Post by Jon Do on Jan 11, 2015 19:56:35 GMT -5
“Its culture: the fruit of its life, the product of its own efforts in thought and art. This culture is not international. It is the expression of the national genius, of the blood. The culture is international in its brilliance but national in origin. Someone made a fine comparison: bread and wheat may be internationally consumed, but they always bear the imprint of the soil from which they came.”
― Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
St. Corneliu Zelea Codreanu born Corneliu Zelinski (September 13, 1899 - November 30, 1938) was a Romanian Nationalist and founder of the Legion of Michael the Archangel, an organization also called the Iron Guard (Garda de Fier). Codreanu was a dedicated fighter for the Romanian nation as well as a devout Christian. He had begun his battle against the Jewish-Communist menace as a member of the Guard of National Conscience and later as a member of Cuza's National Christian Defense League. Finally, he broke from Cuza's party in 1927 and formed the Legion of Michael the Archangel, which quickly attracted many young nationalists. The Legion immediately developed a revolutionary doctrine centered around Christian spirituality, national affection, sacrifice, hierarchy, and personal responsibility in order to eradicate political corruption and purify the nation. Enduring heavy persecution in the years in which the Legion grew in popularity, Corneliu Codreanu was eventually imprisoned and murdered in 1938 by the dictatorship of King Carol II. After his death, the Legionary Movement, still dedicated to his teachings, would establish the National Legionary State as well as continue its battles against its enemies beyond the end of World War II.
The ancestry of Ion Zelea Codreanu (father of Corneliu Codreanu) has often been disputed due to the fact that his initial name, Zelinski, appears to be Polish or Ukrainian. This is sometimes used as anti-Legionary propaganda, which claims that thus Codreanu was not a true Romanian. However, as it has been indicated by Lisette Gheorghiu, Bukovina was under Polish control during the Austrian occupation of Romania in the XVIII century, and thus Romanian names were often transformed by school or army authorities into Polish-sounding names. This is how the Codreanu family, which was genuinely Romanian, had its original name changed from Zelea to Zelinski.
It is known that the maternal grandfather of Codreanu was a Bavarian who migrated to Romania in the XIX century, as other Bavarians did at that time. However, even if it were true that Ion Codreanu were of Polish or Ukrainian ancestry, as his wife (mother of Corneliu) was partly of Bavarian ancestry, it is evident from Corneliu Codreanu's book For My Legionaries, as well as from other sources, that both Ion Codreanu and Corneliu Codreanu considered themselves Romanian, they were absolutely Romanian in the cultural and linguistic sense, they grew on Romanian soil, certainly both had an amount of Romanian blood, and they were loyal to Romania, as they both fought at the Romanian side during the Great War (1914-1918).
After graduating from the high school at Husi in 1919, Corneliu Codreanu was accepted into the University of Iasi, thus leaving Husi for Iasi. He had already read many works by professors Nicolae Iorga and A.C. Cuza, which taught him the ideals for Romania: "1.The unification of Romanian people. 2.The elevation of peasantry through land reform and political rights. 3. The solution of the Jewish problem." After arriving to Iasi, Codreanu found that the city and university was heavily influenced by Communist agitators and that even many professors were Marxists. The Romanian workers were experiencing terrible working conditions and had very low wages, so they had been drawn to Communism by Marxist propagandists. Students at the University of Iasi were also largely converted to Communism, and Communist student meetings often attacked the Army, the administration of Justice, the Orthodox Church, the Royal Crown, and other traditional institutions, essentially propagating anti-Romanianism in their call for a "revolution of the proletariat".
After doing some research, Codreanu discovered that the leaders of the Romanian Communist workers were neither Romanians nor workers. At Iasi, the so called "workers' movement" was led by Doctor Ghelerter, along with agitators such as Gheler, Spiegler and Schreiber. At the capital, Bucharest, the leaders were Ana Pauker and Ilie Moscovici. Codreanu found that all of them, without exception, were Jews. Perceiving that the revolutionary events in Romania were following a very similar pattern to what was happening in Russia since February-March 1917 (abdication of the Czar Nicolai II Romanov), and since October-November 1917, where a largely Jewish-led Bolshevik revolution had overthrown the moderate regime of President Kerensky (and shortly later had destroyed the Mensheviks and other revolutionary parties that opposed the Bolsheviks), Codreanu realised that Romania was in danger of being taken over by Jewish Communists who would destroy everything Romanian. He commented:The ancestry of Ion Zelea Codreanu (father of Corneliu Codreanu) has often been disputed due to the fact that his initial name, Zelinski, appears to be Polish or Ukrainian. This is sometimes used as anti-Legionary propaganda, which claims that thus Codreanu was not a true Romanian. However, as it has been indicated by Lisette Gheorghiu, Bukovina was under Polish control during the Austrian occupation of Romania in the XVIII century, and thus Romanian names were often transformed by school or army authorities into Polish-sounding names. This is how the Codreanu family, which was genuinely Romanian, had its original name changed from Zelea to Zelinski.
It is known that the maternal grandfather of Codreanu was a Bavarian who migrated to Romania in the XIX century, as other Bavarians did at that time. However, even if it were true that Ion Codreanu were of Polish or Ukrainian ancestry, as his wife (mother of Corneliu) was partly of Bavarian ancestry, it is evident from Corneliu Codreanu's book For My Legionaries, as well as from other sources, that both Ion Codreanu and Corneliu Codreanu considered themselves Romanian, they were absolutely Romanian in the cultural and linguistic sense, they grew on Romanian soil, certainly both had an amount of Romanian blood, and they were loyal to Romania, as they both fought at the Romanian side during the Great War (1914-1918).
After graduating from the high school at Husi in 1919, Corneliu Codreanu was accepted into the University of Iasi, thus leaving Husi for Iasi. He had already read many works by professors Nicolae Iorga and A.C. Cuza, which taught him the ideals for Romania: "1.The unification of Romanian people. 2.The elevation of peasantry through land reform and political rights. 3. The solution of the Jewish problem." After arriving to Iasi, Codreanu found that the city and university was heavily influenced by Communist agitators and that even many professors were Marxists. The Romanian workers were experiencing terrible working conditions and had very low wages, so they had been drawn to Communism by Marxist propagandists. Students at the University of Iasi were also largely converted to Communism, and Communist student meetings often attacked the Army, the administration of Justice, the Orthodox Church, the Royal Crown, and other traditional institutions, essentially propagating anti-Romanianism in their call for a "revolution of the proletariat".
"If these had been victorious, should we have had at least a Romania led by a Romanian workers' regime? Would the Romanian workers have become masters of the country? No! The next day we should have become the slaves of the dirtiest tyranny: the Talmudic, Jewish tyranny. Greater Romania, after less than a second of existence, would have collapsed."
In December 1922 the studies of Codreanu in Germany were suddenly halted, because a nationwide anti-Jewish Nationalist movement had exploded in Romania provoked mainly by students, and Codreanu felt that he had to return to join them at that crucial moment. A general strike was then being made by the students with the purpose of obtaining better conditions in Romanian universities, as well as of limiting the number of Jews in them. While the strike was rampaging, Codreanu, Cuza and a few other comrades decided to hold a rally in Iasi on 3rd March 1923, with the intention of creating a new organisation that they agreed to call "The League of National Christian Defence" (LANC). The idea was to create the League at the time when thousands of students would be meeting at the rally. Codreanu later explained the meaning of symbols and colours in the Banner of the League: "The cloth of the flag was black, as a sign of mourning, in the center there was a round white spot, signifying our hopes surrounded by the darkness that they will have to conquer, in the center of the white spot there was a swastika, which is the symbol of anti-Semitic struggle throughout the world, and all round the banner there was a band of the Romanian Tricolour Flag, red, yellow and blue"
The Swastika is also known as Fylfot or Gammadion, an ancient Aryan symbol cherished in Brahmanic India as full of religious significance. It is probable that the choice by Codreanu of the Swastika in the Banner of the League had been inspired by the prominent use of this ancient symbol by the German NSDAP of Adolf Hitler, organisation with which Codreanu had been in contact during his stay in Germany.
"From this Legionary school a new man will have to emerge, a man with heroic qualities, a giant of our history to do battle and win over all the enemies of our Fatherland, his battle and victory having to extend even beyond the material world into the realm of invisible enemies, the powers of evil. Everything that our mind can imagine more beautiful spiritually, everything the proudest that our race can produce, greater, more just, more powerful, wiser, purer, more diligent and more heroic, this is what the Legionary school must give us! A man in whom all the possibilities of human grandeur that are implanted by God in the blood of our people be developed to the maximum. This hero, the product of Legionary education, will also know how to elaborate programmes, he will also know how to solve the Jewish problem, will also know how to organise the state well, will also know how to convince the other Romanians, and if not, he will know how to win, for that is why he is a hero. This hero, this Legionary of bravery, labour and justice, with the powers that God implanted in his soul, will lead our Fatherland on the road of its glory"
The Legion, because it needed a strong structure of organisation, was designed as a hierarchical system. The basic unit of the Legion was called a nest, numbering from simply three to thirteen members. At each level of the Legion, from the nest to town, city, county and regional sections, up to the top leader known as Capitanul ("The Captain", title of the leadership rank that Codreanu attained), the leaders were not chosen by election but by bravery and skill. The movement would be opposed to the republican system, which as Codreanu observed did not really represent the will of the people, and replace it with a new form of government in which a leader would be selected rather than elected, and would not be able to do what he personally wishes, but only what is the best course of action for the nation.
All members of the Legion were educated in Christian virtues and in love of their nation, and were taught to be disciplined and disinterested of personal safety when engaged in battle. The Legionaries marched and sang national songs together, along with volunteering to help impoverished lower class Romanians (especially peasants) in building, repairing houses, assisting in farming, and other areas of work. The nests of the Legion were to be self-sufficient, not reliant on buying materials for survival.
Codreanu and other nationalist Romanians had witnessed for many years the Romanian people suffering at the hands of the Capitalists which were largely Jews only interested in profit, having no sympathy for Romanians. The peasants were extremely poor, in some areas even to the point of starving, and barely surviving by borrowing money at interest rates from Jewish money-lenders. Jew-owned companies were chopping down forests at alarming rates, destroying the source of livelihood for certain groups of peasants, such as the Moti. Jewish speculators were buying up land and malnutrition was widespread, making the situation seem grim for the Romanian people
The Legionary Movement grew, spreading across all Romania and determined to change the situation of the country by finally banishing the Jews, who usually had little sympathy for "Gentiles" (non-Jews, a term derived from the Hebraic word "Goyim", translatable as "animals in human form". Orthodox Jews consider other races of Homo sapiens as different species). Through charity and volunteer work, the Legionaries revealed that they were not another corrupt party interested in power and money. By 1929, in order to progress further, the Legionaries were forced to create a political branch of the Legion to run for elections. This organisation was called Garda de Fier ("Iron Guard"), which is the name by which the Legionary Movement would later be commonly called.
Throughout the early 1930s Iron Guard members marched through villages, wearing the green-coloured uniform with a white cross sewn on the shirt at the left side (on the heart). Codreanu and other top ranking Legionaries often made public speeches, sometimes torch marches at night, calling for the regeneration of Romania and the expulsion of the Jews. But influential Jews and established political parties were determined to stop the Iron Guard. In certain areas, Codreanu and other top Legionaries were illegally barred from speaking, and often beaten by policemen as well as Jews, usually without provocation. Unfortunately, they also became involved into clashes with members of the League of National Christian Defence, their former comrades in the organisation of Cuza, now also known as Cuzists. The League viewed the Legion as a threat to its own success. [4]
In 1932, Corneliu Codreanu and his father Ion entered the Romanian National Assembly through elections in Moldavia, as the Iron Guard. In spite of this success, the treatment of Legionaries by the authorities or by opposing organisations worsened as time passed, and nearly all members, including girls, were at some time beaten or humiliated. By 1933, the Liberal Party led by Ion Duca was elected into power, and its insolence went so far as wantonly declaring in public that it would "exterminate" the Iron Guard. The Legion was determined to continue the fight, and in face of the bravado of its foes, it prepared for the worst and became ready to retaliate.
The cabinet of Duca, after having already intimidated, terrorised, tormented, tortured, or even assassinated several Legionaries, went ahead in its defiance and, also in 1932, banned the Legion from participating in elections, leading to the arrest of around 18 000 Legionaries (Codreanu succeeded in hiding). The Legionaries Nicolae Constantinescu, Doro Belimace and Ion Caranica then assassinated Ion Duca in fair revenge, and immediately delivered themselves to the police. Following the assassination of the Head of Government, the tortures and assassinations of Legionaries by the regime of the Liberal Party multiplied
Throughout the early 1930s Iron Guard members marched through villages, wearing the green-coloured uniform with a white cross sewn on the shirt at the left side (on the heart). Codreanu and other top ranking Legionaries often made public speeches, sometimes torch marches at night, calling for the regeneration of Romania and the expulsion of the Jews. But influential Jews and established political parties were determined to stop the Iron Guard. In certain areas, Codreanu and other top Legionaries were illegally barred from speaking, and often beaten by policemen as well as Jews, usually without provocation. Unfortunately, they also became involved into clashes with members of the League of National Christian Defence, their former comrades in the organisation of Cuza, now also known as Cuzists. The League viewed the Legion as a threat to its own success. [4]
In 1932, Corneliu Codreanu and his father Ion entered the Romanian National Assembly through elections in Moldavia, as the Iron Guard. In spite of this success, the treatment of Legionaries by the authorities or by opposing organisations worsened as time passed, and nearly all members, including girls, were at some time beaten or humiliated. By 1933, the Liberal Party led by Ion Duca was elected into power, and its insolence went so far as wantonly declaring in public that it would "exterminate" the Iron Guard. The Legion was determined to continue the fight, and in face of the bravado of its foes, it prepared for the worst and became ready to retaliate.
The cabinet of Duca, after having already intimidated, terrorised, tormented, tortured, or even assassinated several Legionaries, went ahead in its defiance and, also in 1932, banned the Legion from participating in elections, leading to the arrest of around 18 000 Legionaries (Codreanu succeeded in hiding). The Legionaries Nicolae Constantinescu, Doro Belimace and Ion Caranica then assassinated Ion Duca in fair revenge, and immediately delivered themselves to the police. Following the assassination of the Head of Government, the tortures and assassinations of Legionaries by the regime of the Liberal Party multiplied
The famous Italian Traditionalist intellectual Julius Evola, who inspired in a good part the doctrine of the Fascist Movement, was fascinated with Codreanu as well, and wrote of his meeting with Codreanu upon visiting Romania in his article "The Tragedy of the Romanian Iron Guard: Codreanu":
"Through a group of Legionaries who part comes towards us a young, tall, slender man, with an uncommon expression of nobleness, frankness and energy imprinted on his face: azure grey eyes, open forehead, genuine Roman-Aryan type, and mixed with virile traits, something contemplative, mystical in the expression. This is Corneliu Codreanu, the leader and founder of the Romanian 'Iron Guard', the one who is called 'assassin', 'Hitler's henchman', 'anarchist conspirator', by the world press, because since 1919, he has been challenging Israel, and the forces which are more or less in cahoots with it, at work in the Romanian national life"
"Through a group of Legionaries who part comes towards us a young, tall, slender man, with an uncommon expression of nobleness, frankness and energy imprinted on his face: azure grey eyes, open forehead, genuine Roman-Aryan type, and mixed with virile traits, something contemplative, mystical in the expression. This is Corneliu Codreanu, the leader and founder of the Romanian 'Iron Guard', the one who is called 'assassin', 'Hitler's henchman', 'anarchist conspirator', by the world press, because since 1919, he has been challenging Israel, and the forces which are more or less in cahoots with it, at work in the Romanian national life"
^ important listen