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

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

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 op ...

militant assassinated in police custody during

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 ...

. Born 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 ...

, 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, 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 The Union of Communist Youth ( Romanian: '; UTC) was the Romanian Communist Party's youth organisation. Like many Young Communist organisations, it was modelled after the Soviet Komsomol. It aimed to cultivate young cadres into the party, as ...

(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. As the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, ...

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 democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

and its alignment with

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. 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 (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

, 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 Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...

and Romania's collaboration with Nazi Germany in the

invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...

, as well as presenting the achievements of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

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

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

. 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 an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

. 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 ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...

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 Communist Party politicians Romanian World War II resistance members Politicians from Bucharest Romanian civilians killed in World War II People executed by the Kingdom of Romania Romanian murder victims 1922 births 1942 deaths

See also

References