Ch F-X ang PD e w w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw REVOLUTIONIZING ROMANIA FROM THE RIGHT: THE REGENERATIVE PROJECT OF THE ROMANIAN LEGIONARY MOVEMENT AND ITS FAILURE (1927 - 1937) Valentin Adrian Săndulescu A DISSERTATION in History Presented to the Faculties of the Central European University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Budapest, Hungary 2010 CEU eTD Collection Supervisor of Dissertation Professor ROUMEN DASKALOV ______________________ Ch F-X ang PD e w w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw Copyright in the text of this dissertation rests with the Author. Copies by any process, either in full or part, may be made only in accordance with the instructions given by the Author and lodged in the Central European Library. Details may be obtained from the librarian. This page must form a part of any such copies made. Further copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the written permission of the Author. CEU eTD Collection I hereby declare that this dissertation contains no materials accepted for any other degrees in any other institutions and no materials previously written and/or published by another person unless otherwise noted. ii Ch F-X ang PD e w w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw ABSTRACT Rewriting and rethinking history in every generation as a way to mediate, like a translator, between past and present represents the function of a historian, as Peter Burke aptly stated. The current dissertation aimed at finding a way to make sense of a past time such as the interwar period, and especially of the emergence and development of fascism in the Romanian context. By placing the dissertation in the proximity of the “culturalist” approach I have started from a research hypothesis which assesses that fascism is a “coherent body of thought” (Roger Eatwell) a revolutionary political ideology which puts forward as its principal aim the necessity to regenerate a so-called state of decay and decline by bringing about a “new man” and a “new order.” Analyzing fascism from within, and considering it as a solid ideological construct, I wanted to better understand the diverse social support it garnered and the mass appeal that assured its political success in various contexts. Using archival material and interwar newspapers, journals and publications, I have attempted to understand the mass-appeal enjoyed by fascism in Romania in the 1930s and to explain the elements that attracted so many followers to the Legion, especially from the young generation. The thesis was structured having in mind the chronological aspect, with 1927 as the founding year of the Legion and 1937 being its most successful one. Furthermore the thesis focused on certain topics of interest, such as the “1922 student generation” and its political commitment, the adherence of the Axa group of intellectuals to the Iron Guard, the legionary work camp system, the social base of the legion and its political success in the 1937 elections. What I have tried to show throughout the dissertation was that the Legionary regenerative project aimed at saving the country from a perceived state of decay by creating a “new man” and a “new order” was regarded by many as a viable, albeit radical solution, and also satisfied the need for political activism for a great part of CEU eTD Collection the young generation. Its ultimate failure, together with its violent record and tragic outcome are part of the one of the darkest chapters in twentieth-century Romanian history. iii Ch F-X ang PD e w w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Throughout the years needed for the preparation and writing of this dissertation I have been helped and guided by many people, and the debts I have incurred were numerous. Professor Roumen Daskalov agreed to supervise my research and I want to thank him for that. I am grateful to Sorin Antohi for his constant and generous support throughout the years. I would also like to express my warmest thanks to Professors Constantin Iordachi, Alfred J. Rieber, Balázs Trencsényi and Marsha Siefert and also to the History Department Doctoral Studies Committee for their dedication and willingness to help. Many friends and colleagues encouraged me in my study and provided useful feed-back whenever I needed it. Thus, I express my gratitude to Eugen Stancu, Narcis Tulbure, Cristian Vasile, Anca ܇incan, Răzvan Pârâianu, Steliu Lambru, Marius Turda, Chris Davis, Luciana Ghica, and many others here unnamed. The Centre for Advanced Study in Sofia and the New Europe College in Bucharest were two gracious hosts for my academic projects, and provided a highly stimulating intellectual environment which enabled me to rethink and improve my research. Last but not least, I owe my greatest debt of all to my family. My wife, Loredana, my parents and my brother supported and encouraged me all these years and for that I will be forever grateful to them. CEU eTD Collection iv Ch F-X ang PD e w w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw Table of Contents Abstract ...………………………………………………………………………………iii Acknowledgements...………………………………………………………………...iv List of Illustrations .…………………………………………………………………..vii Introduction......................................................................................................... 1 1. East-Central Europe after the ‘Great War’ and Romania’s Challenges in the Postwar Context ...……………………………………………………………… 4 2. Fascism as a Revolutionary, Regenerative Ideology: the Question of the “New Man” and the “New Order” – a Historiographical Appraisal ...………10 2.1. Developments in Western Historiography on Fascism ..……………. 11 2.2. Developments in Romanian Historiography on Fascism……………. 21 3. Sources, Methodology and Structure...…...………………………………… 30 Chapter I. Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and the “Prehistory” of the Romanian Legionary Movement (1916 - 1927) ………………………………… 39 I. 1. The Bases of Codreanu’s Radicalism: from the War Front to the University Front (1916 - 1922)……………………………………………39 I. 2. The 1922 anti-Semitic Student Strikes and the Birth of the “1922 Generation”.……………………………………………………………….. 43 I. 3. Old and the New Together: Codreanu’s Activity within A.C. Cuza’s National-Christian Defense League, from Cooperation to Generational Conflict..…………………………………………………………………….54 Chapter II: Establishing the Legion: the Founding of the Legion of the Archangel Michael and its Development in the first Years of Existence (1927 - 1932) .……………………………………………… 63 CEU eTD Collection II. 1. Separating the Boys from the Men – the Founding of the Legion of the Archangel Michael: 3ământul Strămoоesc, Generation Conflict and the Structuring of the Movement ……………………………………………. 63 II. 2. Working the Provinces – the Local Character of the Legion in Its Incipient Years and the First Electoral Breakthroughs.......………………………92 v Ch F-X ang PD e w w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw Chapter III: 1933 as the Year of Great Transformations …………………….104 III. 1. The Axa Group and the Ideological Crystallization of the Legionary Movement: Intellectuals and Politics within the Movement ....………105 III. 2. The 1933 Electoral Battle: Antidemocratic Views, Violence, and Political Assassination………………………………………………...…………...129 Chapter IV. The “Silent Work”: How the Legion Put its Political Project into Practice and Became a Mass-Movement ……………………….133 IV. 1. Repression, Dissent and Recovery: the Legionary Movement in the Years 1934-1936 .....……………………………………………………133 IV. 2. Working towards Regeneration: the Legionary Work Camp System ………………………………………………………………………….…….150 IV. 3. Social Components of the Legionary Movement - Expansion through Diversification: the Role of the Student Body and of the Workers; Women and the Legion ………………………………………………...161 Chapter V. 1937 as the Peak of the Legionary Regenerative Project: from the MoĠa – Marin Burial to the Parliamentary Elections .…….180 V. 1. Sacralised Politics in Action: the February 1937 Burial of the Romanian Legionary Leaders Ion MoĠa and Vasile Marin ………………..………..180 V. 2. Fighting Against the State: the Legion’s Quest for Electoral Success in 1937 …………………………………………………………………………203 Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………221 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………...230 CEU eTD Collection vi Ch F-X ang PD e w w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS II. 1: The “Christian Cultural Hostel” from Ia܈i (1927)……………………………...82 II. 2: The leather pouch that contained the samples of soil that were given to every legionary at the November 8, 1927ceremony...……………………….90 II. 3: The first group of legionaries saluting the leaders in 1927...………………..91 II. 4: Page from the legionary journal 3ământul Strămoоesc which described in enthusiastic terms the Nazi congress from Nürnberg, August 1928..……..92 IV.1: Outline of the site of the legionary work camp on Rarău Mountain done by the local police (1934)………………………………………………………….154 IV.2: Group of legionaries in the Rarău work camp (1934)………………………156 IV.3: Students marching on the streets of Târgu Mure܈ in legionary uniforms (1936)……………………………………………………………………………166 IV. 4: Students doing the legionary salute in front of the Orthodox Cathedral from Târgu Mure܈ (1936)……………………………………………………………167 IV. 5: Female legionaries from CernăX܊i at the student congress in Târgu Mure܈ (April 1936)...……………………………………………………………………174 V. 1: The Legionary group of volunteers for the Spanish Civil War in a group photo, before departure (November 1936)…………………………………..185