Roland Clark - Romania's Legion of Archangel Michael.pdf

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EUROPEAN FASCISTS AND LOCAL ACTIVISTS:
ROMANIA’S LEGION OF THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL (1922-1938)
by
Roland Clark
BA (Hons), University of Sydney, 2002
MA, University of Pittsburgh, 2007
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of
the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy
University of Pittsburgh
2012
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
This dissertation was presented
by
Roland Clark
It was defended on
February 27, 2012
and approved by
William Chase, Professor, Department of History, University of Pittsburgh
Árpád von Klimó, DAAD Visiting Professor, Department of History, University of Pittsburgh
John Markoff, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Pittsburgh
Lara Putnam, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Pittsburgh
Dissertation Advisor: Irina Livezeanu, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of
Pittsburgh
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Copyright © by Roland Clark
2012
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EUROPEAN FASCISTS AND LOCAL ACTIVISTS:
ROMANIA’S LEGION OF THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL (1922-1938)
Roland Clark, PhD
University of Pittsburgh, 2012
In interwar Europe, “fascism” referred to a diffuse collection of independent movements and
regimes that used similar symbols, gestures, and activities to pioneer a distinctive style of
politics. The Legion of the Archangel Michael, also known as the Iron Guard, was one of the
largest fascist social movements in interwar Europe. This dissertation examines how rank and
file Legionaries experienced and articulated their political affiliations as members of the Legion,
and more broadly as part of a global fascist network. Official repression, fascist aesthetics, and
the demands of Legionary activism meant that becoming a Legionary involved far more than
giving intellectual assent to a clearly articulated set of ideas. It changed activists’ everyday
activities and life trajectories in profound ways.
From the late nineteenth century onwards, Romanian ultra-nationalists organized to
eliminate Jews, Freemasons, Communists, and political corruption from their society. Anti-
Semitic violence increased in the universities in 1922, and extremist students engaged in mob
violence, vandalism, and assassination. Ultra-nationalist activists built connections with racists
abroad, but they based their movement on ways of thinking about Jews and Romanians that
derived from nineteenth century nationalism. In 1927 Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and a small
group followers split with other ultra-nationalists to form the Legion of the Archangel Michael.
Legionaries gradually took over the anti-Semitic student movement by using a combination of
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violence, terrorism, and pious rhetoric. Elections were usually violent affairs for Legionaries,
who flouted the law but also ran work camps, restaurants, and businesses.
Legionaries described the Legion as a school for creating “new men” who would bring
about national rebirth. Creating “new men” meant belonging to a hierarchical organization that
expected total obedience from its members. Legionaries committed time, money and energy to
expanding their movement and risked imprisonment and even death in return. They spoke about
continuing the national struggle of their ancestors, but used uniforms, gestures, and symbols that
identified them as part of a Europe-wide fascist current.
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