Justin Georgescu (June 11, 1922 – August 1942) was a

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, a ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

activist and

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

militant assassinated in police custody during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Born 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 ...

, Romania's capital, in 1922, Justin Georgescu became an orphan at an early age. After finishing primary school, in 1933 he entered in the

Matei Basarab High School Matei Basarab National College ( ro, Colegiul Național "Matei Basarab") is a high school in Bucharest, Romania, located at 32 Matei Basarab Street, Sector 3. It opened in November 1860, one of two secondary schools to open that year in the Roman ...

, where he was one of the top students. By autumn 1939, Georgescu took contact with communist ideals, becoming a member of the clandestine

Union of Communist Youth , colorcode = red , logo = Symbol of Union of Communist Youth.svg , caption = Emblem , logo2 = , caption2 = , founded = 1922 , dissolved = 1989 , headquarters = Bucharest, Socialist Republic of Romania ...

(UTC). In the following months he took part in several action of the group, spreading manifestos and leaflets against

Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of the ...

authoritarian regime Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

and its alignment with

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. He also organized a protest of the students with communist sympathies against an initiative of his high school that would have eliminated poor students. Soon after, the UTC nominated him as leader of a "technical group", responsible for propaganda work in Bucharest's Green Sector. In 1941, Georgescu enrolled in the Faculty of Letters of the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princ ...

, and in spring 1942 he was elected a member in the leadership of the university's UTC cell. There he continued the anti-fascist propaganda by spreading manifestos condemning the pro-fascist dictatorship of ''Conducător''

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and '' Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who ma ...

and Romania's collaboration with Nazi Germany in the

invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, as well as presenting the achievements of the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

and of the other European resistance movements in the fight against the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

. Manifestos also demanded that Romania sign a separate peace with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. On August 29, 1942 he was arrested while going to a secret meeting of the UTC. After being tortured in Bucharest's Police Headquarters, he was ultimately killed. In an attempt to cover the murder, and present it as a suicide, his body was thrown out of a window. After the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that wou ...

came to power in Romania, Justin Georgescu, along other young Romanian anti-fascists fallen during World War II, was honoured as a "Hero of the youth".

References

*Simion Cutişteanu, "Justin Georgescu", in ''Anale de Istorie'', Vol. XV, Nr. 4, Bucharest, Institutul de Studii Istorice şi Social-Politice de pe lîngă C.C. al P.C.R, 1969, pp. 146-148. * Ion Popescu-Puţuri. ''La Contribution de la Roumanie à la victoire sur le fascisme: études''. Editions de l'Académie de la République socialiste de Roumanie, 1965. p. 39. {{DEFAULTSORT:Georgescu, Justin Extrajudicial killings in World War II Murdered students Deaths in police custody in Romania Romanian communists Romanian World War II resistance members Politicians from Bucharest Romanian civilians killed in World War II Romanian murder victims 1922 births 1942 deaths

See also

References