Legionary Death Teams

Legionary Death Teams, also known as Iron Guard death squads ("death team" or "death squads" is a translation from Echipa morţii), so devoted that they took oaths together that they would be ready to die for the movement.

First Formation

The first Legionary death team was formed in May of 1933 and was made up of the following members: Father Ion Dumitrescu, Nicolae Constantinescu, Sterie Ciumetti, Petru Tocu, Constantin Savin, Bulhac, Constantin Popescu, Rusu Cristofor, Adochitei, Iovin, Traian Clime, Iosif Bozantan, Gogu Serafim, Isac Mihai, Professor Papuc, Radoiu. Codreanu described why it was formed in his book For My Legionaries, asserting that "...in the face of these obstacles, blows, intrigues and persecutions, assaulting us from every direction, having this terrible feeling of aloneness, having nowhere to turn, we opposed all this with a firm determination to die. 'The death team' is the expression of these inner feelings of the legionary youth throughout the whole country, to receive death; its determination to go forward, through death."

This team traveled throughout Romania as representatives of the Legionary Movement and the members were willing to take any blows they received without striking back. They were determined to do everything within the limits of what was legal. Unfortunately, their enemies were not. Corrupt and cruel policemen beat them harshly several times during their travels even though the team was not doing anything illegal; just traveling and singing, not even making speeches.

Later "Death Teams"

There were multiple groups of Legionaries after the first "death team" that were similar to the first one. It is arguable that only the first "death team" was actually a true death team at all, since no other group bore that name. However, there are three notable groups of Legionaries who assassinated some major enemy of the Legion that are referred to by anti-Legionary propaganda as "death squads". These three, along with the deceitful propaganda that is spread around concerning them, need to be noted. The groups were the following:

• In 1933, the government of I.G. Duca had banned the Legion to keep it from participating in elections, arrested 18000 Legionaries, and tortured and murdered several others. On December 29-30 of that year, the Legionaries Nicolae Constantinescu, Doro Belimace and Ion Caranica (who are often referred to as the Nicadori) assassinated Duca for revenge.

[caption id="attachment_8923" align="aligncenter" width="411"] Nicadori: Doru Belimace, Nicolae Constantinescu and Ion Caranica[/caption]

• In 1934, Mihail Stelescu, a member of the Legion, was investigated by top Legionaries and discovered to have had planned to betray the Legion and create his own group and was therefore expelled. Stelescu then created the group in 1935, calling it Cruciada Romanismuliu (“The Crusade of Romanianism”), and slandered Codreanu in its newspaper. There is also evidence that Stelescu was plotting to assassinate Codreanu and that, after contacting top political figures, he received government support for this plan. In this situation, ten Legionaries later called the Decemviri (“The Ten Men” - so called because they numbered ten men, like their Ancient Roman equivalents. Ion Caratănase led the squad; its other members were Iosif Bozântan, Ştefan Curcă, Ion Pele, Grigore Ion State, Ion Atanasiu, Gavrilă Bogdan, Radu Vlad, Ştefan Georgescu and Ion Trandafir) shot him.

[caption id="attachment_8925" align="aligncenter" width="627"] Decemvirii[/caption]

• It has been claimed by anti-Legionary propaganda that the Decemviri cut Stelescu's body to pieces and danced around until the police arrived. None of these propaganda claims have any substantial evidence to back them. It has also been claimed that because Codreanu awarded the Decimviri personally when visiting them in prison, he must have known about their decisions beforehand despite claiming otherwise publicly. This only shows a lack of logical thought, since it is clear that it is most likely that he did not know anything but was happy with their decision after it was done.

[caption id="attachment_8924" align="aligncenter" width="646"] Mihail Stelescu, to the right of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu. PHOTO www.miscarea-legionara.net[/caption]

• In November of 1938, Armand Calinescu had the military police illegally murder Codreanu (who was earlier that year imprisoned to 10 years at unfair and biased trials under unproven charges), the Nicadori and the Decemviri. On September 21, 1939 nine Legionaries referred to as the Rasbunatorii (“The Avengers”) assassinated Calinescu. After they turned themselves in, they were tortured and executed without trial. These nine men were: Miti Dumitrescu, Cezar Popescu, Traian Popescu, Nelu Moldoveanu, Ion Ionescu, Ion Vasiliu, Marin Stanciulescu, Isaia Ovidiu and Gheorghe Paraschivescu.

[caption id="attachment_8926" align="aligncenter" width="444"] Codreanu's lawyer Miti Dimitrescu - He led the Prahova legionary team who shot Armand Calinescu[/caption]

Finally, it needs to be noted that the three preceding "death squads" are actually not even death teams at all, because they chose to assassinate their enemies. The purpose of the Legionary death team was to receive death and not to give death. Anti-Legionary propaganda claims that Codreanu intended that the Legionaries were to both accept death and kill their enemies. Such claims are blatant lies, since the Legionary Movement was meant to be a completely legal and non-violent movement, despite the fact that unusual circumstances later changed this (the Legion's enemies ruthlessly and cruelly persecuted them).

Death, only a Legionnaire's death
Is our dearest wedding of weddings,
For the Holy Cross, for the country
We defeat forests and conquer mountains;
No prison can frighten us,
Nor any torture, or enemy storm;
If we all fall, hit in the forehead,
Death for the Captain is dear to us!

Main Sources

[caption id="attachment_8927" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The Decemviri and Nicadori, along with Codreanu, were exhumed and given a lavish burial service in November 1940.[/caption]