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For My Legionaries

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This is an autobiographical book in which Corneliu Zelea Codreanu expressed his political and spiritual ideaology as well as explained the struggles and persecution of his Legionary movement in Romania.

353 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

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About the author

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu

8 books100 followers
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, commonly known as Corneliu Codreanu, was a Romanian politician who was the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard, an ultranationalistic, antisemitic, Magyarophobic, and anti-gypsy organization active throughout most of the interwar period.

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5 stars
336 (54%)
4 stars
150 (24%)
3 stars
64 (10%)
2 stars
38 (6%)
1 star
27 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
Profile Image for Privada.
2 reviews21 followers
July 7, 2018
"To you, who have been struck, maligned or martyred, I can bring the news, which I wish to carry more than the frail value of a casual rhetorical phrase: soon we shall win. Before your columns, all our oppressors will fall. Forgive those who struck you for personal reasons. Those who have tortured you for your faith in the Romanian people, you will not forgive. Do not confuse the Christian right and duty of forgiving those who wronged you, with the right and duty of our people to punish those who have betrayed it and assumed for themselves the responsibility to oppose its destiny. Do not forget that the swords you have put on belong to the nation. You carry them in her name, In her name you will use them for punishment-unforgiving and unmerciful. Thus and only thus, will you be preparing a healthy future for this nation."
Profile Image for NanoCyborg.
33 reviews31 followers
August 28, 2018
That ending is just brutal, Codreanu will never die, however, those gendarmes will.

Codreanu was one of the greatest men of history, from what I can tell in this book, and he deserves at the minimum recognition within the Orthodox Church.

This book was magnificent in it's telling of his life story and everything that happened between his introduction to low level anti communist activities to being the mastermind of the Clerical Fascist Iron Guard. It's a shame that in the end he was assassinated by the pathetic king carol II and his organization achieved power for only a tiny bit of time. His righteous spirit and indignation will live on forever, both internationally and in the soil of Romania and her peoples.

I hope that I will eventually get to meet Codreanu in Heaven.
Profile Image for Minotaurochs.
50 reviews18 followers
October 8, 2022
This book is a must read for everyone.

The story of Codreanu's life is literally a Greek tragedy, it's remarkably inspiring and written poetically. It also contains lots of interesting historical information, and will give the reader an understanding of the Legionary movement. The Legionaries were a fascist movement that leant more reactionary and religious than the others, thus creating an interesting synthesis between revolutionary fervour and asceticism. They were much like the Knights Templar.
39 reviews47 followers
December 7, 2010
A truly inspirational work! I highly recommend this book. I have no doubt Codreanu will be among the Wildes Heer: "The Furious Horde of the dead warriors of Odin-Wotan which will return at the end of time as the ‘last battalion’, to fight the decisive battle for the return of the Gods and the restoration of the Golden Age."

Quote from "Nos, Book of Resurrection," in the Dictionary of Initiation of A-MOR
Profile Image for Ietrio.
6,945 reviews24 followers
September 17, 2015
Romania's answer to Mein Kampf. In a way, far more entertaining because of the religiosity of the second rate Mussolini.
Profile Image for Viktor.
5 reviews19 followers
November 24, 2022
Mandatory read for every patriotic or nationalistic person out there.

This book is a life story of a Romanian hero and a martyr Corneliu Zelea Codreanu.

It features every major feat of his life from the 1910s, which were marked by his pure, blind love for his country, its institutions and his people, to 1930s, where the institutions of his country, despite the overwhelming popular support he got from local townsmen and peasants alike, were relentlessly torturing and persecuting him and his fellows.

At the very beginning, I was a bit disappointed in the book because I got the impression that Codreanu was basically just a reactionary flag-waving nationalist. HOWEVER, after I finished the book, I realized the beginning was one of the most important aspects of this book, because it goes to illustrate how well his intentions were in regards to betterment of his country, and what an incredible amount of patience the Iron Guard has had in regards to what step-by-step proceeded to be insane and brutal repression of his movement unimaginable to normal people.

The book is also an important history lesson because many parallels can be drawn to contemporary socio-political happenings in the western hemisphere, from organizing to corrupt institutions. The book is a showcase of how the corrupt governments try to make perfectly legal and orderly movements do illegal stuff, and when that doesn't work, like in the case of Iron Guard, just shut it down with falsehoods, lies, stirring up intra-fighting within the groups and straight up bans using the Talmudic logic.

All in all, great read, I was hesitant to read it for years because of its length, but believe me, every single page is packed with amazing adventures, slice-of-life bits such as struggling to pay for basic utilities and faith in God, enormous stoicism in the face of literal beatings and torture, etc. Totally worth the read.
Profile Image for Vali.
8 reviews6 followers
February 11, 2017
An extraordinary book from so many perspectives: an autobiography, a testament, a historical document, a moral conduct manual, a warning against internal and external dangers. If you don't understand and feel the large river of painful truth flowing from this great writing, you're either not Romanian or having your mind poisoned by Judeo-Communist lies.
Profile Image for Nick John.
54 reviews67 followers
March 23, 2022
What an excellent and inspiring read. It was a long time coming for me to read this book. Countless fellow nationalists had recommended it to me and much like Mein Kampf I had chose to put it off until these last 2 weeks. This also belongs on the red pill 101 reading list. I can't help but in many ways relate as a young activist to Codreanu more then many other ideological leaders from the 19th century. To be frank Corneliu reminds me very much of That Rousseau of Patriot Front. Similar tactics, similar attitude similar age. I highly recommend this book to Normie's and third positionists alike.
Profile Image for Kurbads.
10 reviews5 followers
January 2, 2020
While well written, I was not entirely interested in all the events that were included, tho it did show that system will kill you if it so desires. There is a bit of theoretical and organizational material in it, so that might be useful.
Profile Image for Jack.
45 reviews42 followers
August 4, 2022
It was interesting to read about the history of the Codreanu's Christian nationalist movement in Romania.

This book also explains some political ideas which I found valuable. For example, he explains why democracy doesn't work.
Talking about "human rights", he distinguishes between the individual, the national collectivity, and the nation (as historical entity).
A small thing I found interesting is that he notices how the goverment's public education doesn't teach our youth how to be a merchant, which is then left to the Jews to teach it within their communities.

Overall this book is a valueable addition to our knowledge of National-Socialism and the Jewish Question.

One of the typical tactics is to pretend that Adolf Hitler was the only man who had a problem with the Jews. With this book you can now respond that the Romanian people too were fighting against Jewish domination.

Profile Image for Eva.
78 reviews14 followers
May 29, 2023
Screaming crying throwing up

“Rest assured, I beg you, that after ten years of suffering we have sufficient moral strength left to find an honourable exit from a life we cannot support without honor and dignity”
“Be it permitted that, at the end of this series of battles, I turn my thought toward my mother, whose soul has followed me year in and year out and hour by hour, trembling at each blow struck at me and shuddering at each threat thrown at me by fate” aaaaaaaaa
25 reviews9 followers
February 20, 2022
Quite a simple story. More of a diary with a lot of action and fights and not so much ideology. The last paragraphs describing the death of Codreanu and his comrades are really heartbreaking.
67 reviews5 followers
November 30, 2024
Nu întâmplător am citit Pentru Legionari imediat după ce am citit Mein Kampf, pentru a observa similitudinile și discrepanțele dintre cele două, și în ce măsură mișcarea Legionară a fost o mișcare fascistă. Întâmplător însă, am terminat cartea în aceste zile de tulburare generală privitoare la alegeri, în special cu acuzele disperate aduse unuia dintre candidați pentru presupusa apartenență la legionarism.

Prin 1922 Corneliu pleacă la Berlin, unde dorea să studieze mai departe economia politică (terminase Dreptul !, nu cum sugerează unii. Fusese exmatriculat de Universitate, nu și de Facultate). Acolo ia contact pentru prima dată cu doctrina hitleristă, însă prin transmitere orală. Mein Kampf avea să apară abia în 1925, iar Pentru Legionari abia în 1936. Prin urmare, deși în primă fază e drept a se spune că nu s-a inspirat din hitlerism, a adoptat însă de la început zvastica, probabil ca simbol al internaționalismului anti-iudaic, și mai puțin ca simbol rasial. Ținând însă cont de distanța dintre cele două scrieri, fără îndoială că între timp va fi citit și Mein Kampf (vorbea fluent germana), care-l va inspira în anumite aspecte în propria doctrină prezentată în Pentru Legionari.
Aceste asemănări se limitează la următoarele: antisemitismul, antiparlamentarismul și importanța inițiativei și responsabilității personale.
Dacă la Hitler antisemitismul era unul justificat rasial, urmărind eradicarea evreilor în orice loc s-ar fi găsit ei, la Codreanu antisemitismul se limita la nivel național. Cu alte cuvinte, pe Codreanu nu-l deranja existența în sine a evreilor, ci existența evreilor în România.
Antiparlamentarismul merge mână în mână cu antipoliticianismul. Iarăși aici există însă o distincție importantă între cei doi. Dacă Hitler făcea stipula importanța concentrării forței naționale într-un singur partid politic, organizat ierarhic, Codreanu susținea că organizația sa este mai presus de politică, că, prin însăși observarea nevoilor unui neam/națiuni, se dezvăluie politica ce trebuie urmată. Prin urmare, exista o politică naturală care nu era politica partinică. Concentrarea puterii se făcea în mâna elitei națiunii devenite conștiente de nevoile națiunii, nu în mâna unui partid programatic.
În cazul responsabilității personale, idea lui Hitler coincide aproape perfect cu cea a lui Codreanu. Democrația nu își are loc în cazul responsabilității personale, ci numai, eventual, ca mijloc consultativ. Această responsabilitate poate indica imediat vinovatul și meritosul, spre deosebire de ce se întâmplă în regimul democratic când și unii și alții se ascund în spatele majorității.
La cele trei, aș mai adăuga încă o asemănare importantă: ambii erau de acord cu utilizarea violenței. În cazul lui Hitler însă în mod programatic, pentru preluarea puterii, iar în cazul lui Codreanu doar în mod revanșist.

Dacă acestea au fost asemănările, să vedeți deosebirile! O să mă limitez însă la cea mai importantă, lăsând cititorului descoperirea celorlalte: viziunea lui Hitler era una fundamental evoluționistă, pe când a lui Codreanu era fundamental creștină. Hitler urmărea facilitarea legii evoluției (așa cu el însuși afirmă), prin promovarea speciei superioare (ariene) și asigurarea propășirii acesteia de dragul bunăstării universale. Codreanu însă se mărginea la a dori mântuirea neamului său, într-o mistică (probabil specific românească, sau, în orice caz, preponderent românească) a mântuirii colective. Deci scopul principal a lui Hitler era dominația politică, pe când a lui Codreanu era dominația morală. Conform concepției acestuia din urmă, dominația politică avea să vină drept consecință a celei dintâi. Dacă Hitler era cel mult un agnostic (mai degrabă un ateu deghizat), Codreanu era un om foarte religios, care trăia într-un paradox teologic al confruntării învățăturii creștine autentice cu violența (inclusiv crima). Cum le împăca exact pe cele două, e greu de spus. Există niște indicii către sfârșitul cărții, dar insuficiente.

Mișcarea legionară s-a născut pe fondul unor nemulțumiri naționale generalizate, ca urmare a sărăciei lăsate de primul război mondial (atât în statele învinse, cât și în cele învingătoare). În consecință, aproape peste tot în Europa, comuniștii au încercat să profite de ocazie și să inaugureze marea revoluție despre care vorbește Marx în Manifest. Au existat mișcări comuniste importante în Germania (unde au și existat pentru puțină vreme o serie de republici comuniste), în Ungaria, în Italia și inclusiv în Franța. Mai târziu, avea să se declanșeze în Spania (1936) un mare război civil între comuniști și naționaliști. Pe acest fond, naționaliștii din țările respective au acționat, considerând comunismul (și, cel puțin inițial, pe bună dreptate) ca fiind o mișcare coordonată în principal de evrei - venind la pachet cu toate conspirațiile și acuzele asociate acestora. Atunci (ca și acum?), guvernul și politicienii nu au recunoscut fundamentul acestei mișcări (în cazul României), căutând să o stârpească violent. Relatările a unei părți din aceste violențe o face Codreanu în aceasta carte, de a căror veridicitate nu am motive să mă îndoiesc. Persecutați în continuu, sub Carol, Antonescu și comuniști, legionarii încă au rămas niște sperietori ai politicienilor români, deși aceștia au încetat de mult a mai activa politic. Oare să bănuiască și ei că această mișcare s-a bazat pe ceva mai adânc decât simplele mișcări politice, ceva ce nu poate fi înlăturat în mod fundamental, și care renaște cu fiecare generație? Să apeleze mai degrabă la un filon psihologic al românului (sau uman, în general) pe care Codreanu să-l fi indentificat și țintit atât de bine?

Sunt desigur multe de spus. Abia am atins suprafața, și ar trebui să mai scriu câteva pagini ca să pretind a avea o introducere. Continuând însă comparația între Hitler și Codreanu, cred că cel dintâi avea o inteligență superioară, pe când cel din urmă avea o determinare superioară.

N-aș încadra mișcarea legionară în cadrul mișcărilor fasciste, așa cum Codreanu însuși nu o face. Mai degrabă o mișcare parafascistă, de un caracter unic în politica europeană (ce se păstrează până în prezent). Mișcarea legionară merită tratată aparte de mișcările fasciste, pentru că altfel am înțelege-o greșit.

Codreanu are parte de o moarte violentă, după părerea mea nemeritată, din ordinul lui Carol (care, fără îndoială, era teribil de gelos pe succesul lui Codreanu, cum de altfel era și față de Hitler). În continuare, legionarii au fost acuzați inițial de rebeliune (fapt chestionabil, ținând cont de îmrejurări, meritând a fi cercetat mai în amănunt), de partizanat (în munți), de misticism (în mănăstiri), de uneltiri contra poporului (în comunism) iar, în prezent, de antieuropenism și (SIC) putinism.

După aproximativ 100 de ani de la naștere, această organizație încă nu a fost înțeleasă, și nici reabilitată în istoriografia românească în sensul tratării ei obiective - tratare care presupune inclusiv mobilele personajelor principale (psihologice, sentimentale), nu doar simplele fapte. Ea a fost o mișcare idealistă, romantică, și dacă o scoatem din această cheie de interpretare, îi ratăm semnificația precum și efectul pe care încă îl mai are în gândirea unora. Însă legionarismul, dpdv politic, a dispărut de mult. Iar faptul că mulți indivizi încă văd legionari ce amenință preluarea puterii în stat, reflectă faptul la care m-am referit mai devreme: Codreanu a atins un filon profund în etosul (Weltanschauung, conform lui Hitler) românesc, și, se pare, și reversul acestuia - o oarecare frică atavică a unora.



Profile Image for Youthknives.
11 reviews2 followers
September 20, 2022
This book is something worth re-reading to fully grasp. It was eloquent, moving, heroic, dramatic, and fascinating. Codreanu was a highly complex character with a deep intuition and sense of charisma, and yet he was also a firm man of action and not afraid to get into the trenches for his beliefs whenever the need arose. This was a man who was true to his convictions as much as he was interested in possession of power, the right to rule, and the use of might to achieve this objective.

Here is a man that died nobly!

This book is a testament to a life well lived and one surrounded in the same type of venomous, back stabbing "kulturkampf" combat we find ourselves in today. Codreanu's book brought tears to my eyes at varying sections and ultimately serves as a cornerstone for one of the most important books I have ever read in my life.

This is a life changing story.
Profile Image for Bot..
39 reviews7 followers
January 4, 2022
The writings of a great thinker who wanted to make his country, and the world better. This book brought me to tears and has moved me greatly. An essential read for those interested in learning about Fascism.
Profile Image for Constantin .
225 reviews17 followers
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November 26, 2024
De obicei nu sunt prea mișcat de chestii de genul, dar acum se simte de parcă am citit un manual de pirotehnică lângă un incendiu.
Profile Image for Bookreadingnarcissist.
127 reviews7 followers
August 16, 2018
Codreanu was clearly a patriot, with the only thing bigger than his love for the country being his selflessness. The selflessness and courage he showed throughout this book is admirable. The way the government persecuted him and broke the law attempting to ruin him and his followers was ridiculous. How many times did he and his followers get brought to court only to have all the charges dropped - 7 times? 8 times? And then to be illegally tortured by that same government! The perseverance he and his follows portrayed throughout the book, coupled with the fact that he never gave up, even when he knew all the odds were stacked against him, is truly astonishing. I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this book and realize a man like this actually existed. The principles the legionaries have to follow was interesting too - the fact that they were vocal about not being materialistic, and explicitly said "a legionary must live in poverty" is admirable. I also agree with their rejection of degeneracy, hedonism & debauchery - carnal sins do indeed rot the soul. Any man would do himself a great service reading this book. The only complaint I really have is on the publisher's behalf. The text was screwy in some places and there were many words misspelled. Aside from that this book was the best book I've read all year. Just reading this book alone made me motivated to go out and be an activist for political change, and for that I have to give this book 5/5.
However, with the publisher's errors and misspelling of words I'd give it a 3/5. But, as I said above I thoroughly enjoyed the content of this book, so:
Final Rating - 5/5
Profile Image for HK.
82 reviews15 followers
August 10, 2019
Great book written by a great man who set an example for his contemporaries and for generations to come.
Profile Image for Nicholas.
8 reviews
February 21, 2025
This is a book I would suggest for anyone who is interested in understanding the historical context of the Romanian movement. A great read for early stage political intellectuals and those interested in the right side of history.
59 reviews1 follower
August 28, 2021
Since it is the writing of a historical figure I was interested to read this. His writing plays on fears of jews, masonry, and others as is typical of far-right movements of the time.

Two stars. There are better books to get a sense of what motivated the far-right of the early twentieth century.
1,638 reviews19 followers
July 30, 2023
The second half gets more readable, but largely, a pussy and a sociopath, and I do not apologize for those words. Fuck that, I'll take it further- Codreanu is a cunt that deserved to die. Even Trump's Team Crazy had more sense (despite abusing the very laws they fangirl). Even Hitler had some sense in distancing himself. Like damn, y'all, Eastern Europe is crazy, yo.
6 reviews1 follower
June 8, 2023
Honestly an interesting tale which a lot can be learned from. Interesting views on the system being "damned if you do, damned if you don't". Might not agree with all his views but it was an interesting narrative that was both vulnerable and teaching
Profile Image for Dan.
30 reviews2 followers
November 16, 2008
Interesting book, but the whole the Jews are the scourge of the world shtick gets kind of old quick. But what do you expect from a fascist manifesto.
Profile Image for Zachry Veltri.
12 reviews
April 19, 2022
Great novel styled real story of a man who stood up against a communist invasion of his country at the height of communism in Europe.
54 reviews
November 22, 2022
This is one of two books of all books ever written which made me emotional whilst reading it. A true patriot and Christian by whom any young man should model his life.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews

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