Vasile Marin (January 29, 1904,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

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– January 13, 1937,

Majadahonda Majadahonda () is a municipality in Spain, situated northwest of Madrid, in the Community of Madrid. It lies alongside the motorway A6 Madrid-A Coruña. The Puerta de Hierro university (public) hospital was relocated to Majadahonda from the wes ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) was a

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, tradition ...

politician, public servant and lawyer. A member of the

National Peasants' Party The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc, or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It w ...

until 1932, Vasile Marin later became a prominent member of the Iron Guard, a Romanian fascist organization. His death and that of fellow Iron Guard leader

Ion Moța Ion I. Moța (5 July 1902 — 13 January 1937) was the deputy leader of the Romanian fascist Iron Guard, Legionary Movement (Iron Guard), killed in battle during the Spanish Civil War. Biography Son of the nationalist Romanian Orthodox, Ort ...

in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

for the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

are credited with contributing to the growth of the Iron Guard.

Biography

His law thesis, finished in 1932 at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

, was entitled "The

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

". Marin married, with the approval of Legionary leader

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (; born Corneliu Codreanu, according to his birth certificate; 13 September 1899 – 30 November 1938) was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or ''The Legion o ...

, Ana Maria Ropala in February 1933. Ropala was the daughter of a Romanian army officer and a Jewish woman who had converted to Christianity. She was a medical doctor. In December 1936 Marin, along with

, led a small force of Legionnaires into

during the

to present a ceremonial sword to the survivors of the

Siege of the Alcázar The Siege of the Alcázar was a highly symbolic Nationalist victory in Toledo in the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War. The Alcázar of Toledo was held by a variety of military forces in favour of the Nationalist uprising. Militias of th ...

and announce the alliance of the Iron Guard with Nationalist Spain; they also decided to enlist. Both Moța and Marin died on January 13, 1937 during the first day of fighting at

on the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

front. Their funerals in

(February 13, 1937) were an immense and widely publicised affair attended by some ministers of

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 ...

, Fascist Italy, and Francisco Franco's

, as well as representatives of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, Japan, and delegates of the Polish Patriotic Youth. A memorial monument was erected at

, on September 13, 1970, with the support of Franco's government.

References

Bibliography

*'' The Green Shirts and the Others: A History of Fascism in Hungary and Rumania'' by Nicholas M. Nagy-Talavera (

Hoover Institution Press The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and ...

, 1970). *"Romania" by

Eugen Weber Eugen Joseph Weber (April 24, 1925 – May 17, 2007) was a Romanian-born American historian with a special focus on Western world, Western civilization. Weber became a historian because of his interest in politics, an interest dating back to a ...

, in '' The European Right: A Historical Profile'' edited by Hans Rogger and Eugen Weber (

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

Press, 1965) *''The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939, Nationalist Forces'' by Alejandro de Quesada ( Osprey Publishing, 2014, ) * "The Romanian Legionary's Mission in Spain" (Part III, A., xi Romania, 116.) in ''

'' (Oxford Readers) edited by

Roger Griffin Roger David Griffin (born 31 January 1948) is a British professor of modern history and political theorist at Oxford Brookes University, England. His principal interest is the socio-historical and ideological dynamics of fascism, as well as v ...

(

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

Press, 1995, ). *''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the r ...

'' by

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *''Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pres ...

(

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, 1991, ). * William Totok: „Meister des Todes. Über die Wiederbelebungsversuche des Kultes von Moţa und Marin / Maeştrii morţii. Despre încercarea de reînviere a cultului Moţa şi Marin“, in: Apoziţia, München, 2007, pp. 396-422.

External links

Leadership of the Iron Guard
an

at Claremont McKenna College. {{DEFAULTSORT:Marin, Vasile 1904 births 1937 deaths Politicians from Bucharest Members of the Iron Guard 20th-century Romanian politicians Romanian fascists Romanian anti-communists University of Bucharest alumni Romanian civil servants Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Romanian people of the Spanish Civil War Foreign volunteers in the Spanish Civil War Military personnel killed in the Spanish Civil War Romanian military personnel killed in action