Unpublished manuscript, On the Legionary Organization: Mysticism, Massacres, Betrayal, vols. 1 & 2, Romania, 1964
Item
Title
Unpublished manuscript, On the Legionary Organization: Mysticism, Massacres, Betrayal, vols. 1 & 2, Romania, 1964
Despre organizația legionară - Misticism, masacre, trădare vols. 1 & 2, România 1964
Description
This two-volume manuscript, totalling over 800 handwritten A4 pages, can be found in the Documentary Collection of the Archives of the National Council for the Securitate Archives. It was written during the early 1960s by 105 members of the Collective of Cultural and Educational Clubs at Aiud prison. These prisoners had been charged with being associated with the fascist Legion of the Archangel Michael, also known as the Iron Guard. They wrote this book as part of their “re-education” before being released as part of a general amnesty to political prisoners in 1964. A number of memorialists later accused Valeriu Anania, the future Metropolitan of Cluj, Alba, Crişana and Maramureş, of being the primary author of much of the book, but it was clearly a collective effort and a close examination of Anania’s own secret police files suggests that he only wrote small sections of the book. Moreover, almost every page contains rich, hand drawn illustrations by different prisoners, many of whom signed their artworks. Both volumes are bound in leather and engraved with silver, making them look like medieval Bibles.
The book purports to be a history of the Legion from 1919 to 1944, followed by a long epilogue describing prison life and the re-education program at Aiud between 1959 and July 1964. Unlike the stories told by legionaries during the 1930s and 1940s, however, this book is full of salacious gossip. It begins by attacking the leader of the Legion, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (1899-1938), claiming that his ancestors were not Romanian, that his father was a hypocrite, alcoholic, a child abuser, and sexual pervert, and suggesting that Codreanu in turn had inherited these traits, and more. All of Codreanu’s promises and actions were fabricated, the book claimed: “Codreanu was not just a photogenic actor, he was a great director” who “only thought of theatrical solutions” to any given situation. Legionaries spoke frequently about having a divine mission during the 1930s, and the book’s authors did their best to undermine these claims. “Codreanu made God into an ally, dumping all responsibility for his actions on Him”, they wrote. “He became aware of a divine mission and behaved accordingly”. Attacking Ion Dumitrescu-Borşa, one of the most prominent priests involved in the movement, they wrote that “he took a mistress and worked harder to convert glasses of brandy than people who had strayed from the ways of the Church”.
First in 1941 and then again during the late 1950s and early 1960s, some legionaries survived torture and the hardships of prison life by embracing ascetic prayer. Known as “the mystics” by the other prisoners, their spiritual experiences become somewhat legendary and continue to encourage people to see the Legion as a religious movement rather than as a fascist movement to this day. The book has especially harsh words for these mystics, describing their spiritual practices as “holy legionary madness” and calling them “fanatics”. Although it does reflect genuine factionalism amongst legionary prisoners, the book was first and foremost an attempt to force the prisoners to slander those things that they considered most sacred. By accusing themselves of hypocrisy and perversity, the logic went, they could prove that they no longer harboured attachments to fascism and were ready to reintegrate into socialist society.
Related entry:
The book purports to be a history of the Legion from 1919 to 1944, followed by a long epilogue describing prison life and the re-education program at Aiud between 1959 and July 1964. Unlike the stories told by legionaries during the 1930s and 1940s, however, this book is full of salacious gossip. It begins by attacking the leader of the Legion, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (1899-1938), claiming that his ancestors were not Romanian, that his father was a hypocrite, alcoholic, a child abuser, and sexual pervert, and suggesting that Codreanu in turn had inherited these traits, and more. All of Codreanu’s promises and actions were fabricated, the book claimed: “Codreanu was not just a photogenic actor, he was a great director” who “only thought of theatrical solutions” to any given situation. Legionaries spoke frequently about having a divine mission during the 1930s, and the book’s authors did their best to undermine these claims. “Codreanu made God into an ally, dumping all responsibility for his actions on Him”, they wrote. “He became aware of a divine mission and behaved accordingly”. Attacking Ion Dumitrescu-Borşa, one of the most prominent priests involved in the movement, they wrote that “he took a mistress and worked harder to convert glasses of brandy than people who had strayed from the ways of the Church”.
First in 1941 and then again during the late 1950s and early 1960s, some legionaries survived torture and the hardships of prison life by embracing ascetic prayer. Known as “the mystics” by the other prisoners, their spiritual experiences become somewhat legendary and continue to encourage people to see the Legion as a religious movement rather than as a fascist movement to this day. The book has especially harsh words for these mystics, describing their spiritual practices as “holy legionary madness” and calling them “fanatics”. Although it does reflect genuine factionalism amongst legionary prisoners, the book was first and foremost an attempt to force the prisoners to slander those things that they considered most sacred. By accusing themselves of hypocrisy and perversity, the logic went, they could prove that they no longer harboured attachments to fascism and were ready to reintegrate into socialist society.
Related entry:
Acest manuscris în două volume, în total peste 800 de pagini A4 scrise de mână, poate fi găsit în colecția documentară a Arhivelor CNSAS. A fost scris la începutul anilor '60 de 105 membri ai Colectivului de cluburi culturale și educaționale ai închisorii din Aiud. Acești prizonieri fuseseră acuzați că erau asociați cu Legiunea fascistă a Arhanghelului Mihail, cunoscută și sub numele de Garda de Fier. Au scris această carte ca parte a „reeducării” lor înainte de a fi eliberați ca parte a unei amnistii generale pentru deținuții politici în anul 1964. O serie de memorialiști l-au acuzat ulterior pe Valeriu Anania, viitorul mitropolit al Clujului, Albei, Crișanei și Maramureșului, ca fiind autorul principal al multor părți, dar acesta a fost în mod clar un efort colectiv, iar o examinare atentă a propriilor dosare ale lui Anania de la Securitate sugerează că el a scris doar mici secțiuni ale cărții. Mai mult, aproape fiecare pagină conține ilustrații bogate, desenate de diferiți prizonieri, dintre care mulți au semnat lucrările lor. Ambele volume sunt legate în piele și gravate cu argint, făcându-le să arate ca bibliile medievale.
Cartea pretinde a fi o istorie a Legiunii din anul 1919 până în anul 1944, urmată de un lung epilog care descrie viața închisorii și programul de reeducare de la Aiud între anul 1959 și iulie 1964. Spre deosebire de poveștile spuse de legionari în anii '30 și '40, totuși, această carte este plină de bârfe obscene. Încep prin a-l ataca pe liderul Legiunii, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (1899-1938), susținând că strămoșii săi nu erau români, că tatăl său era un ipocrit, alcoolic, abuzator de copii și pervers sexual, și sugerând că, la rândul său, Codreanu moștenise aceste trăsături și multe altele. Toate promisiunile și acțiunile lui Codreanu au fost fabricate, cartea susținea: „Codreanu nu era doar un actor fotogen, era un mare regizor” care „se gândea doar la soluții teatrale” pentru orice situație dată. Legionarii vorbeau frecvent despre o misiune divină în anii '30, iar autorii cărții au făcut tot posibilul pentru a submina aceste afirmații. „Codreanu l-a făcut pe Dumnezeu un aliat, aruncând asupra Lui toată responsabilitatea pentru acțiunile sale”, au scris ei. „A devenit conștient de o misiune divină și s-a comportat în consecință”. Atacându-l pe Ion Dumitrescu-Borșa, unul dintre cei mai proeminenți preoți implicați în mișcare, aceștia au scris că „a luat o amantă și a muncit mai mult pentru a converti paharele de coniac decât oamenii care s-au abătut de la căile Bisericii”.
Mai întâi în 1941 și apoi din nou la sfârșitul anilor '50 și începutul anilor '60, unii legionari au supraviețuit torturii și greutăților vieții în închisoare prin îmbrățișarea rugăciunii ascetice. Cunoscuți ca „misticii” de către ceilalți prizonieri, experiențele lor spirituale devin oarecum legendare și continuă să încurajeze oamenii să vadă Legiunea mai degrabă ca o mișcare religioasă decât ca o mișcare fascistă până în prezent. Cartea are cuvinte deosebit de dure pentru acești mistici, descriind practicile lor spirituale ca „nebunie legionară sfântă” și numindu-i „fanatici”. Deși reflectă un veritabil facţionalism în rândul prizonierilor legionari, cartea a fost în primul rând o încercare de a forța prizonierii să calomnieze acele lucruri pe care le considerau cele mai sacre. Acuzându-se de ipocrizie și perversitate, logica spune, puteau dovedi că nu mai sunt atașați fascismului și că sunt gata să se reintegreze în societatea socialistă.
Pentru rubrici similare, vezi:
Subject
secret police
religion and communism
Creator
Roland Clark
Source
Consiliul Național pentru Studierea Arhivelor Securității (CNSAS)
Publisher
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme No . 677355
Date
1964
Rights
Consiliul Național pentru Studierea Arhivelor Securității (CNSAS)
Format
image
Language
RO
Type
image
Identifier
Consiliul Național pentru Studierea Arhivelor Securității (CNSAS) , D10160, vols 1 & 2
Coverage
20th Century
Romania
Romania
Bibliographic Citation
Roland Clark, "Unpublished manuscript, On the Legionary Organization: Mysticism, Massacres, Betrayal, vols. 1 & 2, Romania, 1964", http://hiddengalleries.eu/digitalarchive/admin/item/490
Date Created
January 2021
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