Work Camps, Commerce, and the Education of the 'New Man' in the Romanian Legionary Movement

In: Historical Journal , 51 (4) 943 - 967. (2008)

Abstract

This article explores two aspects of the Romanian legionary movement's organization in the 1930s, namely work camps and commerce. These are placed in the context of the Legion's attempts to construct a 'parallel society' that challenged the hegemony of the state and the dominant class of Romanian politicians and Jewish capitalists. The Legion's work camps and commercial ventures played a crucial educational role within the movement. The work camps were regarded as 'schools' in which the legionary 'New Man' was to be created and nurtured. Through its commercial ventures, the Legion aimed to educate a new generation of 'Christian' entrepreneurs to win back the economic position which the Romanians had allegedly lost to Jewish traders. This new elite would thus replace the decadent Romanian political and commercial classes which the Legion regarded as devoid of national awareness. The success of the Legion's 'parallel society' provoked government counter-measures which culminated in the murder of the movement's leader, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, in 1938, and the fragmentation of the Legion. The article draws upon hitherto unused Romanian archival sources, as well as legionary memoirs and articles.