1. Horia Sima was a Romanian fascist politician, best known as the second and last leader of the fascist paramilitary movement known as the Iron Guard.
22 Facts About Horia Sima
1. 2.
Horia Sima had previously served briefly as State Secretary of Education under Gheorghe Tatarescu in 1940, and as a short-lived Minister of Religion and Arts in the government of Ion Gigurtu.
3.
In January 1941, Horia Sima initiated and led the Legionnaires' Rebellion against Conducator Ion Antonescu and the Romanian Army, for which he was sentenced to death, as well as the Bucharest pogrom, the largest and most violent pogrom against Jews in the history of Muntenia.
4.
Horia Sima was born on 3 July 1906 to Silvia and Gheorghe Horia Sima in Mundra, Fogaras County, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary, although some sources incorrectly list his birthplace as the nearby city of Fagaras and his birth year as 1907.
5.
Between 1926 and 1932, Horia Sima studied at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of the University of Bucharest, serving as councillor of the National Union of Christian Students of Romania.
6.
Horia Sima was named in initial lists of Iron Guard electoral candidates for the 1933 Romanian general election, but the party was ultimately banned from participating.
7.
Horia Sima became commander of the Iron Guard in late 1938 after its founder and leader, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, was imprisoned and later murdered.
8.
In early 1939, Horia Sima fled to Nazi Germany through Yugoslavia, wherein he and a number of Romanian exiles attempted to plan a coup; this plot was discovered by German police and a number of Legionnaires were arrested.
9.
Horia Sima resigned from the Gigurtu cabinet after only four days.
10.
At that point, Horia Sima was able to officially return from exile and rise to power as deputy prime minister in the new government, as well as resume his activities as leader of the Iron Guard in Romania.
11.
Horia Sima appointed five Legionnaires into ministerial positions within the National Legionary State, and Legionnaires assumed leadership roles as prefects in each of Romania's administrative districts.
12.
Horia Sima responded to dissent within the Iron Guard by placing a number of prominent Legionnaires under house arrest, including Corneliu Zelea Codreanu's brothers and father.
13.
Horia Sima refused to attend the meeting, citing both apprehension regarding the flight and that he felt it improper for both leaders to leave the country.
14.
In 1942, Horia Sima escaped and fled to Italy, but was extradited back to Germany on the orders of Galeazzo Ciano.
15.
Horia Sima was transferred to Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg in April 1943, where he would be detained in a prison cell until August 1944.
16.
When Romania changed sides in World War II, joining the Allies in August 1944, Horia Sima was released and instructed to create a pro-Nazi puppet government-in-exile in Vienna, and would broadcast instructions to fascist battalions via German radio.
17.
Until the 1990s, Horia Sima attempted to form connections with mainstream ideologies of anti-Communism, insisting on the Guard's allegiance to the Free World.
18.
The party oriented itself towards denunciations of Communist Romania, and Horia Sima continued to publish ideological literature in exile in Spain, including a monthly newsletter titled "Tara si Exilul", which found readership in Israel, Australia, Germany, and the United States.
19.
In Spain, Horia Sima forged close connections with several Francoist and Falangist politicians, including Luis Carrero Blanco and Blas Pinar.
20.
Horia Sima continued to lead Legionary front organizations in Canada, the United States, Germany, Austria, and France.
21.
Horia Sima reportedly died in Madrid on 25 May 1993, aged 86, although some sources cite his place of death as Augsburg, Germany.
22.
Horia Sima was buried near his wife Elvira Sima in Torredembarra, near Barcelona, Spain.