TERRORISM AS POLITICAL TOOL. THE ASSASSINATION OF ROMANIAN PRIME-MINISTER ARMAND CĂLINESCU BY LEGIONNAIRES: 21ST OF SEPTEMBER 1939
TERRORISM AS POLITICAL TOOL. THE ASSASSINATION OF ROMANIAN PRIME-MINISTER ARMAND CĂLINESCU BY LEGIONNAIRES: 21ST OF SEPTEMBER 1939

Summary/Abstract: On 21st of September 1939, after Poland had been attacked by Germany (on 1st of September 1939), a terrible piece of news worried the Western chancelleries about the fate of Eastern Europe. The Romanian Prime Minister, Armand Călinescu, had been killed by a group of legionnaires. Armand Călinescu was not only the ruler of the Romanian Government, but also the leader of an authoritarian regime. From his capacity as a prime-minister, he was standing solder by solder with King Carol II striping out some democratic liberties and arresting those who disagreed with them. Therefore, we can consider the assassination of Armand Călinescu a political crime within a state in which police law enforcement was very high. In that historical context, this situation increased the instability in this area. It is interesting to note that the assassins of Armand Călinescu surrounded in a particular way. They forced the entrance of the Romanian Broadcasting Radio and announced the assassination. They called themselves “the Revengers” and motivated their deed as a penalty for the assassination of their leader, Corneliu Codreanu, the chief of Legionary Movement (30 of November 1938). As a reply, in the next days, the most important leaders of the Legionary Movement was executed by the authorities even they weren’t involved in the death of Armand Călinescu. Apparently, the authoritarian regime of King Carol II seemed to stand firm even it faced up to political terrorism. Of course, the reaction of the government wasn’t justified because as a counterattack were killed people without any involvement in Prime-Minister’s assassination. Because the legionnaires were hold up by Germans, King Carol II was forced to change the policy regarding the legionnaires. The legionnaire’s prisons conditions were improved and those free one were invited to negotiate with the Government for endorsement King’s regime and sustain internal and external policy.

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