasination in 1938. It had several of name as an result of the intermittently bann organization's name. It was also called The Legionary Movement, and the members called themselves as legionnaires. The foreigners and the press knew it as The Iron Guard. Because it was not a political party the Legionnaires participated in the political arena in Romania with a party known as "Everything For The Fatherland" (Totul Pentru Ţară)[2]. In March 1930 Codreanu decides to launch a new national organization for combating the communist propaganda in Bessarabia. So he formed the "Iron Guard" (Garda de Fier) as an organization who contained "Legion of the Archangel Michael and other youth groups not affiliated with any political party" [3]. Its members wore green uniforms (meant as a symbol of renewal, and the origin of the occasional reference to them as the Greenshirts - Cămăşile verzi), and greeted each other using the Roman salute.

The Legion was differed from the fascist movements. According to the liberal historian Neagu Djuvara, Iron Guard was not a copy of the fascism. Iron Guard was an original movement, borned from anti-communist student organizations[4]. Nae Ionescu characterized The Legionary Movement as a political expresion of the Romanian Orthodoxism.

On January 11, 1931 because grew the importance of the Legion of the Archangel Michael, Ion Mihalache banned it. Codreanu was arrested. But in February the justice acquitted Codreanu and his organization. On August 31, 1931 in spite of many obstacles, Corneliu Codreanu is proclaimed deputy in Neamţ County. The Iron Guard was dissolved for the second time in March 1932 by the Iorga-Argetoianu government who disregards the law in their actions. Many Legionnaires were aressted. Even so Corneliu's father becomes the second Legionary deputy winning the elections at Tutova. On July 17, 1932 The Iron Guard won 70,000 votes and elects five deputies in general elections. Corneliu Codreanu (December 4, 1933) distributed a memorandum in which he criticizes the terror of the liberal government I.G. Duca against the Iron Guard. The I.G. Duca government dissolved the Iron Guard on December 10, 1933. Iron Guard was for the third time banned in order to be kept from participating in the elections. Around 18,000 Legionnaires were arrested and imprisoned without an warrant for arrest. Many Legionnaires were assassinated. As a reaction for banning the Iron Guard, on December 30, 1933 the Prime Minister I.G. Duca was assassinated on the platform of the Sinaia railway station. On March 20, 1935 Codreanu created the party Totul Pentru Ţară. The formal president was General Gheorghe Cantacuzino. On November 24, 1936 a group of seven Legionary Commanders leaved in Spain to fight at the side of Spanish nationalists against Communism. Two of them died in there: Moţa and Marin. The increasing simpathy pro-Iron Guard made Gheorghe Tatarescu government to take new measures against the Legionary Movement. The new leader of the party became Gheorghe Clime (October 12, 1937). In the General elections on December 20, 1937 The Legionary Movement party obtained 16% of the votes and 66 seats in Parliament in spite of the terror unleashed against its members. On February 21, 1938 Codreanu was forced by circumstantces to dissolute the party Totul Pentru Ţară and the liquidation of Legionary commerce in order to avoid conflict with the authorities. Even that Nicolae Iorga on March 30, 1938 opened a lawsuit against Codreanu because of a letter. In that letter Codreanu denounced the attitude of Professor Nicolae Iorga as being unfair. Instead of a reply Iorga opened the lawsuit which culminates in the assassination of Corneliu Codreanu on November 30,1938. Coderanu himself and another 13 Legionnaires were assassinated by Gendarmerie escort under the direct order of Armand Calinescu (the Minister of the Interior). Further rounds carnage against the Iron Guard ensued.[5]. [6]. [7].

[edit] Sima's ascendancy

Stamp bearing the symbol of the Iron Guard over a green cross.
Stamp bearing the symbol of the Iron Guard over a green cross.

In the first months of World War II, Romania was officially neutral. However, especially after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 23, 1939, which stipulated, among other things, the Soviet "interest" in Bessarabia, earlier French and British pledges were worth no more to Romania than to Poland. When Nazi Germany invaded Poland, Romania granted refuge to members of Poland's fleeing government. King Carol tried to maintain neutrality, but France's surrender and Britain's retreat from Europe rendered meaningless their assurances to Romania. A lean toward the Axis Powers was probably inevitable.

On September 21, 1939 Armand Călinescu, known as the executioner of the Legionary Movement, was assassinated by a team of Legionnaires later called Răzbunătorii (The Avengers). They did not try to escape and turned themselves in. “After torturing them for eight hours, the police executed them without trial. Their bodies were thrown on a public square to be exposed to the view of passers-by”. The new government of General Argeşeanu established the terror. During September 21-22, 1939 a number of 252 Legionnaires were killed and thousands of Legionnaires sent to concentration camps and in prisons[8]. Almost all the Legionary leaders were killed. But at the end of year 1939 King Carol tried to make a “national reconcilement”. The Legionnaires agreed the proposal and they were eliberated from concentration camps, prisons and some of them came back from abroad. In fact the reconciliation was just an appearance. A tragedy happened in June 1940, North Bukovina and Bessarabia were taken by Soviet Union following the Hitler-Stalin Pakt, known also as Ribbentrop-Molotov Pakt. Ion Gigurtu's government, formed July 4, 1940 was the first to include a Legion member, but by the time the movement achieved any formal power, most of its charismatic leadership were already dead: Horia Sima, was one of the few prominent legionnaires to survive the carnage of the preceding years 1940. By Vienna Diktat on August 30, 1940 Romania was forced to give to Hungary, North West Transylvania. On September 7, 1940 Romania was also forced to give to Bulgary the south of Dobruja named Cadrilater[9].

On September 4, 1940, the Legion formed a tense alliance with General (later Marshal) Ion Antonescu which forced the abdication of Carol II in favor of his son Mihai (Michael). The National Legionary State was proclaimed on September 14, 1940 , with General Ion Antonescu as Conducator and Prime Minister, Horia Sima as vice President of the Council of Ministers, and King Michael head of the state[10].

The short government of the Iron Guard was since September 14, 1940 to January 21, 1941. During this time Romania did not have the administration of Bessarabia, Bukovina or the most part of the Transylvania which means that the Iron Guard was not involved in deportations of the people to Transnistria or to Auschwitz. (Romania would formally join the Axis in June 1941 to liberate Bessarabia and never had a signed treaty).

Because of the anti-Iron Guard actions, more than 60 former dignitaries or officials were arrested in Jilava prison. While they awaiting the trial some rumors appeared telling that Antonescu try to eliberate them. Also during the exhumation of Corneliu Codreanu there were moments of horror, because on Codreanu was poured vitriol and concrete[11]. "In an outburst of rage, they execute the 64 members of previous political regimes who are imprisoned at Jilava and who tortured and massacred Legionary youths"[12]. The historian and former prime minister Nicolae Iorga was assassinated as a revenge because of his moral involvement in Codreanu’s assassination.

On January 20, 1941 Antonescu takes a series of anti-Legionary measures without consulting the Council of Ministers. He dismissed officials of Legionary Movement for insignificant reasons. On January 21, 1941 Antonescu decided to eliminate entirely Legion from government. Horia Sima and many other legionnaires took refuge in Germany; many others were imprisoned[13]. Horia Sima together with about 400 Legionaries were in Germany as political prisoners during the war. Hitler ordered the Legionaries to be sent to the concentration camps of Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen[14].

„The Iron-Guardists were hit from all directions. They were imprisoned for many years after August 23, 1944 but also before coming to governing of the communists!” (Ion Coja, Our Iron-Guardists, UMC Publishng House, Bucharest, 2001, page 9) „Before 1944, the imprisonment conditions were obviously harder for the Iron-Guardists than for the communists! And so on and so forth, after 1944, the imprisonment conditions were harder for the Iron-Guardists than for the others! And above all, some Iron-Guardists, political prisoners before 1944, politically convicted by (;) our bourgeoisie-landowners remained also imprisoned after the «Liberation in August 1944». Some of them were set free only in 1964!” (ibidem, page 9) … „I do not know what other common features would have had Armand Călinescu and Petre Roman, but one thing is sure: the anti-Iron Guard, that pushed the first one to crime and that pushed the other one to lying. (Among others, the lie with the Iron-Guardists involved in the events of Târgu Mureş, in March 1990!)”[15].


[edit] About the anti-Iron Guard propaganda

  • "The Iron-Guard phenomenon was and is the most subject to distortion".
  • "The Iron-Guard Movement had never the chance for a fair play action at law, with the right to present its point of view and to defend itself".
  • Almost „all the opinions no matter how many were expressed till now about the Iron-Guard Movement, except those of the Iron-Guardists themselves, were based exclusively on information from a single source, that of its opponents, either they are the democrats before the last World War or that they are in fact communists being - thus – in a diametrically opposed political position”.
  • Among various regimes and governments that followed in the last 60 years (the text is published in 2001) there is an element of continuity , a common point in their political behaviour: anti- Iron Guard".
  • "It was imposed to us consistently a real ideological dogma based on the propaganda myth of Iron-Guard «cruelty» (;)... The Iron-Guard became, thus, the public image of all the evils of yesterday and today”. „So much there were repeated these things, so much ink was used and so much passion was invested in this concerted disparagement so that for certain comfortable minds the problem is not worth being discussed any more".
  • "The history lies in asking questions to the past so that the answers should be lessons guiding the present and (;) preparing the future".
  • "The nations are independent and sovereign as far as they have also a practical conclusive critical thinking"[16].

[edit] Legacy

  • A contemporary legionary political party Partidul Pentru Patrie (Party “For the Mother Country”) is a follower of the Iron Guard, and it is made by the old Legionnaires. Another organizations who considering themselves as the follower of the Legionary Doctrine: Uniunea Vatra Românească and Legea Străbună. A non political Christian Forum Noua Dreaptă (The New Right) embraces the cult for Corneliu Codreanu but it is not a legionary movement.

[edit] Note

  1. ^ Alexander E. Ronnett, Faust Bradescu, The Legionary Movement in Romania
  2. ^ "Căpitanul în istorie", Faust Brădescu
  3. ^ Alexander E. Ronnett, Faust Bradescu, "The Legionary Movement in România"
  4. ^ "O scurta istorie a românilor povestita celor tineri", Neagu Djuvara, p.214
  5. ^ "Cronica unor violenţe politice", Nicolae Roşca
  6. ^ Alexander E. Ronnett, Faust Bradescu, "The Legionary Movement in România"
  7. ^ "Cronologie privind istoria Mişcării Legionare", Almanahul "Cuvântul"
  8. ^ Alexander E. Ronnett, Faust Bradescu, The Legionary Movement in Romania
  9. ^ ”Dictatura regelui Carol al II-lea”, Mr. Ion T. Ciobanu
  10. ^ ”Guvernarea septembristă între bune şi rele”, Dumitru Paraschiv
  11. ^ Cronica unor violente politice, Nicolae Rosca
  12. ^ Alexander E. Ronnett, Faust Bradescu, The Legionary Movement in Romania
  13. ^ Alexander E. Ronnett, Faust Bradescu, The Legionary Movement in Romania
  14. ^ ”Horia Sima - He Who Kept the Legion Alive”, Ovidiu Guleş
  15. ^ ”The Secret of The Fire Sword”, Radu Mihai Crişan, p.9
  16. ^ The Secret of The Fire Sword, Radu Mihai Crişan, p.8-10

[edit] Bibliography

  • "The Legionary Movement in Romania", Alexander E. Ronnett, Faust Brădescu
  • "Căpitanul în istorie", Faust Brădescu
  • "Cronica unor violenţe politice", Nicolae Roşca
  • "Cronologie privind istoria Mişcării Legionare", Almanahul "Cuvântul"

[edit] External links

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