Misplaced Pages

#674325

153-525: Iron Guard defeated [REDACTED] Romania Supported by: [REDACTED]   Germany [REDACTED] Iron Guard Supported by: [REDACTED]   Germany Between 21 and 23 January 1941, a rebellion of the Iron Guard paramilitary organization, whose members were known as Legionnaires, occurred in Bucharest , Romania . As their privileges were being gradually removed by

306-526: A corporatist system of "National Councils" of experts, selected from professionals and tradespeople, elected to represent and hold legislative power over their respective areas, including labour, industry, transportation, public health, and communications, among others; and abolition of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy . The Fascist Manifesto supported the creation of an eight-hour work day for all workers,

459-590: A holistic -national radical Third Way ", while Walter Laqueur sees the core tenets of fascism as "self-evident: nationalism; social Darwinism ; racialism, the need for leadership, a new aristocracy, and obedience; and the negation of the ideals of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution." Historian Emilio Gentile has defined fascism thusly: [A] modern political phenomenon, revolutionary , anti-liberal , and anti-Marxist , organized in

612-460: A minimum wage , worker representation in industrial management, equal confidence in labour unions as in industrial executives and public servants, reorganization of the transportation sector, revision of the draft law on invalidity insurance, reduction of the retirement age from 65 to 55, a strong progressive tax on capital, confiscation of the property of religious institutions and abolishment of bishoprics, and revision of military contracts to allow

765-465: A "proletarian nation" that needed to pursue imperialism in order to challenge the " plutocratic " French and British. Corradini's views were part of a wider set of perceptions within the right-wing Italian Nationalist Association (ANI), which claimed that Italy's economic backwardness was caused by corruption in its political class, liberalism, and division caused by "ignoble socialism". The ANI held ties and influence among conservatives , Catholics, and

918-542: A 'police state' and suppressed the media, as a forerunner of fascism. According to David Thomson , the Italian Risorgimento of 1871 led to the 'nemesis of fascism'. William L Shirer sees a continuity from the views of Fichte and Hegel , through Bismarck , to Hitler; Robert Gerwarth speaks of a 'direct line' from Bismarck to Hitler. Julian Dierkes sees fascism as a 'particularly violent form of imperialism '. Marcus Garvey , founder and leader of

1071-672: A citizen and rose to the position of Archbishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church in America and Canada , but he was stripped of his citizenship in 1982 and left the US rather than be deported. National Legionary State On 27 September 1940, Romania withdrew from the Balkan Pact . On 8 October, Nazi German troops began crossing into Romania, and soon numbered over 500,000. On 23 November, Romania formally joined

1224-601: A constant struggle in which only the strongest would survive. Futurism was both an artistic-cultural movement and initially a political movement in Italy led by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti who founded the Manifesto of Futurism (1908), that championed the causes of modernism, action, and political violence as necessary elements of politics while denouncing liberalism and parliamentary politics. Marinetti rejected conventional democracy based on majority rule and egalitarianism, for

1377-447: A critical part in economic production for the war effort and thus arose a "military citizenship" in which all citizens were involved to the military in some manner during the war. World War I had resulted in the rise of a powerful state capable of mobilizing millions of people to serve on the front lines or provide economic production and logistics to support those on the front lines, as well as having unprecedented authority to intervene in

1530-759: A defining characteristic of those ideologies. They refer to the combination of populism, authoritarianism and ultranationalism as "a marriage of convenience". Robert Paxton says: [Fascism is] a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion. Roger Eatwell defines fascism as "an ideology that strives to forge social rebirth based on

1683-517: A demonized " Other ", such as Jews , homosexuals , transgender people , ethnic minorities , or immigrants . These ideas have motivated fascist regimes to commit massacres , forced sterilizations , deportations , and genocides . During World War II , the genocidal and imperialist ambitions of the fascist Axis powers resulted in the murder of millions of people. Since the end of World War II in 1945, fascism has been largely disgraced, and few parties have openly described themselves as fascist ;

SECTION 10

#1732773157675

1836-653: A few hours before the rebellion. Minister Vasile Iasinschi gave the order to set the Jewish neighborhoods on fire, and mobs stormed Jewish homes, synagogues and other institutions. The Legionnaires' headquarters became torture centers, and Jews kidnapped from their homes were brought to them. Jews' homes were set on fire and the Jews themselves were concentrated in places where they could be tortured to take their property and Jewish women were raped. Jews were murdered at random, but also in planned executions. Some Jews were thrown from

1989-576: A few months to life in prison. Between 1938 and June 1941, Romania produced over 5,000 ZB vz. 30 light machine guns. This accounts for an average monthly production of over 120 machine guns, meaning that around 500 were produced by the National Legionary State during its 4 months of existence. Between 1938 and May 1941, Romania produced 102 Rheinmetall 37 mm anti-aircraft guns. This accounts for an average monthly production of 2.5 pieces, meaning that around 10 were produced by

2142-462: A free hand. During this time the Legionnaires published announcements claiming that the Jews had revolted. During the days of the rebellion, the Legionnaires' newspapers (the only ones active during this time) engaged in vicious propaganda against the Jews. At the end of the articles would appear the motto "You know whom to shoot". The Bucharest pogrom was not a side effect of the rebellion, but

2295-579: A game of chess. The Legionnaires, on the other hand, wanted to rob as much as possible, as quickly as possible, utilizing methods based not in law but in terror, murder and torture. The Legionnaires had an additional quarrel with the German minority in Romania . According to the laws of Romanianization, Jews were forced to sell many of their businesses, a fact used by many Romanians to purchase those businesses for close to nothing. The German minority introduced

2448-605: A letter to Antonescu in this sense on 16 October, but the latter rejected the idea. Relations between Antonescu and the Guard reached breaking point after the Jilava Massacre. Despite the mounting tension, the two parties achieved a truce for the moment, which allowed a Legionary to keep the post of Bucharest Police Chief but provided for the public condemnation of the Jilava murders. Several antisemitic decrees were enacted by

2601-511: A level of competition by offering the Jews a better price than the one offered by the Legionnaires (on average, about one-fifth of the real worth). The local Germans had capital received as a loan from Germany, Romanian money paid to the Germans for keeping military units in their territory (to protect them from the Soviets). Antonescu demanded that the Legionnaires cease their terror tactics, and

2754-540: A military prosecutor to investigate the events at the slaughterhouse, he reported that he recognized three of his acquaintances among the "professionally tortured" bodies (lawyer Millo Beiler and the Rauch brothers). He added, "The bodies of the dead were hanged on the hooks used by slaughterers. The American minister to Romania, Franklin Mott Gunther , toured the meat-packing plant where the Jews were slaughtered with

2907-399: A militia party with a totalitarian conception of politics and the state, an activist and anti-theoretical ideology, with a mythical, virilistic and anti-hedonistic foundation, sacralized as a secular religion, which affirms the absolute primacy of the nation, understood as an ethnically homogeneous organic community, hierarchically organized in a corporate state , with a bellicose vocation to

3060-494: A mythos of national rebirth from decadence. Fascism was founded during World War I by Italian national syndicalists who drew upon both left-wing organizational tactics and right-wing political views. Italian fascism gravitated to the right in the early 1920s. A major element of fascist ideology that has been deemed to be far right is its stated goal to promote the right of a supposedly superior people to dominate, while purging society of supposedly inferior elements. In

3213-509: A new form of democracy, promoting what he described in his work "The Futurist Conception of Democracy" as the following: "We are therefore able to give the directions to create and to dismantle to numbers, to quantity, to the mass, for with us number, quantity and mass will never be—as they are in Germany and Russia—the number, quantity and mass of mediocre men, incapable and indecisive." Futurism influenced fascism in its emphasis on recognizing

SECTION 20

#1732773157675

3366-645: A new version of Tsar Nicholas II . After World War I, fascists commonly campaigned on anti-Marxist agendas. Liberal opponents of both fascism and the Bolsheviks argue that there are various similarities between the two, including that they believed in the necessity of a vanguard leadership, showed contempt for bourgeois values, and had totalitarian ambitions. In practice, both have commonly emphasized revolutionary action, proletarian nation theories, one-party states, and party-armies; however, both draw clear distinctions from each other both in aims and tactics, with

3519-589: A numerical sum of atomized individuals. They condemned the rationalistic, liberal individualism of society and the dissolution of social links in bourgeois society. The fin-de-siècle outlook was influenced by various intellectual developments, including Darwinian biology, Gesamtkunstwerk , Arthur de Gobineau 's racialism, Gustave Le Bon 's psychology , and the philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche , Fyodor Dostoyevsky , and Henri Bergson . Social Darwinism , which gained widespread acceptance, made no distinction between physical and social life, and viewed

3672-488: A parallel event, purposefully organized to give legitimacy to the rebellion and to equate the Legionnaires' opponents with Jewish sympathizers. Many parties took part in the riots against the Jews: police officers loyal to the Legionnaires, various Legionnaire organizations, the workers' union, student union, high-school students, Roma and Sinti, and criminals. The attacks on the two Jewish boroughs ( Dudești and Văcărești ) began

3825-621: A pogrom against the Jews of Bucharest. Within four days, Antonescu had successfully suppressed the coup, and the Iron Guard was forced out of the government. Horia Sima and many other Legionnaires took refuge in Nazi Germany , while others were imprisoned. Antonescu formally abolished the National Legionary State on 14 February 1941. The Iron Guard first formed an alliance with the Romanian Government in early 1938, when

3978-669: A pro-interventionist fascio called the Revolutionary Fasces of International Action in October 1914. Benito Mussolini upon being expelled from his position as chief editor of the PSI's newspaper Avanti! for his anti-German stance, joined the interventionist cause in a separate fascio . The term "fascism" was first used in 1915 by members of Mussolini's movement, the Fasces of Revolutionary Action. The first meeting of

4131-450: A series of "lectures" throughout Romania, designed to demonstrate the national socialist nature of their movement and to show their loyalty to Hitler. Antonescu took measures to curb the actions of the Legionnaires, and on 19 January issued an order canceling the position of Romanization commissars: well-paying jobs, held by Legionnaires. Additionally, he fired the persons responsible for terror acts committed by Legionnaires, from Minister of

4284-606: A small armored force of two armored police cars and two Malaxa UE armored tracked carriers. For transport, in Bucharest alone, the Legion also possessed almost 200 trucks. On 14 February 1941, the National Legionary State was formally abolished. Over 9,000 people implicated in the Legionary Rebellion were subsequently arrested, of which almost 2,000 (1,842, to be exact) were sentenced to various terms, ranging from

4437-608: A system; many of them contradict each other, and are also typical of other kinds of despotism or fanaticism. But it is enough that one of them be present to allow fascism to coagulate around it." Historian John Lukacs argues that there is no such thing as generic fascism. He claims that Nazism and communism are essentially manifestations of populism , and that states such as Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy are more different from each other than they are similar. In his book How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them (2018), Jason Stanley defined fascism thusly: [A] cult of

4590-510: A ten-year trade agreement was signed between Romania and Germany, providing for the "economic reconstruction" of Romania. On 27 September 1940, Romania withdrew from the Balkan Pact . That same day, a trade agreement was signed with one of the Pact members, Turkey . On 19 December, another trade agreement was signed between Romania and Yugoslavia , another member of the Balkan Pact. During

4743-608: A unique chapter in the history of Fascism in Europe. The Guard had been the only radical movement of the Right in Europe to come to power without the assistance of Germany or Italy, and the only one to be toppled during Nazi Germany's domination of continental Europe." The National Legionary State ushered in Romania's Axis membership, first de facto by welcoming the German Army into the country, and soon afterwards, de jure through

Legionnaires' rebellion and Bucharest pogrom - Misplaced Pages Continue

4896-471: A war, and the regime's position weakened significantly. The government scapegoated the Jews, with the support of the press: Confronted with an extremely serious crisis and doubting their regime could survive, Romanian government officials turned the Jews into a political "lightning rod", channeling popular discontent toward the minority. Notable in this report is the reaction of the Romanian press, whose rage

5049-411: A well made glove fits a beautiful hand." The fusion of Maurrassian nationalism and Sorelian syndicalism influenced radical Italian nationalist Enrico Corradini . Corradini spoke of the need for a nationalist-syndicalist movement, led by elitist aristocrats and anti-democrats who shared a revolutionary syndicalist commitment to direct action and a willingness to fight. Corradini spoke of Italy as being

5202-633: A year. The entrance of German troops in Romania was not an invasion, however, as it occurred with Antonescu's approval. The first German troops arrived in Romanian on 10 October, partly as a response to Antonescu's request for military assistance, in addition to their main goal of defending the Romanian oil fields. Romania subsequently joined the Tripartite Pact and the Anti-Comintern Pact on 23 November and 25 November, respectively. Despite this tightening of relations with Germany,

5355-454: Is "a radical variant of fascism"—on the political right by explaining: "The more a person deems absolute equality among all people to be a desirable condition, the further left he or she will be on the ideological spectrum. The more a person considers inequality to be unavoidable or even desirable, the further to the right he or she will be." Fascism's origins are complex and include many seemingly contradictory viewpoints, ultimately centered on

5508-514: Is a far-right , authoritarian , and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy , militarism , forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy , subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race , and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to anarchism , democracy , pluralism , egalitarianism , liberalism , socialism , and Marxism , fascism

5661-417: Is at the far right of the traditional left–right spectrum . Fascism rose to prominence in early-20th-century Europe. The first fascist movements emerged in Italy during World War I , before spreading to other European countries , most notably Germany . Fascism also had adherents outside of Europe. Fascists saw World War I as a revolution that brought massive changes to the nature of war, society,

5814-476: Is better seen as an elitist ideology. They cite in particular its exaltation of the Leader, the race, and the state, rather than the people. They see populism as a "thin-centered ideology" with a "restricted morphology" that necessarily becomes attached to "thick-centered" ideologies such as fascism, liberalism, or socialism. Thus populism can be found as an aspect of many specific ideologies, without necessarily being

5967-419: Is dead" because of the "decomposition of Marxism". Sorel became a supporter of reactionary Maurrassian nationalism beginning in 1909 that influenced his works. Maurras held interest in merging his nationalist ideals with Sorelian syndicalism , known as Sorelianism , as a means to confront democracy. Maurras stated that "a socialism liberated from the democratic and cosmopolitan element fits nationalism well as

6120-609: Is more aristocratic than democracy." By 1909, after the failure of a syndicalist general strike in France, Sorel and his supporters left the radical left and went to the radical right, where they sought to merge militant Catholicism and French patriotism with their views—advocating anti-republican Christian French patriots as ideal revolutionaries. Initially, Sorel had officially been a revisionist of Marxism, but by 1910 announced his abandonment of socialist literature and claimed in 1914, using an aphorism of Benedetto Croce that "socialism

6273-502: Is resurrected, as he promised, according to the Gospel. He is resurrected, rising from the grave to present to us Romania itself, buried by this sinful age.". A young Emil Cioran in his twenties strongly endorsed Codreanu's cult: "With the exception of Jesus , no other dead being has been so present among the living. Has anybody even thought about forgetting him? This dead man spread a perfume of eternity over our human dung and brought back

Legionnaires' rebellion and Bucharest pogrom - Misplaced Pages Continue

6426-571: The fin-de-siècle generation. Bergson's claim of the existence of an élan vital , or vital instinct, centred upon free choice and rejected the processes of materialism and determinism; this challenged Marxism. In his work The Ruling Class (1896), Gaetano Mosca developed the theory that claims that in all societies an "organized minority" would dominate and rule over an "disorganized majority", stating that there are only two classes in society, "the governing" (the organized minority) and "the governed" (the disorganized majority). He claims that

6579-495: The Conducător Ion Antonescu , the Legionnaires revolted. During the rebellion and subsequent pogrom , the Iron Guard killed 125 Jews, and 30 soldiers died in the confrontation with the rebels. Following this, the Iron Guard movement was banned and 9,000 of its members were imprisoned. Following World War I Romania gained many new territories, thus becoming " Greater Romania ". However, the international recognition of

6732-499: The 2020–2022 United States racial unrest , have substantiated his concern about how fascist rhetoric is showing up in politics and policies around the world. Roger Griffin describes fascism as "a genus of political ideology whose mythic core in its various permutations is a palingenetic form of populist ultranationalism ." Without palingenetic ultranationalism, there is no "genuine fascism" according to Griffin. Griffin further describes fascism as having three core components: "(i)

6885-525: The Axis powers. On 27 November, 64 former dignitaries or officials were executed by the Iron Guard in Jilava Prison while awaiting trial (see Jilava Massacre ). Later that day, historian and former prime minister Nicolae Iorga and economist Virgil Madgearu , a former government minister, were assassinated. On 1 December, another Iron Guard rally took place at Alba Iulia to celebrate 22 years since

7038-473: The Axis powers . On 27 November, 64 former dignitaries or officials were executed by the Iron Guard in the Jilava Massacre . The already harsh anti-Semitic legislation was expanded, included the expropriation of Jewish-owned rural property on 4 October, followed by forests on 17 November, and finally by river transport on 4 December. On 20 January 1941, the Iron Guard attempted a coup, combined with

7191-457: The Cold War and shifts in fascist organizing techniques, a number of scholars have moved toward the minimalist 'new consensus' refined by Roger Griffin: 'the mythic core' of fascism is 'a populist form of palingenetic ultranationalism .' That means that fascism is an ideology that draws on old, ancient, and even arcane myths of racial, cultural, ethnic, and national origins to develop a plan for

7344-745: The Latin word fasces . This was the name given to political organizations in Italy known as fasci , groups similar to guilds or syndicates . According to Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini 's own account, the Fasces of Revolutionary Action were founded in Italy in 1915. In 1919, Mussolini founded the Italian Fasces of Combat in Milan, which became the National Fascist Party two years later. The fascists came to associate

7497-460: The Malaxa factory. The Malaxa factory had been license-producing these French armored vehicles since mid-1939, and aside from the two such machines, the factory also supplied the Legion with machine guns and rifles. For transport, the Legion possessed almost 200 trucks in Bucharest alone. On 20 January 1941, a German officer (Major Döhring, an aviator) was killed in Bucharest by a Greek citizen in

7650-608: The Spirit of 1914 manifested itself in the concept of the People's League of National Socialism. This National Socialism was a form of state socialism that rejected the "idea of boundless freedom" and promoted an economy that would serve the whole of Germany under the leadership of the state. This National Socialism was opposed to capitalism because of the components that were against "the national interest" of Germany but insisted that National Socialism would strive for greater efficiency in

7803-539: The Union of Transylvania with Romania . Antonescu again attended, and gave a speech. After the National Legionary State was proclaimed in 14 September, the Legion became the ruling party but had to share executive power with the Army . The new Legionary regime had a ritual basis based on the cult of the Guard's dead leader (Codreanu) and other Legionary martyrs. Exhumation, public burial and rehabilitation of Legionary "martyrs"

SECTION 50

#1732773157675

7956-509: The Universal Negro Improvement Association , insisted that he and his organisation "were the first fascists". In 1938, C. L. R. James wrote "all the things that Hitler was to do so well later, Marcus Garvey was doing in 1920 and 1921". The historian Zeev Sternhell has traced the ideological roots of fascism back to the 1880s and in particular to the fin de siècle theme of that time. The theme

8109-646: The University of Wales wrote in 2000 that "fascism" is the "most misused, and over-used word, of our times". Fascist is sometimes applied to post-World War II organizations and ways of thinking that academics more commonly term neo-fascist . Despite fascist movements' history of anti-communism , Communist states have sometimes been referred to as fascist , typically as an insult. It has been applied to Marxist–Leninist regimes in Cuba under Fidel Castro and Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh . Chinese Marxists used

8262-432: The 'new man. ' " Griffin himself explored this 'mythic' or 'eliminable' core of fascism with his concept of post-fascism to explore the continuation of Nazism in the modern era. Additionally, other historians have applied this minimalist core to explore proto-fascist movements. Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser argue that although fascism "flirted with populism ... in an attempt to generate mass support", it

8415-617: The 1920s was sometimes called fascist . Historian Peter Amann states that, "Undeniably, the Klan had some traits in common with European fascism—chauvinism, racism, a mystique of violence, an affirmation of a certain kind of archaic traditionalism—yet their differences were fundamental ... [the KKK] never envisioned a change of political or economic system." Early influences that shaped the ideology of fascism have been dated back to ancient Greece . The political culture of ancient Greece and specifically

8568-423: The 1920s, Mussolini and Giovanni Gentile described their ideology as right-wing in the political essay The Doctrine of Fascism , stating: "We are free to believe that this is the century of authority, a century tending to the 'right,' a fascist century." Mussolini stated that fascism's position on the political spectrum was not a serious issue for fascists: "[F]ascism, sitting on the right, could also have sat on

8721-469: The 20 days preceding the rebellion, the level of antisemitic propaganda greatly increased, using all the tools at the Legionnaires' disposal. The propaganda emphasized the need for solving the "Jewish problem". Horia Sima and his comrades sought the sympathy of the Nazi regime in Germany, and built upon the ideological similarities between their movement and the Nazi movement, and had quite a few supporters within

8874-463: The Bolsheviks emphasizing the need for an organized participatory democracy ( Soviet democracy ) and an egalitarian , internationalist vision for society based on proletarian internationalism , while fascists emphasized hyper-nationalism and open hostility towards democracy, envisioning a hierarchical social structure as essential to their aims. With the antagonism between anti-interventionist Marxists and pro- interventionist fascists complete by

9027-414: The Fasces of Revolutionary Action was held on 24 January 1915 when Mussolini declared that it was necessary for Europe to resolve its national problems—including national borders—of Italy and elsewhere "for the ideals of justice and liberty for which oppressed peoples must acquire the right to belong to those national communities from which they descended." Attempts to hold mass meetings were ineffective and

9180-504: The German minority in Romania (numbering 300,000 after Romania's territorial losses) was not entirely spared the process of Romanianization. While few Germans from Banat and Transylvania were repatriated to the Reich, the number of ethnic Germans from Southern Bukovina and Dobruja who were repatriated amounted to 76,500. The German-Romanian convention which sanctioned these repatriations

9333-568: The Interior Constantin Petrovicescu to the commanders of the Security Police and the Bucharest police. He appointed loyal military men in their place. The military also took control of strategic installations, such as telephone exchanges, police stations and hospitals. The district officers of the Legionnaires were called to the capital for an important economic consultation, but found themselves arrested in

SECTION 60

#1732773157675

9486-575: The Iron Guard attempted a coup, combined with a pogrom against the Jews of Bucharest. On 22 January, at the height of the Rebellion, the Iron Guard carried out the ritual murder of 200 Jews at the Bucharest slaughterhouse, while the Guardists were singing Christian hymns, "an act of ferocity perhaps unique in the history of the Holocaust". Within four days, Antonescu had successfully suppressed

9639-468: The Italian Fasces of Combat ". The Fascist Manifesto was presented on 6 June 1919 in the fascist newspaper Il Popolo d'Italia and supported the creation of universal suffrage , including women's suffrage (the latter being realized only partly in late 1925, with all opposition parties banned or disbanded); proportional representation on a regional basis; government representation through

9792-455: The Legionnaires and their associates. Besides the Jewish issue, the Legionnaires, achieving power after many years of persecution by the former regime of King Carol II (which killed their first leader and founder Corneliu Zelea Codreanu , "the Captain"), were vengeful toward anyone associated with the regime. The disagreement between Antonescu and the Iron Guard about the robbery of the Jews

9945-478: The Legionnaires began plotting to usurp Antonescu and take over sole control of the country. Initially, the Legionnaires began "defaming" Antonescu, mentioning his family relation to Jews (his stepmother and his wife's previous husband were Jews). They also accused him of being linked to Freemasonry . According to Nazi propaganda , the Freemasons were enemies of humanity, second only to Jews in wickedness. In

10098-528: The Ministry of Finance. However, Sima resigned on 7 July, because he was denied a purely Guardist cabinet, while his two colleagues retained their posts. An Iron Guard supporter and ideologue, Nichifor Crainic , became Minister of Propaganda. Following Sima's resignation on 7 July, he was replaced by another Guardist, Radu Budișteanu . The territory of the National Legionary State amounted to roughly 195,000 square km (or just over 75,000 square miles). It had

10251-529: The National Legionary State during its 4 months of existence. Between 1936 and July 1941, Romania produced 100 Vickers 75 mm anti-aircraft guns. This accounts for an average monthly production of 1.5 pieces, meaning that around 6 were produced by the National Legionary State during its 4 months of existence. Between the latter half of 1939 and March 1941, Romania produced 126 Malaxa armored tractors. This accounts for an average monthly production of just over 6 tractors, meaning that around 25 were produced by

10404-492: The National Legionary State during its 4 months of existence. During the National Legionary State, between October and December 1940, 20 IAR 39 light bombers were delivered. Between April 1939 and March 1943, Romania produced 210 Fleet 10G trainers. This accounts for an average monthly production of 4.5 aircraft, meaning that around 17 were produced by the National Legionary State during its 4 months of existence. According to British historian Dennis Deletant : "Thus ended

10557-483: The National Legionary State. Jewish-owned rural property was expropriated on 4 October, followed by forests on 17 November, and finally by river transport on 4 December. On 10 November 1940, the National Legionary State faced a massive earthquake (the strongest one recorded in the 20th century in Romania), which destroyed 65,000 homes. In early October 1940, 15,000 German troops were deployed to Romania to protect

10710-496: The National Legionary regime on 14 September placed Antonescu and Sima on an equal footing. On 28 October, Sima accused Antonescu of violating the decree by allowing democratic parties to function. He asserted that such political diversity was contrary to the principles of a totalitarian state. Sima also wanted to apply Nazi principles to Romania's economy in order to bring all of it under centralized control. He addressed

10863-602: The Nazi establishment. Antonescu, who had the support of Romania's military, met with Adolf Hitler on 14 January 1941, in Germany. During this meeting, he promised Hitler the cooperation of Romania in any future German conflict with the Soviet Union , and gained Hitler's tacit agreement to eliminate his opponents in the Legionnaire Movement. Between 17 and 19 January the Legionnaire movement conducted

11016-470: The Right stands for the maintenance of an economic structure, albeit an unjust one, while the Left stands for the attempt to subvert that economic structure, even though the subversion thereof would entail the destruction of much that was worthwhile." The term fascist has been used as a pejorative , regarding varying movements across the far right of the political spectrum. George Orwell noted in 1944 that

11169-701: The Romanian army's withdrawal from Bessarabia, some local residents celebrated. Attacks on soldiers by locals are also documented. Various reports speak of attacks on the retreating soldiers by Jews—though the veracity of those reports is disputed—and some have been proven to be fabrications. Additionally, although the reports defined all of the celebrators and attackers as "Jews", some were Ukrainians , Russians , pro- Communists , newly released criminals, and ethnic Romanians. These reports, regardless of veracity, did much to incite many Romanians against Jews, strengthening existing antisemitic sentiment. The Romanians were traumatized and frustrated by giving up these areas without

11322-754: The Romanian border, Soviet aircraft made incessant incursions in Romania's air space, and — in January 1941 — Soviet vessels attempted to enter Romanian waters by force. Tensions peaked in January 1941, when the Soviets demanded by ultimatum the control of the Danube Delta. Border clashes ensued near Galați ( Covurlui County ), where the Romanians were mining the Danube, during which between 26 and 100 were killed on both sides. On 20 January 1941,

11475-727: The Soviet Union to take back Bessarabia and northern Bukovina in June 1940, leading to the June 1940 Soviet Ultimatum and Soviet occupation of those regions . In August 1940 Germany and Italy mediated Romanian disputes with Hungary about Transylvania (resulting in the Second Vienna Award ) and with Bulgaria regarding Dobruja (resulting in the Treaty of Craiova ). Large areas of Romania were ceded to Hungary and Bulgaria. During

11628-452: The ancient Greek city state of Sparta under Lycurgus , with its emphasis on militarism and racial purity, were admired by the Nazis. Nazi Führer Adolf Hitler emphasized that Germany should adhere to Hellenic values and culture – particularly that of ancient Sparta. Georges Valois , founder of the first non-Italian fascist party Faisceau , claimed the roots of fascism stemmed from

11781-459: The business community. Italian national syndicalists held a common set of principles: the rejection of bourgeois values, democracy, liberalism, Marxism , internationalism , and pacifism , and the promotion of heroism , vitalism, and violence. The ANI claimed that liberal democracy was no longer compatible with the modern world, and advocated a strong state and imperialism. They believed that humans are naturally predatory, and that nations are in

11934-495: The census was conducted almost two months after the dissolution of the National Legionary State, Romania's borders were the same. King Carol II was forced to abdicate on 6 September 1940, and was replaced by his 19-year-old son, King Michael I . The first act of the new king was to grant General Ion Antonescu unlimited power as Conducător (leader) of Romania, relegating himself to a ceremonial role. A decree of 8 September further defined Antonescu's powers. To maintain his grip at

12087-463: The chaos spread—worrying even Hitler, who was interested in Romania as an ally—the horrific picture of the pogrom became clear. As stories spread, the military's fury against the Legionnaires grew (the Legionnaires had assaulted captured soldiers, stripped them of their uniforms, and even burned several of them). When Antonescu thought the moment was most appropriate, he gave the order to crush the rebellion. The military, led by Gen. Ilie Șteflea , quelled

12240-500: The coup. The Iron Guard was forced out of the government. Sima and many other legionnaires took refuge in Germany, while others were imprisoned. Antonescu abolished the National Legionary State, in its stead declaring Romania a "National and Social State." The suppression of the Rebellion also provided some data on the military equipment used by the Iron Guard, amounting to 5,000 firearms (revolvers, rifles and machine guns) and numerous grenades in Bucharest alone. The Legion also possessed

12393-608: The death of Codreanu, served as Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Education. The Iron Guard was brought into the Ion Gigurtu 's cabinet , which took power on 4 July 1940, after the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina . Three Guardists were appointed to the new government: Vasile Noveanu as Minister of Public Wealth, Sima as Minister of Religion and Arts, and Augustin Bideanu as Undersecretary of State at

12546-427: The democratic mystification of the popular will that created an impersonal collective subject. He claimed that a powerful monarch was a personified sovereign who could exercise authority to unite a nation's people. Maurras' integral nationalism was idealized by fascists, but modified into a modernized revolutionary form that was devoid of Maurras' monarchism. French revolutionary syndicalist Georges Sorel promoted

12699-483: The development of fascism. Leon Trotsky would later formulate a theory of fascism based on a dialectical interpretation of events to analyze the manifestation of Italian fascism and the early emergence of Nazi Germany from 1930 to 1933. In 1917, Mussolini, as leader of the Fasces of Revolutionary Action , praised the October Revolution, but later he became unimpressed with Lenin, regarding him as merely

12852-492: The economy and advance the interests of workers and the common people. The "fascist right" included members of the paramilitary Blackshirts and former members of the Italian Nationalist Association (ANI). The Blackshirts wanted to establish fascism as a complete dictatorship, while the former ANI members, including Alfredo Rocco , sought to institute an authoritarian corporatist state to replace

13005-405: The economy. Plenge advocated an authoritarian rational ruling elite to develop National Socialism through a hierarchical technocratic state. Fascists viewed World War I as bringing revolutionary changes in the nature of war, society, the state and technology, as the advent of total war and mass mobilization had broken down the distinction between civilian and combatant, as civilians had become

13158-701: The employ of Allied intelligence. This murder remains unsolved, but it was the spark that lit the Legionnaire Rebellion. Antonescu had replaced the commanders of the Security Police and the Bucharest police, but their subordinates, who received their orders from Horia Sima, refused to allow the new commanders to take their place. Armed Legionnaires captured the ministry of the interior, police stations and other government and municipal buildings, and opened fire on soldiers trying to regain these buildings. Antonescu's public addresses, intended to calm

13311-546: The end of the war, the two sides became irreconcilable. The fascists presented themselves as anti-communists and as especially opposed to the Marxists . In 1919, Mussolini consolidated control over the fascist movement, known as Sansepolcrismo , with the founding of the Italian Fasces of Combat . In 1919, Alceste De Ambris and futurist movement leader Filippo Tommaso Marinetti created " The Manifesto of

13464-564: The establishment of the National Legionary State government, set in motion the laws of Romanianization , which deprived Jewish people of their property and distributed it among supporters of the new regime. This created an atmosphere in which antisemitism was seen as legitimate, and even sanctioned. Politically, control was in the hands of the Conducător Ion Antonescu , heading the antisemitic fascist coalition government, together with Horia Sima . The latter commanded

13617-456: The far-right. Historian Stanley G. Payne 's definition is frequently cited as standard by notable scholars , such as Roger Griffin , Randall Schweller , Bo Rothstein , Federico Finchelstein , and Stephen D. Shenfield , His definition of fascism focuses on three concepts: Umberto Eco lists fourteen "features that are typical of what [he] would like to call 'Ur-Fascism', or 'Eternal Fascism'. These features cannot be organized into

13770-579: The fifty Romanian counties. The Guard was awarded four portfolios: Interior, Education, Foreign Affairs, and Cults. In addition, most of the permanent secretaries and directors in the ministries were also Guardists. As the dominant political force, the Guard also controlled the press and propaganda services. On 6 October 1940, Antonescu attended an Iron Guard rally dressed in Legionary uniform. On 8 October, German troops began crossing into Romania, and soon numbered over 500,000. On 23 November Romania joined

13923-548: The formal union with these territories came with the condition of granting civil rights to ethnic minorities in those regions. The new territories, especially Bessarabia and Bukovina , included large numbers of Jews, whose presence stood out because of their distinctive clothing, customs, and language. Intellectuals together with a wide array of political parties and the clergy led an antisemitic campaign; many of these eventually came to cast their political lot with Nazi Germany . The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (August 1939) allowed

14076-670: The helm of the country, while at the same time conceding the leading role to the Iron Guard, Antonescu had King Michael proclaim Romania a National Legionary State on 14 September. The Legionary Movement/Iron Guard became the "only movement recognized in the new state", making Romania a totalitarian country. Antonescu became the legion's honorary leader, with Sima becoming Deputy Prime Minister. Five other Guardists became ministers, among them Prince Mihai Sturza (Minister of Foreign Affairs) and General Constantin Petrovicescu (Minister of Interior). Legionary Prefects were appointed in all of

14229-467: The human condition as being an unceasing struggle to achieve the survival of the fittest . It challenged positivism's claim of deliberate and rational choice as the determining behaviour of humans, with social Darwinism focusing on heredity, race, and environment. Its emphasis on biogroup identity and the role of organic relations within societies fostered the legitimacy and appeal of nationalism. New theories of social and political psychology also rejected

14382-420: The ideal German society as a Volksgemeinschaft , a racially unified and hierarchically organized body in which the interests of individuals would be strictly subordinate to those of the nation, or Volk." Kershaw noted that common factors of fascism included "the 'cleansing' of all those deemed not to belong—foreigners, ethnic minorities, 'undesirables ' " and belief in its own nation's superiority, even if it

14535-402: The last days of the National Legionary State, on 10 and 12 February, Britain and Belgium severed relations with Romania. Border skirmishes with the Soviet Union spanned across the duration of the National Legionary State. In the autumn of 1940, the Soviets occupied several Romanian islands in the Danube Delta. Frontier incidents occurred on a daily basis. Soviet troops were concentrated on

14688-474: The late 18th century Jacobin movement, seeing in its totalitarian nature a foreshadowing of the fascist state. Historian George Mosse similarly analyzed fascism as an inheritor of the mass ideology and civil religion of the French Revolution , as well as a result of the brutalization of societies in 1914–1918. Historians such as Irene Collins and Howard C Payne see Napoleon III , who ran

14841-477: The leader who promises national restoration in the face of humiliation brought on by supposed communists, Marxists and minorities and immigrants who are supposedly posing a threat to the character and the history of a nation ... The leader proposes that only he can solve it and all of his political opponents are enemies or traitors. Stanley says recent global events as of 2020 , including the COVID-19 pandemic and

14994-473: The left. The accommodation of the political right into the Italian Fascist movement in the early 1920s created internal factions within the movement. The "fascist left" included Michele Bianchi , Giuseppe Bottai , Angelo Oliviero Olivetti , Sergio Panunzio , and Edmondo Rossoni , who were committed to advancing national syndicalism as a replacement for parliamentary liberalism in order to modernize

15147-446: The legitimacy of political violence in his work Reflections on Violence (1908) and other works in which he advocated radical syndicalist action to achieve a revolution to overthrow capitalism and the bourgeoisie through a general strike . In Reflections on Violence , Sorel emphasized need for a revolutionary political religion . Also in his work The Illusions of Progress , Sorel denounced democracy as reactionary, saying "nothing

15300-475: The liberal state in Italy while retaining the existing elites. Upon accommodating the political right, there arose a group of monarchist fascists who sought to use fascism to create an absolute monarchy under King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy . A number of post-World War II fascist movements described themselves as a Third Position outside the traditional political spectrum. Falange Española de las JONS leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera said: "[B]asically

15453-432: The lives of citizens. Fascism rejects the view that violence is inherently negative or pointless but rather views imperialism , political violence , and war as means to national rejuvenation. Fascists often advocate for the establishment of a totalitarian one-party state , and for a dirigiste economy (a market economy in which the state plays a strong directive role through economic interventionist policies), with

15606-549: The lives of citizens. Fascists viewed technological developments of weaponry and the state's total mobilization of its population in the war as symbolizing the beginning of a new era fusing state power with mass politics , technology and particularly the mobilizing myth that they contended had triumphed over the myth of progress and the era of liberalism. The October Revolution of 1917, in which Bolshevik communists led by Vladimir Lenin seized power in Russia, greatly influenced

15759-435: The local slaughterhouse, where they were shot. Five of the Jews, including a five-year-old girl, were hung on the slaughterhouse's hooks, still alive. They were tortured, their bellies cut and their entrails hung around their necks in a parody of shehita , kosher slaughter of cattle. The bodies were labeled "kosher". The slaughterhouse was closed for a week to purge and clean the house of the results. When Antonescu appointed

15912-429: The main street of the village, interrogating anyone who tried to enter it. In Piatra Neamț , 600 Legionnaires gathered to support Sima, but they were peacefully dispersed by the intervention of local police. Nevertheless, a small group of legionnaires later vandalized Jewish homes in the town. In Buzău , legionnaires gathered at the police station, but they were surrounded by soldiers and trapped inside. In Târgu Frumos ,

16065-400: The mayor deployed groups of teenage legionnaires by train to Iași on 20 January. He soon resigned, however, when situation deteriorated on the evening of 21 January. By far the most active spot of the legionnaire rebellion outside Bucharest was Brașov . Better organized than in other places outside the capital, the legionnaires occupied the gendarmerie, the council chambers, municipal offices,

16218-411: The middle of the meeting. As a paramilitary force, the Iron Guard had no shortage of firearms while it was in power. At the start of 1941, in Bucharest alone, the Legionnaires had 5,000 guns (rifles, revolvers and machine guns) as well as numerous hand grenades. The Legion also possessed a small, mostly symbolic armored force of four vehicles: two police armored cars and two Renault UE Chenillettes from

16371-446: The minister of the interior who was deposed by Antonescu. Legionnaire women took part in the pogrom; all survivors noted their involvement in the torture, and some of the worst acts of abuse were at their hands. According to the witnesses, Legionnaire women stripped Jewish men and hit their genitalia. On 23 January, a few hours before the rebellion was quelled, a group of Legionnaires selected 15 Jews at random. They took them in trucks to

16524-525: The mountain of the center. ... These words in any case do not have a fixed and unchanged meaning: they do have a variable subject to location, time and spirit. We don't give a damn about these empty terminologies and we despise those who are terrorized by these words." Major Italian groups politically on the right, especially rich landowners and big business, feared an uprising by groups on the left, such as sharecroppers and labour unions. They welcomed fascism and supported its violent suppression of opponents on

16677-447: The movement continued even without them, although it was set back for a while, as the atrocities of the Bucharest pogrom gradually became known to the Romanian public. A few months later those atrocities paled in severity compared to those of the Iași pogrom , initiated at the orders of Antonescu. One leader of the pogrom, Valerian Trifa , became a cleric and emigrated to the US, where he became

16830-504: The nation from decadence. Kershaw argues that the difference between fascism and other forms of right-wing authoritarianism in the interwar period is that the latter generally aimed "to conserve the existing social order", whereas fascism was "revolutionary", seeking to change society and obtain "total commitment" from the population. In Against the Fascist Creep , Alexander Reid Ross writes regarding Griffin's view: "Following

16983-441: The notion of human behaviour being governed by rational choice and instead claimed that emotion was more influential in political issues than reason. Nietzsche's argument that "God is dead" coincided with his attack on the " herd mentality " of Christianity , democracy , and modern collectivism , his concept of the Übermensch , and his advocacy of the will to power as a primordial instinct, were major influences upon many of

17136-476: The oil refineries at Ploiești , which were essential for the German war effort. This unilateral German action, carried out without consulting Benito Mussolini ( Hitler 's Axis ally and leader of Fascist Italy ), prompted the latter to launch an invasion of Greece . The ensuing Greco-Italian War resulted in a military blunder, as the Greeks counter-attacked and occupied parts of Italian-ruled Albania for half

17289-490: The organization was regularly harassed by government authorities and socialists. Similar political ideas arose in Germany after the outbreak of the war. German sociologist Johann Plenge spoke of the rise of a "National Socialism" in Germany within what he termed the "ideas of 1914" that were a declaration of war against the "ideas of 1789" (the French Revolution). According to Plenge, the "ideas of 1789"—such as

17442-420: The organized nature of the organized minority makes it irresistible to any individual of the disorganized majority. French nationalist and reactionary monarchist Charles Maurras influenced fascism. Maurras promoted what he called integral nationalism , which called for the organic unity of a nation, and insisted that a powerful monarch was an ideal leader of a nation. Maurras distrusted what he considered

17595-517: The outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the Italian political left became severely split over its position on the war. The Italian Socialist Party (PSI) opposed the war but a number of Italian revolutionary syndicalists supported war against Germany and Austria-Hungary on the grounds that their reactionary regimes had to be defeated to ensure the success of socialism. Angelo Oliviero Olivetti formed

17748-475: The paramilitary Legionnaire militia known as the Iron Guard (originally called "The Legion of the Archangel Michael", hence the name "Legionnaires"). There was a great deal of tension between the two leaders due to Iron Guard seizures of Jewish property. Antonescu thought the robbery was done in a fashion detrimental to the Romanian economy, and the stolen property did not benefit the government, only

17901-402: The placards reading "Kosher meat" on them reported back to Washington: "Sixty Jewish corpses were discovered on the hooks used for carcasses. They were all skinned....and the quantity of blood about was evidence that they had been skinned alive". Gunther wrote he was especially shocked that one of the Jewish victims hanging on the meat hooks was a 5-year-old girl, writing that the cruelty displayed

18054-409: The placement of national interests above those of the individual. Fascist regimes often advocate for the overthrow of institutions that they view as "liberal decay" while simultaneously promoting traditional values. They believe in the supremacy of certain peoples and use it to justify the persecution of other groups. Fascist leaders often maintain a cult of personality and seek to generate enthusiasm for

18207-452: The pogrom 125 Bucharest Jews were murdered: 120 bodies were eventually counted, and five never found. Other Jews, not from the Bucharest community, who happened to be in Bucharest at the time may have also been killed. The Legionnaires ignited the Jewish synagogues and danced around the flames, roaring with joy. To accomplish their mission they used a fuel tanker, sprayed the walls of Kahal Grande (the great Sephardic synagogue) and lit it. It

18360-406: The politics of greatness, power, and conquest aimed at creating a new order and a new civilization. Historian and cultural critic Ruth Ben-Ghiat has described fascism as "the original phase of authoritarianism, along with early communism, when a population has undergone huge dislocations or they perceive that there's been changes in society that are very rapid, too rapid for their taste". Racism

18513-560: The principal goal of achieving autarky (national economic self-sufficiency). Fascism's extreme authoritarianism and nationalism centres around the own group, but that can manifest as a belief in Manifest Destiny , revival of historical greatness (like Mussolini seeking to restore the Roman Empire) or in case of Nazism, racial purity or a master race which blended with some variant of racism or discrimination against

18666-508: The public, were not published or broadcast, as the media was under Legionnaire control. The Legionnaires called the people to rise up against the Freemasons and the Jews (hinting at Antonescu's relations). The people who were possible targets for assassination by the Legionnaires were held, for their own protection, at the ministry of the interior. The Legionnaires' leaders, headed by Horia Sima, went underground. The Legionnaires held mass drafts at neighboring villages, and masses of peasants flooded

18819-450: The rebellion in a matter of hours with little difficulty. The Legionnaires could not defend themselves against the military's superior firepower. As soldiers stormed their strongholds, the Legionnaires fled. During the skirmishes 30 soldiers were killed and 100 were wounded. The number of legionnaires killed during the rebellion was approximately 200, although in later years Horia Sima would claim there had been 800 legionnaire casualties. After

18972-475: The rebellion was suppressed Antonescu addressed the public on the radio, telling them "the truth", but never mentioning the pogrom. He asked the German garrison, which had sat idly by throughout the rebellion, to show their support. German troops were sent marching through the streets of Bucharest, ending in front of the Prime Minister's building, where they cheered Antonescu. After the Legionnaires' fall

19125-491: The rebirth myth, (ii) populist ultra-nationalism, and (iii) the myth of decadence." In Griffin's view, fascism is "a genuinely revolutionary, trans-class form of anti-liberal, and in the last analysis, anti-conservative nationalism" built on a complex range of theoretical and cultural influences. He distinguishes an inter-war period in which it manifested itself in elite-led but populist "armed party" politics opposing socialism and liberalism, and promising radical politics to rescue

19278-456: The regime by rallying massive crowds. This contrasts with authoritarian governments, which also centralize power and suppress dissent, but want their subjects to remain passive and demobilized. Scholars place fascism on the far right of the political spectrum . Such scholarship focuses on its social conservatism and its authoritarian means of opposing egalitarianism . Roderick Stackelberg places fascism—including Nazism , which he says

19431-428: The rights of man, democracy, individualism and liberalism—were being rejected in favor of "the ideas of 1914" that included "German values" of duty, discipline, law and order. Plenge believed that racial solidarity ( Volksgemeinschaft ) would replace class division and that "racial comrades" would unite to create a socialist society in the struggle of "proletarian" Germany against "capitalist" Britain. He believed that

19584-535: The same territory as modern day Romania, with the exception of Northern Transylvania , which had been ceded to Hungary in the aftermath of the Second Vienna Award . It also possessed several islands in the Danube Delta , as well as Snake Island in the Black Sea . These have been part of Ukraine since 1948. A Romanian census was conducted on 6 April 1941 and recorded a population of 13,535,757. Though

19737-643: The signing of the Tripartite and Anti-Comintern Pacts. It also did away with most of Romania's traditional political class during the Jilava massacre before being suppressed itself in January 1941, then formally abolished in February. Footage of several historically valuable speeches survives from the National Legionary State era, such as a joint speech by Antonescu and Sima and the funeral of the Guard's founder, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu. Fascism Fascism ( / ˈ f æ ʃ ɪ z əm / FASH -iz-əm )

19890-494: The sky over Romania." Soon after Codreanu's reburial, however, the Legion committed the Massacre , killing over 60 former dignitaries. The Legion thus achieved its goals: the old order collapsed under its blows and all of the Legion's enemies were punished. The reburial of Codreanu's body took place on 30 November, in attendance was Antonescu, Sima, von Schirach , Bohle and 100,000 Iron Guardists. The decree which established

20043-454: The state, and technology. The advent of total war and the mass mobilization of society erased the distinction between civilians and combatants. A military citizenship arose, in which all citizens were involved with the military in some manner. The war resulted in the rise of a powerful state capable of mobilizing millions of people to serve on the front lines, providing logistics to support them, and having unprecedented authority to intervene in

20196-423: The streets of Bucharest, answering the call to defend the country against the Jews and Freemasons. The Legionnaires took over gas stations and tankers , and used burning oil cans as weapons against the soldiers. Only 15 loyal officers remained with Antonescu in his palace. For two days the Romanian military defended itself and tried to besiege the Legionnaires' strongholds, but did not initiate attacks and gave them

20349-537: The symbol of Falangism is five arrows joined by a yoke. Historian Ian Kershaw once wrote that "trying to define 'fascism' is like trying to nail jelly to the wall." Each group described as "fascist" has at least some unique elements, and frequently definitions of "fascism" have been criticized as either too broad or too narrow. According to many scholars, fascists—especially when they're in power—have historically attacked communism, conservatism, and parliamentary liberalism, attracting support primarily from

20502-460: The term had been used to denigrate diverse positions "in internal politics". Orwell said that while fascism is "a political and economic system" that was inconvenient to define, " as used , the word 'Fascism' is almost entirely meaningless. ... almost any English person would accept 'bully' as a synonym for 'Fascist ' ", and in 1946 wrote that " 'Fascism' has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies something not desirable." Richard Griffiths of

20655-459: The term is often used pejoratively by political opponents. The descriptions neo-fascist or post-fascist are sometimes applied to contemporary parties with ideologies similar to, or rooted in, 20th-century fascist movements. Some opposition groups have adopted the label anti-fascist (often shortened to antifa ) to signify their stance. The Italian term fascismo is derived from fascio , meaning 'bundle of sticks', ultimately from

20808-658: The term to denounce the Soviet Union during the Sino-Soviet split , and the Soviets used the term to denounce Chinese Marxists, in addition to social democracy , coining a new term in social fascism . In the United States, Herbert Matthews of The New York Times asked in 1946: "Should we now place Stalinist Russia in the same category as Hitlerite Germany? Should we say that she is Fascist?" J. Edgar Hoover , longtime FBI director and ardent anti-communist, wrote extensively of red fascism . The Ku Klux Klan in

20961-412: The term with the ancient Roman fasces or fascio littorio , a bundle of rods tied around an axe, an ancient Roman symbol of the authority of the civic magistrate , carried by his lictors . The symbolism of the fasces suggested strength through unity: a single rod is easily broken, while the bundle is difficult to break. Similar symbols were developed by different fascist movements; for example,

21114-478: The then- Prime Minister Octavian Goga concluded an agreement with the leader of the Iron Guard, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu on 8 February 1938 for limited cooperation. However, this political arrangement displeased the King Carol II , who dismissed Goga on 11 February and replaced him with Patriarch Miron Cristea . Between 28 June and 4 July 1940 Horia Sima , the nominal leader of the Iron Guard after

21267-465: The top floors of the police headquarters building, and others killed in the slaughterhouse. Soldiers did not take part in the pogrom, nor did police officers loyal to Antonescu. Those officers were forced to surrender their weapons and uniforms, and were put under arrest. Besides extorting the Jews for their hidden property, sadistic youth (including teenagers) took part in the torture, for their own pleasure. It continued for hours and even days and nights,

21420-400: The torturers taking turns. Jews were robbed of any possessions on their person, and sometimes even their clothes. They were made to turn over property hidden elsewhere, private or communal, and were often shot afterwards, as happened to the community's treasurer. Some Jews were coerced into writing suicide notes before being killed. The persecutors were headed by Mircea Petrovicescu, the son of

21573-400: The treasury, the post office and telephone exchange, the radio station, as well as other gendarmerie posts in nearby villages. Five armed legionnaires seized a bus and held its passengers hostage for several hours. During the days of the rebellion, Antonescu avoided direct confrontation with the Legionnaires but brought military units, including 100 tanks , into Bucharest from other cities. As

21726-406: The trend reversed, and those who had joined them fled. The press stopped supporting the Legionnaires, but remained antisemitic and nationalistic. Some of the Legionnaires' leaders, including Horia Sima , fled to Germany. Around 9,000 members of the Legionnaires' movement were sentenced to prison. The Legionnaires who led the antisemitic movement in Romania had fallen and never regained power. However,

21879-413: The virile nature of violent action and war as being necessities of modern civilization. Marinetti promoted the need of physical training of young men saying that, in male education, gymnastics should take precedence over books. He advocated segregation of the genders because womanly sensibility must not enter men's education, which he claimed must be "lively, bellicose, muscular and violently dynamic." At

22032-579: Was a key feature of German fascism, for which the Holocaust was a high priority. According to The Historiography of Genocide , "In dealing with the Holocaust, it is the consensus of historians that Nazi Germany targeted Jews as a race, not as a religious group." Several historians, such as Umberto Eco, Kevin Passmore, and Moyra Grant, stress racism as a characteristic component of German fascism. Historian Robert Soucy stated that "Hitler envisioned

22185-437: Was based on a revolt against materialism , rationalism , positivism , bourgeois society, and democracy . The fin-de-siècle generation supported emotionalism , irrationalism , subjectivism , and vitalism . They regarded civilization as being in crisis, requiring a massive and total solution. Their intellectual school considered the individual as only one part of the larger collectivity, which should not be viewed as

22338-541: Was completely burnt. In the various synagogues the Legionnaires robbed the worshipers, abused them, took all their valuables and tore up the holy scriptures and ancient documents. They destroyed everything, even the lavatories. During the riots 1,274 businesses, shops, workshops and homes were badly damaged or destroyed. After the suppression of the rebellion, the army took the Legionnaires' loot in 200 trucks (not including money and jewelry). Some synagogues were partly saved. The large Choral Temple (Heichal Hakorali) synagogue

22491-419: Was directed more toward Jews than the Soviets, the real aggressors. Given that the Romanian press was censored in 1940, the government must have played a role in creating this bias. A typical form of anticipatory scapegoating was to let Jewish leaders know that the Romanian authorities might launch acts of repression against the Jews. The antisemitic legislation that began with the " Jewish Codex " in Romania, and

22644-611: Was not about the robbery itself but about the method, and the final destination of the stolen property. Antonescu held that the robbery should be done by way of expropriation, gradually, through an orderly process of passing antisemitic laws. ... the Legionnaires wanted everything, and they wanted it immediately; Antonescu, while sharing the same goal, intended to achieve it gradually, using different methods. The leader stated this clearly in an address to Legion-appointed ministers: "Do you really think that we can replace all Yids immediately? Government challenges are addressed one by one, like in

22797-557: Was not biological racism like in Nazism. Fascist philosophies vary by application, but remain distinct by one theoretical commonality: all traditionally fall into the far-right sector of any political spectrum , catalyzed by afflicted class identities over conventional social inequities. According to the Council on Foreign Relations , many experts see fascism as a mass political movement centered around extreme nationalism, militarism, and

22950-406: Was retrospectively regarded by Sima as the most important task justifying the Legion's accession to power. The exhumation of Codreanu's remains and subsequent reburial (21-23 November) reaffirmed Condreanu's charisma as the foundation of Legionary ideology. On the day of Codreanu's reburial, the main Legionary newspaper, Cuvântul ( The Word ), wrote: "It is the day of the Captain's resurrection. He

23103-528: Was saved from burning completely, because the Legionnaires did not bring enough fuel. In the large synagogue was a Christian, Lucreţia Canjia. She begged the rioters not to burn the synagogue, reminding them of their Christian teachings. The synagogue was saved. In Turda , Buhuși and Ploiești , hundreds of legionnaires marched down the streets while singing Legionary songs, but they eventually dispersed quietly. Two gangs of unarmed legionnaires in Vrata patrolled

23256-412: Was signed on 22 October 1940. According to the convention, the Romanian state received the real estate previously possessed by the repatriated Germans in exchange for paying compensation to the Reich. The newly-acquired property (lands and houses) would be used by the Romanian state to accommodate ethnic Romanian refugees from Bulgaria , displaced in the aftermath of the Treaty of Craiova . On 4 December,

23409-413: Was unbelievable. Of the slaughterhouse episode, Romanian author Virgil Gheorghiu later wrote: In the big hall of the slaughterhouse, where cattle are hanged up in order to be cut, were now human naked corpses . . . On some of the corpses was the inscription "kosher". There were Jewish corpses. … My soul was stained. I was ashamed of myself. Ashamed being Romanian, like criminals of the Iron Guard. During

#674325