''Straja Țării'' (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

- roughly, ''The Sentinel of the Motherland''; also known as ''Străjeria'' - translatable as ''The Sentinel'') was a

youth organization The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for Minor (law), minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted othe ...

in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

, created in 1935 by

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...

to counter the growing influence the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strongly ...

had over the youth of Romania. Its members were known as ''străjeri'' ("sentinels"), and used a form of the

Roman salute The Roman salute, alternatively called the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held ...

as greeting.

Character

The monarch modeled it on the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

, and took inspiration from other

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

groups such as the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Balilla ''Balilla'' was the nickname of Giovanni Battista Perasso (1735–1781), a Genoese boy who started the revolt of 1746 against the Habsburg forces that occupied the city in the War of the Austrian Succession by throwing a stone at an Austrian ...

. This shape became more obvious on December 3, 1938, when ''Straja Țării'' was re-organized along the lines of Carol's personal regime (''see

National Renaissance Front The National Renaissance Front ( ro, Frontul Renașterii Naționale, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romani ...

''), replacing all existing youth movements, including

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

, and became overseer of sports and all other activities. Although the King was often referred to ''Marele Străjer'' ("The Great Sentinel"), the actual leaders of the group were General Teofil Sidorovici and Nisa Cămărășescu. All boys aged 7 to 18 and all girls between 7 and 21 were supposed to join. A body comprising 18- to 21-year-old boys completed ''Straja'', and it was responsible for offering low-level

military education and training Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...

. In 1939 the Straja Țării played a starring role at the "Freude und Arbeit” exhibition which was held in Bucharest under the auspices of Dr. Robert Ley and the "Deutsche Arbeitsfront".The “Freude und Arbeit” exhibition in Bucharest, 1939
/ref> Members were bound by a ''Crez'' ("

Credo In Christian liturgy, the credo (; Latin for "I believe") is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed – or its shorter version, the Apostles' Creed – in the Mass, either as a prayer, a spoken text, or sung as Gregorian chant or other musical setti ...

"), which read:

Disbandment

In the summer of 1940, following the cession of

Northern Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berger ...

and

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

to the

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(''see

Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina The Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina took place from June 28 to July 3, 1940, as a result of an ultimatum by the Soviet Union to Romania on June 26, 1940, that threatened the use of force. Bessarabia had been part of the Ki ...

''), it was employed in an offering help to the many refugees in various parts of Romania. The

Romanian Radio The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company ( ro, Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune), informally referred to as Radio Romania ( ro, Radio România), is the public radio broadcaster in Romania. It operates FM broadcasting, FM and AM broadcasting, ...

engaged in a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

campaign, praising ''Straja Țării'' as ''Armata Albă a Regelui'' ("the King's White Army"), while hiding the fact that theirs had been the only form of aid for the displaced. Later that year, when the

National Legionary State The National Legionary State was a Totalitarianism, totalitarian Fascism, fascist regime which governed Kingdom of Romania, Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led by ...

government replaced Carol's regime, after the crisis provoked by the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all ...

(the cession of

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

), the organization was disbanded and all its assets were taken over by the Iron Guard.

Notes

References

*Teofil Gh. Sidorovici, Căpitan Marin I. Georgescu, ''Sub poală de codru verde. Manualul taberelor străjerești'' ("Under the green forest's cover. A manual of ''Străjer'' camps"), I. E. Toroutoiu, Bucovina-București (undated)
Gallery of ''străjeri'' parade photos

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070313124351/http://www.jurnalul.ro/articol_5002/mussolini_de_dambovita.html Cristina Diac, "Mussolini de Dâmbovița" ("A Mussolini on the Dâmbovița") in ''

Jurnalul Național ''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest Bucharest ...

'', August 29, 2005

External links

„DE STRAJĂ”
— official journal of the Straja Țării. {{DEFAULTSORT:Straja Tarii Youth organizations based in Romania 1935 establishments in Romania 1940 disestablishments in Romania Youth organizations established in 1935 Organizations disestablished in 1940 Paramilitary organizations based in Romania Greater Romania

Character

Disbandment

See also

Notes

References

External links