The ''Lăncieri'' ("

Lancer A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by India, Egypt, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

s", ) were a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

movement initially attached to the

National-Christian Defense League The National-Christian Defense League (, LANC) was a far-right political party of Romania formed by A. C. Cuza. Origins The LANC had its roots in the National Christian Union, formed in 1922 by Cuza and the famed physiologist Nicolae Paulescu. ...

, and following the merger on 16 July 1935 of the NCDL and the National Agrarian Party to form the

National Christian Party The National Christian Party () was a far-right authoritarian and strongly antisemitic political party in Romania active between 1935 and 1938. It was formed by a merger of Octavian Goga's National Agrarian Party and A. C. Cuza's National-Chr ...

, the ''Lăncieri'' became associated with the merged party. Members of the group adopted a blue shirt uniform and contributed to the country's political street battles in the 1920s and 1930s, and were noted in the 1920s for their attacks on that party's main target, the

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s, as well as general disruption of university life.''Background and Precursors to the Holocaust'', p. 26 Following the merger that formed the National Christian Party, the ''Lăncieri'' continued their wild ways, rivalling the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...

(with whom they frequently clashed) in their violence and mayhem. Between 1935 and 1937, the ''Lăncieri'' carried out more terrorist actions and pogroms throughout Romania than the Iron Guard. The 1937 general election campaign in particular was marred by clashes between the two fascist groups and not even the intervention of

Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...

could unite the warring factions. Clashes between the two groups would continue, although the Lăncieri owed much of their organisation to the Iron Guard and indeed their continuing existence was as much an attempt to attract interest away from that group.F. Veiga, ''Istoria Gărzii de Fier, 1919-1941: Mistica ultranaţionalismului'', Humanitas, Bucharest, 1993, pp. 245-247

References

External links

'Background and Precursors to the Holocaust'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancieri Fascism in Romania Paramilitary organizations based in Romania Political organizations based in Romania Fascist organizations