Ion Gavrilă Ogoranu
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Ion Gavrilă Ogoranu (January 6, 1923 – May 1, 2006) was a member of the
fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
paramilitary organization
Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...
, who between 1948 and 1955, after the
Soviet occupation of Romania The Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania. The fate of the territories held by Romania after 1 ...
and the establishment of the
Romanian People's Republic The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian People's Repu ...
, became the leader of an underground anti-communist paramilitary group in the
Făgăraș Mountains The Făgăraș Mountains ( ; ) 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 the north by the Făgăraș Depression, through wh ...
.


Biography

Ogoranu was born in a
Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...
Romanian family as one of three children, in Gura Văii, Făgăraș County, in the
Țara Făgărașului Țara Făgărașului (also ; or ''Fogarascherland'', , or ''terra Alutus'') is a historical region in central Romania, located in the southern part of Transylvania. It is named after the Făgăraș Mountains that dominate the landscape of the ...
region of southeastern
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
. He studied at Radu Negru High School in
Făgăraș Făgăraș (; , ) is a municipiu, city in central Romania, located in Brașov County. It lies on the Olt (river), Olt River and has a population of 26,284 as of 2021. It is situated in the historical region of Transylvania, and is the main city of ...
, where he was from 1936 to 1940 a member of the "Negoiu" (The Brotherhood of the Cross), the youth wing of the Iron Guard. In 1940 he became the leader of the Frăția de Cruce organization in Făgăraș. In 1941 he was arrested by the
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and MareÈ™al (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''ConducÄ ...
regime for his participation in the Legionnaires' rebellion and was condemned to 10 years forced labor. Released on April 19, 1944, he enrolled in the military school in
Câmpulung Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , , Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'') is a municipiu, city in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is attested on the Fra Mauro map fro ...
. After the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Ogoranu attended classes at the Department of Agronomy, University of Cluj and the Commercial Academy in
Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...
. He then became involved in fascist and anti-communist activities in
Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
. For 7 years (1948–1955), he led the anti-communist resistance formation "Grupul Carpatin Făgărășan", consisting of 25–30 members active on the northern slopes of the
Făgăraș Mountains The Făgăraș Mountains ( ; ) 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 the north by the Făgăraș Depression, through wh ...
. His group tried to establish contact with the resistance formations active on the southern side of the mountains, especially the groups led by Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu and by Toma Arnăuțoiu, but those overtures were not met with success. For his activities, Ogoranu was sentenced ''in absentia'' to 19 years in prison and, later, in 1951, to death. In May 1954 he was wounded in a fight with the authorities. In 1955, the
Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...
secret police killed or captured several members of his group, either through direct conflict or through denunciations. In 1957, the trial of those captured took place. Ion Chiujdea, Laurian Haṣu, Gheorghe Haṣu, Victor Metea, Nelu Novac, Ion Pop, Olimpiu Borzea, and Nicolae Burlacu were sentenced to death by firing squad; the last two had their sentences commuted to forced labor for life. For 29 years, Ogoranu evaded capture by the Securitate. Most of the time he hid in Galtiu, a village in Sântimbru commune,
Alba County Alba County () is a county (judeÈ›) of Romania located in the historic region of Transylvania. Its capital is Alba Iulia, a city with a population of 63,536. Name "Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of the ...
. He stayed at the house of Ana Săbăduș, the widow of a political prisoner who died at
Gherla Prison Gherla Prison is a penitentiary located in the Romanian city of Gherla (), in Cluj County. The prison dates from 1785; it is infamous for the treatment of its political inmates, especially during the Communist regime. In Romanian slang, the generi ...
in 1952; she later became his wife. After 26 years on the run, the Securitate caught him in 1976 in Cluj, after luring him there with the help of an informer. He was interrogated for 6 months in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
. He was reportedly spared execution at the direct intervention of
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
. Released, he was employed as a worker, then as a technician at a collective state farm in
Miercurea Sibiului Miercurea Sibiului (; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Ruzmargt''; ) is a town in the west of Sibiu County, in southern Transylvania, central Romania, to the west of the county capital, Sibiu. Administration Miercurea Sibiului was declared a town in 2004 ...
. On December 23, 1989, Ogoranu went to Bucharest, to participate in the
Romanian Revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...
. Subsequently, he studied the archives and worked on his 7-volume memoirs, titled "Fir trees break but do not bend" (). He died in Galtiu in 2006, and was buried in the village's cemetery; his wife died two months later.


Legacy

Ogoranu's life is the subject of the 2010 film, '' Portrait of the Fighter as a Young Man''. At the
60th Berlin International Film Festival The 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2010, with Werner Herzog as president of the jury. The opening film of the festival was Chinese director Wang Quan'an's romantic drama '' Apart Together'', in com ...
, the movie attracted protests from organizations such as the
Elie Wiesel National Institute for Studying the Holocaust in Romania The Elie Wiesel National Institute for Studying the Holocaust in Romania, () is a public institution established by the Romanian government on August 7, 2005, and officially opened on October 9 of the same year, which is Romania's National Day o ...
, which demanded that the film be pulled due to glorification of antisemitism. The Festival refused to pull it, arguing that they don't believe in censorship, but they are aware that Ogoranu made publicly "extremist, racist, and antidemocratic statements" and that they do not support such views, and that the movie did not support such views either. Streets in
Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...
and
Făgăraș Făgăraș (; , ) is a municipiu, city in central Romania, located in Brașov County. It lies on the Olt (river), Olt River and has a population of 26,284 as of 2021. It is situated in the historical region of Transylvania, and is the main city of ...
are named after him.


Bibliography

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References


See also

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gavrila-Ogoranu, Ion 1923 births 2006 deaths People from Brașov County Romanian guerrillas Romanian fascists Members of the Romanian anti-communist resistance movement Members of the Iron Guard Romanian prisoners and detainees Romanian collaborators with Nazi Germany Prisoners sentenced to death by Romania Romanian prisoners sentenced to death People sentenced to death in absentia Romanian outlaws Romanian male non-fiction writers Radu Negru National College alumni