Gheorghe Arsenescu (May 31, 1907 – May 29, 1962) was a

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

who led an anti-communist resistance movement in post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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

Biography

Early years and World War II

He was born in

Câmpulung Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , german: Langenau, Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian)), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'', is a municipality in the Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is situated amon ...

. His father, Captain Ion Arsenescu, fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was killed in action at the

Battle of Mărășești The Battle of Mărășești (6 August 1917 – 3 September 1917) was the last major battle between the German Empire and the Kingdom of Romania on the Romanian front during World War I. Romania was mostly occupied by the Central Powers, but t ...

. Gheorghe Arsenescu graduated from the "Dinicu Golescu" High School in his hometown, and then, following in the military tradition of his father, enrolled in the Higher War School, in

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 ...

. After graduating in 1924, he joined the 30th Regiment Dorobanți from Câmpulung. At the start of World War II he was Operations Chief for the 2nd Mountain Division (

Vânători de munte Vânători may refer to several places: Romania * Vânători, Galați, a commune in Galați County * Vânători, Iași, a commune in Iaşi County * Vânători, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi County * Vânători, Mureș, a commune in Mureș Co ...

), under the command of General Ioan Dumitrache. He fought in the

Crimean campaign The Crimea campaign was an eight-month-long campaign by Axis forces to conquer the Crimea Peninsula, and was the scene of some of the bloodiest battles on the Eastern Front during World War II. The German, Romanian, and defending Soviet t ...

, was wounded, and then returned to the front. During the war he rose to the rank of colonel. He was decorated in 1940 with the Order of the Star of Romania, 3rd Class, and in 1941 with the

Order of the German Eagle The Order of Merit of the German Eagle (german: Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler) was an award of the German Nazi regime, predominantly to foreign diplomats. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. It ceased to be awarded follo ...

. After being discharged in 1946, he joined the National Liberal Party–Tătărescu. He started a small farm to provide milk to the Câmpulung market; accused of economic sabotage, he went into hiding.

Anti-communist resistance

In the summer of 1947 Arsenescu hid firearms at the in Cetățeni. The following spring, he set up the "Dragoslavele" rebel group, which included Gheorghe Hachenzelner, Petre Cojocaru, Longhin Predoiu, Ion Mică, and Ion and Gheorge Purnichescu, and had the support of the monastery abbot, Pimen Bărbierul. In the fall of 1948, the group dispersed, and Arsenescu, after spending some time hidden in Câmpulung-Muscel, went to Bucharest. There, together with a fellow army officer,

Toma Arnăuțoiu Toma Arnăuțoiu (14 February 1921 – 18 July 1959) was a Romanian officer who led a small group of Romanian anti-communist resistance movement, anti-communist resistance fighters in the Southern Carpathians, Southern Carpathian foothills betwee ...

, he formed in December 1948 a group named ''"Haiducii Muscelului"'' (Romanian for ''"The

Hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

s from Muscel"''). In March 1949, the two of them went to

Nucșoara Nucșoara is a Commune in Romania, commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Gruiu, Nucșoara, Sboghițești and Slatina. The commune is located in the northern part of the county, on the border with Brașov Co ...

, where they found shelter with Arnăuțoiu's parents and brother. Arsenescu started recruiting locals, arguing that he possessed armament, that he had personal contacts with the French Embassy, and that the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

was bound to start a war with the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, therefore the days of the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

were numbered (a belief popularly known as '' Vin americanii!''). His resistance group operated out of the Southern

Făgăraș Mountains The Făgăraș Mountains ( ro, Munții Făgărașului ; hu, Fogarasi-havasok) are the highest mountains of the Southern Carpathians, in Romania. Geography The mountain range is situated in the heart of Romania, at . The range is bordered in th ...

; according to reports by the Communist authorities, the group was responsible for a number of robberies and murders. On the night of June 18, 1949, members of Arsenescu's group were ambushed by troops of the

Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regime ...

; in the ensuing firefight, two officers were killed, but the group of partisans escaped through a security cordon thrown around the area. After this close call, Arnăuțoiu and Arsenescu decided to split into two separate groups, so as to minimize chances the resistance in the area would be decapitated if they were caught together. Later that year, Arsenescu narrowly escaped capture yet again, once in Bughea de Sus and once in Mățău, after being betrayed by some neighbors. In 1950, the Pitești branch of the Securitate demonstratively executed, without trial, at Izvoarele, one of Arsenescu's aides, Traian Marinescu Geagu, a peasant student from

Dâmbovița County Dâmbovița County (also spelt ''Dîmbovița'', ) is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Târgoviște, the most important economic, political, administrative and cultural center of the county. It has an area o ...

. In the fall of 1951, Arsenescu was ambushed by the security forces while crossing

Râul Târgului The Râul Târgului is a left tributary of the river Râul Doamnei in Romania. Its source is near the Păpușa Peak, in the Iezer Mountains The Iezer Mountains ( ro, Munții Iezer / Munții Iezer-Păpușa) are a mountain range in the Southern C ...

; badly wounded by gunfire, he managed to hide in the woods and found refuge in the home of Apostol Postoaca.

Capture and death

Arsenescu was finally captured by the Securitate on February 1, 1960. In February 1962 he was sentenced to death by the

Military Tribunal for "terrorist acts perpetrated as organizer of an armed group of anti-communist resistance", and was executed on May 29, 1962 at

Jilava Prison Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Muntenia, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava. The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin ( Bulgarian жилав ''žilav'' (tough), which passed into Romanian as ...

. A notable member of Arsenescu's resistance movement was Elisabeta Rizea, who was captured by the Securitate at the same time as he was.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arsenescu, Gheorghe Romanian Land Forces officers Members of the Romanian anti-communist resistance movement People from Câmpulung 1907 births 1962 deaths Executed Romanian people People executed by the Socialist Republic of Romania Romanian outlaws Romanian dissidents Romanian military personnel of World War II Carol I National Defence University alumni Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania Romanian guerrillas