Political assassination attempts in Romania

I remember reading about a previously unknown (for me) political assassination in terrorist style taking place in inter-war Romania. It gave me the idea of a topic with a somewhat different flavour: Political assassination attempts in Romania.

In the afternoon of 8 December 1920 a bomb had exploded in the University hall where the Romanian Senate held its sessions. The deflagration killed Bishop Dumitru Radu on the spot and severely wounded the President of the Senate, Gen. Coandă, the Minister of Justice, Dimitrie Greceanu, Senator Spirescu, Bishop Nifon and the Secretary of the Senate, Virgil Budescu. Dimitrie Greceanu and Spirescu died in hospital as a result of their wounds.

The police inquiry showed that the terrorist act has been carried out by Max Goldstein, in complicity with Leon Lichtblau and Saul Ozias who helped him manufacture the bomb. It appeared that Goldstein has entered the building in the previous day and during the night has placed the bomb in a blind window behind the seat of the President of the Senate. The bomb has not been discovered at the routine security controls performed before the sessions of the Senate.

The perpetrator, Max Goldstein, has left the country immediately after the terrorist act but has been arrested three months later when he re-entered Romania. He confessed that his actions were a result of Buharin and Zinoviev's order of 1919 to the Terrorist Section of the Komintern to assassinate the Romanian prime-minister, Gen. Alexandru Averescu.

Source: Magazin istoric 6/2004.

If you have further information about this and/or other similar acts, please post it here.

In 1918 Lenin has ordered the assassination of King Ferdinand. Simion Rosal has been designated for this mission but the army foiled the plot and arrested the perpetrator who was later executed.

In 1933 there has been an assassination attempt targeted at King Carol II during a stopover in Budapest en route to Warsaw.

Any more details on this action?

On 29 December 1933, following a meeting at the Peleş Castle with King Carol II, prime-minister I. G. Duca has been attacked on the platform of Sinaia railway station by three legionaries (Constantinescu, Belimace and Caranica). The prime-minister has been shot five times in the back of the head by Niki Constantinescu. Duca's companion, Dr. Constantinescu, has been wounded.

This is a relatively known act compared to the other ones presented above.

One of the officers who have helped King Carol II to return to Romania in 1930 has been persuaded by the members of the opposition that the King and his mistress, Elena Lupescu, were guilty of the poor situation in Romania. He has planned to assassinate them on 8 April 1934 by detonating a basket of grenades on their route to the Royal Palace. The plot was foiled and the conspirator has been arrested, tried and condemned to demotion and 10 years hard labour.

Does anyone know the name of the officer?

His name was Victor Precup but the details of this plot are still a mistery. Precup said at the trial that he didn't want to assasinate the king. quite the opposite, he wanted to create a "junta" to overthrow the government and to give dictatorial powers to the Carol II.

Hi Guys,

The Romanian monarchy can't have been all bad if attempts were made on the life of its kings by both Communist Jews and anti-Semitic Guardists!

If one is, as the saying goes, defined by one's enemies, then the Romanian monarchy comes out of this quite well!

Cheers,

Sid.

Thank you for the update. Could you please fill in the bits that you have?

To continue the series of assassination attempts, in the summer of 1936 there has been a poisoning attempt on the life of Nicolae Titulescu. For the next 5 years Titulescu has shown the signs of a gradual and chronic poisoning. He eventually died in 1941, aged 59. There have been many suspects for his poisoning, but the authors remained unknown.

Another legionary plot planned to assassinate King Carol II and his ministers present at the Epiphany celebrations on 6 January 1939. The secret agents arrested and killed the conspirators on 4 January.

Also in 1939, the NKVD agent Leonid Lututovici attempted to assassinate the chief of the Military Justice in Cernăuţi.

On 13 February 1939 there has been a plan to assassinate Armand Călinescu though the detonation of a bomb placed under a bridge on his usual route. The plot has been foiled. However, on 21 September 1939 the conspirators succeed. Armand Călinescu's car has been blocked close to his home and a legionary 'Death Squad' killed the prime minister with more than 20 shots. His driver was also killed. The bodyguard was wounded but managed to get away. Next day the police captured the nine assassins and executed them on the site of the assassination.

One further attempt on the life of Carol II has taken place in September 1940 when several shots have been fired at the train that took him out of Romania after the abdication. If I remember right the engineer of the train sensed somehow the danger and accelerated when entering Timişoara railway station thus diminishing the chances of the train to be hit. Again, the legionaries were supposed to be behind this act.

You forget about Nicolae Iorga and Virgil Madgearu,killed by the same legionary asassins,for political reasons,on 27 nov. 1940.It was some rumors that ones of legionares was soviet agents,or was adviced by german secret agencies.

Hi Carol I

I seem to remember that Calinescu was assasinated by a bridge quite near the royal palace and that in the early 1990s a simple memorial was put up in a public garden beside the road. Is it still there?

Cheers,

Sid.