My thoughts

After finishing the Holy Legionary Youth: Fascist Activism in Interwar Romania I started this one. Both of them were added on my “to read” list at the same time, since they cover the same period of time and issues.

The book is filled with quotes showcasing the evolution of the Iron Guard and far-right movement in Romania. The quotes sometimes go on for pages because the author wanted to give the reader enough context to understand the point he was making.

It dives deep into details, trying to explain the 1930s in Romania with additional reference points.

You learn about newspapers spreading misinformation, the elite youth becoming involved in the far-right movement, violence that takes places on the daily as part of the Iron Guard way of being, youth camps, political struggles, horrific murders, executions, and more.

The likes of Mircea Eliade, Constantin Noica, and Emil Cioran, actively wrote texts in those publications, placing the far-right movement and its leader on a pedestal. While Cioran republished “Schimbarea la față a României” to remove any elements related to his past, Eliade never did anything to publicly apologize for his views.

Below are some article samples that appeared in those newspapers. They are in Romanian since the book is in my native language. You can do a quick online translation - it will be close enough to get an idea of the level of craziness.

Cioran

Înainte de Corneliu Codreanu, România era o Sahară populată. Cei aflaţi între cer şi pămînt n-aveau nici un conţinut, decît aşteptarea. Cineva trebuia să vină.

Pe un plan absolut, dacă ar trebui să aleg între România şi Căpitan, n-aş fi ezitat o clipă. După moartea lui ne-am simţit fiecare mai singuri… Cu excepţia lui Iisus, nici un mort n-a fost mai prezent între vii…

Some of the texts written by Noica are close to being delirious.

Nu ţi-e îngăduit să te îndoieşti. Crede în învierea României legendare. Crede din toată tinereţea ta, din tot ce nu s-a împlinit împrejurul ţării. Alte vremuri pot fi împăcate şi resemnate.

Legiunea n-a voit să facă altă Românie. Ea a voit să fie altă Românie. Cine nu simte aceasta nu înţelege nici de ce a murit Moţa şi nici de ce dăruirea cea mare a Căpitanului era unul din felurile sale de a birui şi de a face neamul românesc să biruiască… Nu vedeţi că e vorba de România duhului, înainte de celelalte de România duhului?

It feels shameless. Especially coming from someone who was highly educated.

Multiple threads are followed throughout the book, and the ones mentioned above are just a fraction of all the connections put together by Z. Ornea.

It’s a must read if you’re interested in this period of time and the far-right movement in Romania, how it started, what fueled it, and what actually happened.