''Straja Țării'' (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

- roughly, ''The Sentinel of the Motherland''; also known as ''Străjeria'' - translatable as ''The Sentinel'') was a

youth organization The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for Minor (law), minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted othe ...

in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

, created in 1935 by

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

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, ...

to counter the growing influence the

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 ...

had over the youth of Romania. Its members were known as ''străjeri'' ("sentinels"), and used a form of the

Roman salute The Roman salute, also known as the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held out pa ...

as greeting.

Background

The monarch modeled it on the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

, and took inspiration from other

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 ...

groups such as the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Balilla. This shape became more obvious on December 3, 1938, when ''Straja Țării'' was re-organized along the lines of Carol's personal regime (''see

National Renaissance Front The National Renaissance Front (, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romanian political party created by King Ca ...

''), replacing all existing youth movements, including

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

, and became overseer of sports and all other activities. Although the King was often referred to ''Marele Străjer'' ("The Great Sentinel"), the actual leaders of the group were General

Teofil Sidorovici General Teofil Gh. Sidorovici (13 February 1896 – 22 November 1940) was one of the commanders of the Straja Țării (Watchmen), a paramilitary youth organization in the Kingdom of Romania, created in 1935, and Minister of National Propaganda in ...

and

Nisa Cămărășescu NISA may refer to: * National Independent Soccer Association, a third tier United States soccer league * National Intelligence and Security Agency of Somalia * Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, part of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade a ...

. All boys aged 7 to 18 and all girls between 7 and 21 were supposed to join. A body comprising 18- to 21-year-old boys completed ''Straja'', and it was responsible for offering low-level

military education and training Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military Military personnel, personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recru ...

. In 1939 the Straja Țării played a starring role at the "Freude und Arbeit” exhibition which was held in Bucharest under the auspices of Dr. Robert Ley and the "Deutsche Arbeitsfront". Members were bound by a ''Crez'' ("

Credo In Christian liturgy, the credo (; Latin for "I believe") is the portion of the Mass where a creed is recited or sung. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed or the Apostles' Creed are the primary creeds used for this purpose. History After the ...

"), which read:

Disbandment

In the summer of 1940, following the cession of

Northern Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

and

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(''see

Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina Between 28 June and 3 July 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, following an ultimatum made to Romania on 26 June 1940 that threatened the use of force. Those regions, with a total area of and a population of 3,776 ...

''), it was employed in an offering help to the many refugees in various parts of Romania. The Romanian Radio engaged in a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

campaign, praising ''Straja Țării'' as ''Armata Albă a Regelui'' ("the King's White Army"), while hiding the fact that theirs had been the only form of aid for the displaced. Later that year, when the

National Legionary State The National Legionary State () was a Totalitarianism, totalitarian Fascism, fascist regime which governed Kingdom of Romania, Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led ...

government replaced Carol's regime, after the crisis provoked by the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

(the cession of

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

), the organization was disbanded and all its assets were taken over by the Iron Guard.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

„DE STRAJĂ”
— official journal of the Straja Țării. {{DEFAULTSORT:Straja Tarii Youth organizations based in Romania 1935 establishments in Romania 1940 disestablishments in Romania Youth organizations established in 1935 Organizations disestablished in 1940 Paramilitary organizations based in Romania Greater Romania

Background

Disbandment

See also

References

Bibliography

External links