Pitch-Black : The light shines best in the darkness

 

Pitch-Black

The Iron Guard and the Saints of Prisons, martyrs of Romania, martyrs of Christ

versiunea în Română aici [s-ar putea să existe niște diferențe în informații]

“The Hour is close” said Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the charismatic and talismanic absolute leader of the Legionary Movement, Romania’s far-right interwar movement. Back in the 30s communism struck Europe with a wrecking force, changing the face of humanity forever. But as in physics, an action always has a reaction. 

While the ‘left’ was gripping nations, core elements resisted change. A good concept, killing religion in the name of faith … communism took a wrong turn applied. Nations made a stand and România gave probably the most hardcore resistance. More close to the East, the troubled Romanian soul faced yet another challenge. And youth gathered around visionary Codreanu “The Captain”, taking a whole generation to new heights and writing about a need of a spiritual movement, before politics. A milestone in the Romanian existence, as the Legion not only represented resistance against change but also a revolution of mind. When hit by the strong red hammer, the wolves remembered how to gather in their pack and found their direction even out of the muddy swamps of crooked politics. And that showed history that if we want, we can be a force in troubled boiling Europe.

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu in one of my favorite photos .. Thinking

Corneliu Codreanu was sheer intensity in person, die-hard for his team and always … without compromise. Some who stood near him said he was always in a profound state of reflection, always thinking within his own deep feelings. He was a trained lawyer with a PhD title and so defence was his specialty, the Iron Guard’s symbol being a barred fence. While Hitler’s antisemitism went downhill into the most horrific episodes of the history of mankind, Codreanu was a friend with the Rabbi and even had gipsy leaders in his movement. Things escalated when Horia Sima took control over the Legion, after Codreanu’s brutal assasination on 30th November - Saint Andrews Day. We have a tradition in executing leaders on Christian holidays, as communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu was shot dead with his wife on 25th December 1989, right on Christmas Eve. Saint Andrew was in fact nicknamed “Apostle of the Wolves” and is known as the „Guardian of Romanians” because he had the unfortunate task of baptising in Christianity the stubborn geto-dacians with the wolf as their spirit animal. Only romanians can have this kind of unique performance : to shoot the leader of a national-orthodox movement right on the holiday we celebrate the Apostle that brought christianity in our lands. Or start the most brutal "Pitești Experiment" of torture in the communist prisons on the ... 6th of December, St. Nicholas Day or when "Moș Nicolae" comes, the romanian edition of Mr. Sandman. 

The legion brewed an unique blend of national-socialism and …well, orthodoxy. The only far-right movement of Europe mixed with Christian beliefs, stayed away from mass violence and planned genocides. From mass, not all violence. Friends leaning on the ‘left’ always argued with me why defending ‘the Legion’, thinking I was making an apology for killings. When I was not. In fact, nothing can justify killings. But talking about history is not equal to becoming left or right. I am also very fond of the Communist Manifesto and its revolutionary impact on humanity, some saying Jesus was the biggest communist of all. Understanding the phenomenon behind the left / right movements without taking sides I think it is more important as the world today lacks real dialogue. Difficult, but possible. I personally consider that even Hitler started the Holocaust out of too much love for his wrecked up germans after the first world war. A highly sensitive subject, but did you see the Rapid football gallery in action ? They are tearing down their own stadium out of too much love.

Rapid Gallery in action, burnind down the place ...

Antisemitism in Europe during those times was highly present and cultivated by many theorists. Including many of those around Hitler. He was the guy with the trigger, but you have to think all in context. You can find reasons everywhere, as from love of your people to hate towards strangers is a small step. It is a highly controversial subject that is being avoided and the internet is full of censorship on this matter. 

Or everybody is shutting you up on the matter “he was bad, you are bad because you talk about him, just don’t mention this anymore. Lets talk about … coffee”. And now in 2020 in Germany, again far-right movements are building up, highly intolerant to immigrants. It this normal ? Who is worse, someone who opens sensitive subjects or someone who shuts your mouth and chooses to go on a ‘non-conflictual’ path? 

Isn't censorship also abuse and violence, but a verbal or emotional one ? “Lets not just talk about this” isn’t in fact hurting your feelings ?, when you are curious about the other persons opinion of what is troubling you, what you have on your heart, the very essence of friendship ? Like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction said “Come on Man! You gotta have an opinion !”. 

And think about germans nowdays, is it genetical ? or is just a clear example of the bad implementation of ‘left’ politics, avoiding hot topics ? People that today report pages or censor them actually sometimes have less intellect than the ones speaking. Thinking is still free, yet some refuse to do it anymore. Left without argument in public and open debates, shamed in front of others they cannot continue in a fair talk, they do the violence behind your back. You get locked out suddenly and you dont know why, a "reporting" culture fitting to more communist times. Others annoyed by churches, crosses or islam images sometimes get fanatic, become phisically violent. 

I personally don’t believe in conspiracy theories. But I do believe in the degradation of the human spirit due to time, and a need to refresh, turn the page, opening the senses, think and love … again. I believe no one is doing anything ‘on purpose’ to control humanity with secret new world order governments to obtain financial gains, and in my idealist world I think everyone would be happy finding peace in all humanity, chilling out … maybe exploring new worlds or planets.

But it is like we are living in a self-inflicted Holocaust of thought. A Gulag of new and different ideas of which Orwell would be proud, himself being censored and forbidden due to political reasons or civic unrest, probably because of generating many conspiracy theorists. If Christians are said to await a so-called Antichrist, it surely is taking shape as we speak … and is not a human with horns and a tail, but more of a down-shift in the minds of people. And the apocalypse surely is not about aliens or a rain of fire or Covid killing the bad ones (which always survive…), but maybe an internal spiritual reset of mankind. As the virus pandemic seems to big like a big fishnet to entangle humanity, things deepen in the politics and the world is boiling, the Blind Guardian song I think fits in nice : “Nightfall … quietly crept in and changed us all”. 

After the “Fall of the Iron Curtain”, The Eurodance movement and explosive energy of the Generation of Love has transformed in 30 years of “Freedom” in ... Eurohate. 

Rarău - Piatra Șoimului (Falcon's Cliff) - Codreanu's sacred mountain

Hitler had his ‘sacred’ mountain view at Berchtesgaden (Eagle’s Nest), while mystic Codreanu wandered more like a monk, enjoying the views of his own sacred mountain “Rarău” in perfect silence and solitude. Yes, a deep meditative and silent attitude that was The Captain’s trademark. Different from the ecstatic loud speeches of Hitler or Mussolini, Codreanu’s dark presence was overwhelming some say. Moldova born Codreanu (his name meaning Codru, that is Woods or Forest) was said to be an even more powerful personality than the ones mentioned. There is little literature around him, most prefer a lot of irrelevant matters or failed romances. There is also no museum portraying him neither good, nor bad. As Germany built some museums for the remembrance of the Holocaust and should be able to talk open about it, Romania completely neglects its past. 

The Legion nested ideas of  total sacrifice : “All for the Country”. And all for Christianity, no matter if orthodox or catholic as “two brave young soldiers” (as historian Nicolae Iorga called them) Moța and Marin went and died to help our christian brothers from ... Spain, at Majadahonda 16km north of Madrid. Communist infusions triggered Franco and the military insurgence against the Republic in the Spanish Civil War, a ‘training theater of operations’ for World War 2 with many outside interests. Socialists were helped by Anarchists from all over Spain, but many from Barcelona in fact. An interesting fact is that Ion Moța was part of the ‘spiritual-oriented’ wing of the Legion and the son of the orthodox priest Moța of Orăștie, a city near the ancient capital and sacred area of Sarmizegetusa Regia. The spiritual center of the dacians. 

the assasination of Corneliu Codreanu and the Legion's top members, 29/30 November 1938

The assassination of the movement’s leadership on St. Andrews Night was not enough to put out the fire they started against all political parties and politicians. Communists took all opposing intelectuals (legionary or not) and put them in prisons, for political reasons. Re-education in the new “red” ways. Their heroic resistance is subject to many books and some even considered as “Saints” today, giving the ultimate sacrifice - their lives, to keep the flame of faith burning. Although not fully recognized by official history even today and an information even missing from most museums dedicated to this phenomenon, is that the most die-hard prisoners not willing to break and give up their faith were indeed followers of Corneliu Codreanu and the Legionary Movement. Codreanu’s spiritual construct and far-sighted vision made a generation virtually immortal in the face of all adversity and that is a historical fact, proven by the ones that survived the most terrible experiment of breaking the human spirit. Killing them was an option for the regime, but killing them by torture sounded much more better. You have to see The Stanford Prison Experiment or read their memoirs to fully understand how human can turn against human, worse than animals. And some who escaped the arrest, took their fight in the mountains for many years waiting for some salvation, and some got through. Some people just wont quit. And some dare to dream of redemption. 

The infamous jails can be now visited but are of little interest to the chaotic Romanian individual, far from his roots and not curious about his own history because of the constant brainwash he has been put through by the communists.

Again, it is not a topic of religion but of a clear testimony (“mărturie”) about how the Romanian was true to his roots and organically “absorbed” Christianity into his own being, being ready to die for Jesus teachings. “Absorption” I think is a key-element in understanding our spiritual internal structure as the blend of Christian and Pre-Christian beliefs  was made almost seamless. Until Mircea Eliade. He was clearly the lunatic of the times and a fan of the Legion, the philosopher who said he found God in Hinduism and felt the eccentric need to zoom-out of Nationalism in order to answer the many questions he had. He left Romania for India, but then got kicked out of the family he lived with because of falling in love with Bengal-born Maitreyi Devi. That did not stop him, he went to America to work on his “History of Religious Ideas” treaty, rocking the world and bringing many ideas and concepts from the Orient to the Western world.

History on the Legion, its ties with Spain and even Christianity is diluted and heavily distorted nowdays because of the communist regime and the new “alt-left” second wave. Even after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, Ion Iliescu (a true “red”) still used the term “legionaries” along “drug-addicts” and “low-livers” for the young groups protesting in the streets of Bucharest against the re-election of ex-communist party members. There are many opinions, but the truth is yet to be known and the authorities were not concerned with revealing it so most Romanians don know if it was an authentical Revolution (some still think it was), a coup d'état that overlapped a natural revolt or a ‘hybrid’ revolution that actually is taking 30 years to complete … 

I like many quotes from the “Saints of the Prisons”, but mostly I like this one by legionary poet Radu Gyr : 

“Ne vom întoarce într-o zi” 

(We will be back someday)