Balkan Circle: How “Christian” were the Romanian Legionaries?

The Balkan Circle is a bi-weekly seminar where lectures, presentations, exhibits, or open interactive dialogues will focus on any (and all) aspects of historical, political, economic, social and cultural phenomena in the (so-called) Balkans. The seminar is free and open to the public and will be held every other Friday during the semester from 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm.

How “Christian” were the Romanian Legionaries? Reassessing the Relationship Between Religion and Fascism in the Case of the Iron Guard

Mainstream literature in historical and fascist studies depicts the Romanian fascist movement as a mystical or religiously imbued political movement. In the footsteps of the paradigmatic fascist political religions such as German Nazis and the Italian Fascists, most contemporary historians assigned the Iron Guard either a secular manipulation of traditional and institutionalized religion to fulfill its own goals or have relegated the role of religion and religious organizations in the background, as a mere part of the historical context. Following the insights of George L. Mosse, the presentation attempts to debunk the intertwinement between religion and fascism in the case of the Iron Guard and highlight the privileged role compared to other fascist movements Christianity in its Orthodox and Greek-Catholic forms enjoyed in the history of the Legionary Movement in the twentieth century.

Register for the series at: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/slavic/events-seminars/balkan-circle.html

Sponsored by: CREEES, Center for European Studies, Institute for Historical Studies