King Carol s Camarilla - FLORIDA CRISIS SIMULATION X · 2019. 11. 22. · King Carol’s Camarilla Page 3 Historical Background: “The Balkans produce more history than they can

King Carol’s Camarilla

King Carol’s Camarilla Page 1

Dear Delegates,

My name is Mark Merwitzer. I am a sophomore at the University of Florida, and I am beyond excited to present this crisis committee: King Carol’s Camarilla. Last year I staffed both GatorMUN (our high school conference) and FLCS and went to MUNE and ChoMUN as a delegate. Outside of MUN, I am currently majoring in Political Science and was heavily involved in the lobbying effort to ban texting while driving in Florida as a primary offense.

Ever since living in Germany for three years, World War II has been a subject that has always fascinated me. Unfortunately, when you open up a textbook today and read about World War II, many countries and their rich history regarding the war are left out. The point of this committee is to educate all of you in a fun way of the many struggles and opportunities that Romania had. The strategic importance of the country is the biggest asset and challenge to Romania. It is sandwiched between the two largest powers in Europe and has an economy that is still recovering from the Great Depression. Regardless of what was just stated, I also want you to come up with unique solutions for the country and find ways to address the plethora of challenges that Romania dealt with during these trying times. After all, you are on a Camarilla. In case you have not looked up Camarilla yet, a Camarilla is essentially a more scandalous cabinet.

What I mean by my last paragraph is be creative within the realm of possibility. While I do not mind things that are ahistorical, I do not want the committee to deviate far from reality on the first session. In other words, collaborate and articulate your ideas well. I want this committee to be a battle of your best ideas, arguments, and plans. My end goal here is for a delegate driven committee which bears the challenges of World War II.

With that said, I expect each delegate to have a good understanding of Romania’s history from World War I onwards. I will provide some of that history here, but there are tons of excellent sources including Wikipedia (especially the sources they use in the article), World War Two Database, Britannica, and many scholastic articles. In addition, knowing a bit about what Romania’s neighbors were doing in the lead up to World War II will also be extremely helpful in committee. In particular, focus on Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union.

I would like to acknowledge the history of the Holocaust in World War II. Any discussion entertaining the perpetuation of genocide, war crimes targeting minorities, etc., will be immediately shut down, and should they continue past a warning, could strongly result in the loss of award eligibility. To be clear, the committee may still discuss minority populations in the context of exchanging land with neighbors, as that was the driving force of many of Romania’s problems in the lead up to World War II. However, anti-Semitism and the like will not be tolerated.

Let’s have a fantastic committee! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected].

Best,Mark MerwitzerDirector,King Carol’s Camarilla


A letter from King Carol:

Members of my Camarilla,

You are all my trusted friends and political allies who rule Romania. Yesterday, February 10th, 1938, I ended democracy in Romania and instituted my royal government. While Europe descends into chaos from the fascist regimes to the west and the Bolshevik regime in the east, I found it necessary for the defense of the people to seize control of Romania and institute a royal dictatorship. Romania is unfortunately not immune to the problems the rest of Europe faces; the rise of far right and left factions are a growing plague on our society. It took great political maneuvering with party leaders to make this government happen. To ensure that every party who has helped me so far gets a seat at the table, I have to put many partisan leaders on my Camarilla. It is the extreme responsibility of this Camarilla to ensure Romania’s domestic and foreign well-being.

While our country has an abundance of black gold, many of our people are living in rural areas in poverty. The infrastructure is currently significantly lacking and we have only a few railways. Our economy is weak compared to the major powers, and our military industry is scarce.

The avoidance of conflict is critical to our survival. Our alliances with Poland and Yugoslavia must be assessed, and our people cannot have a fiasco if we remained unarmed as we were in the War to End all Wars. The Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and Hungary all have claims on the territory we have rightfully annexed and therefore pose additional external threats.

While the challenges are great, together we will lead Romania into a new and prosperous era. An era where our great country will reconsider our current foreign alliances as the rest of the continent descends into chaos, an era that will crush the disgusting Iron Guard and quell rebellion, an era that will do great things with our massive oil reserves, an era that will preserve all of Greater Romania, an era where foreign powers will not dare stepping foot on our soil, and an era that will see Romania having the greatest industry in the world!

To Greatness, King Carol II


Historical Background: “The Balkans produce more history than they can consume.” -Winston Churchill

Pre World War I: Prior to Romania’s entry into World War I, much of Romania’s territories, including Transylvania, Wallachia, Moldova, and Bessarabia, were occupied by foreign powers. Until the Wallachian Revolution of 1848, Romania was not united. From the beginning, foreign powers like the Russian and Ottoman Empires tried to intervene in their politics and weaken the Romanian government. One of the key leaders, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, was of Prussian descent and ascended to the throne of the Kingdom of Romania.

Despite initial foreign challenges, Cuza spearheaded many sweeping and progressive reforms that saw the country grow significantly. Yet these reforms put Cuza at odds with the powerful aristocracy, who forced him to abdicate in 1866.1 He was replaced by Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who was of Bonaparte decent. Upon the coup, Romania was officially a constitutional monarchy. During the Wallachian revolution, Prince Karl personally lead the Russians in the Siege of Plevna. The outcome of the battle was a large contributing factor to the defeat of the Ottomans in the Russo-Turkish War. Just after the war, Karl broke away from the Ottomans, and Romania was officially independent. Despite helping the Russians in their war of independence,2 Russia immediately became hostile and demanded the Russo-Romanian border land of Bessarabia.

The hostility of the Russian empire led to Romania creating a secret defensive pact with the triple alliance of Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Italy. Even though the Romanians thought the new alliance and defense projects protected them from the Russian Empire, Romania had essentially no chance of controlling their desired territory of Transylvania because of this treaty. The challenge to take back the majority Romanian territory of Transylvania is due to the fact that Austria-Hungary, the controller of Transylvania at the time, was in this triple alliance along with Germany and Italy, and it would be impossible for Romania to attack their new ally without disastrous consequences. The people within Transylvania were largely oppressed by the Hungarian minority while the 54% of the population that was Romanian couldn’t rely on the Romanian government as it was fairly powerless.

During the same Pre-World War I period, Romania saw industrialization and development of the largest oil fields in the Balkan region. While most of the country was still agricultural, it did see economic growth.

1 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexandru-Ioan-Cuza2 https://adevarul.ro/locale/constanta/secretele-podului-cernavoda-opera-tanarului-inginer-ang-hel-saligny-episodul-luptelor-aeriene-horia-agarici-salvatorul-constantei-1_57d7dc565ab6550cb89f5393/index.html


During the First Balkan War, Romania was neutral due to an agreement with Russia, which promised Romania the northern Bulgarian territory of Silistra. Despite the agreement, Bulgaria refused to cede the territory after the war and immediately created hostilities between the two nations. Bulgaria and Russia terminated their alliance, and soon afterwards, Bulgaria attacked their neighbors Serbia and Greece. With the Bulgarian army deep into the two countries, Romania had the perfect opportunity to attack Bulgaria, and they seized the opportunity. To sue for peace because of Romania’s surprise invasion, Bulgaria gave Romania Silistra and Southern Dobrogea in the Treaty of Bucharest.3 The treaty caused Bulgaria to have a deep hatred for Romania that is still present to this day. Because the war was largely perpetrated by the Russians, Bulgaria became very close with the central powers despite Romania having a secret alliance with the Central Powers too.

Even though Romania did not lose a single person due to combat in the war, they lost over 6,000 men to cholera.4 The war showed the massive shortcomings of the army ranging from lack of supply lines to disorganized officers. The war also strengthened ties between Russia and Romania. The two countries planned a royal wedding between young Carol II and a Russian princess, Olga Nikolaevna, which would fuse their royal families together. King Carol II refused the wedding and instead pursued the love of his life, Magda Lupescu. This botched marriage attempt resulted in a bit of a scandal and caused tension between the two nations.

Romania in World War I:When World War I began, King Carol I offered to join the Central Powers. However, the treaty that sponsored Romania’s entrance into the Central Powers was merely a defensive pact and did not require Romania to join the war. Even though King Carol I was Prussian, public opinion within Romania leaned pro France, creating another barrier for the king in siding with the Central Powers. Because of this split between the king and the public, the government adopted a policy of armed neutrality.

In October of 1914, King Carol I suddenly died and was succeeded by King Ferdinand I. Ferdinand directed a sharp transition of foreign policy and vowed to represent the will of the people, partly due to his wife being part English and Russian. Yet, Romania still had issues joining the war when Ferdinand took the throne. Romania’s army was ill-equipped

and struggled to get arms from foreign countries due to their declaration of neutrality earlier.5

Despite these challenges, Romania’s foreign minister negotiated Romania’s entry into the war aligning with France. They were promised the lands of Transylvania and other lands with 3 https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/boshtml/bos149.htm4 War in the Balkans - Richard C. Hall, Editor5 Romania Joins The War I THE GREAT WAR Week 110


a majority Romanian population which were to be taken from Hungary upon their defeat. Negotiations to join were not easy. Russia opposed the Romanians joining the war because Romanian neutrality ensured they did not have to fight a war in the south, and Romania joining the war would put them at risk. This risk was so great that France and Russia signed a secret treaty to break the promise of giving Romania land as originally stated.

During these negotiations to join with France and Russia, Romania formed Hypothesis Z, which was a very optimistic plan to cause the surrender of Austria-Hungary. The plan was to seize the province of Transylvania and defend it from counterattack.6 In response, the Germans sent two armies led by Mackensen and Falkenheim, the two fiercest leaders in the German army, to push the Romanians back. Bulgaria attacked Romania from the south, and the Germans attacked from the north. The Romanians had to defend themselves against the counterattack with very few resources and little support from Russia.

Because of the lack of equipment and support from Russia, Germany invaded Romania and took their resources. Romania officially signed a ceasefire with the Central Powers when Russia withdrew from the war because of the Bolshevik Revolution. They returned to the war on the 10th of November, the day before Germany surrendered. In their return, they took Transylvania from Austria-Hungary. Despite their territorial gains, 355,706 Romanians were killed from this costly war.7

Post War Treaties and the Outcome of World War I: The world has just finished its largest conflict and is in chaos. Self-determination is the ability for a country or a group of people to freely choose their actions without external compulsion. That right was extremely limited worldwide, but was gaining large popularity after the war and became a main topic of the Paris Peace Conference.

The most controversial and impactful treaty of the conference was the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles included many points including: forcing Germany to accept all of the guilt for World War I, forcing Germany to cede many of its territories to Poland and France, making Germany surrender of all their colonial holdings, capping the German army to no more than 100,000 men, banning a German air force, setting limits on arms manufacturing, and instituting a reparations system that was crippling to the German economy.8 Due to the Treaty of Versailles, the politics and economy of Germany have become completely destabilized, leading to the rise of communism and fascism from the weak Weimar Republic. Nazis took power in 1933 and began to alter the European sphere. The most notable examples of this were when Germany exceeded the maximum army size approved by the treaty and remilitarized the French borderlands.

The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye dissolved the Austro-Hungarian Empire and forced the Central Powers to recognize the independence of Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Austria was forced to renounce 60% of its prewar territory to the various 6 http://www.magtudin.org/HARASZTI_ENDRE_Ethnic_History_of_Transylvania.pdf7 http://buletinul.unap.ro/pagini/pdf/buletin-1-2012-en.pdf#page=1638 https://www.loc.gov/law/help/us-treaties/bevans/m-ust000002-0043.pdf


victors. Despite this, Italy did not receive much of the land they were promised from Austria-Hungary, one of the chief factors that led to the rise of Mussolini. More importantly, the right to self-determination for many minority successor states was granted to the lands of former Austria-Hungary. Due to the redrawing of maps, many people across Europe started revolting. This displaced many individuals and ethnicities, and the people turned to previous fringe ideologies.

The Treaty of Trianon was similar to the Treaty of Versailles, but instead dealt with Hungary. The treaty forced Hungary to surrender much of its land to various neighboring states, which would cause major future ethnic and territorial conflicts. The treaty limited Hungary’s army to only 35,000 volunteer troops and limited its weaponry. Most importantly to Romania, the treaty forced Hungary to cede Transylvania to Romania.9 The aftermath of the treaty caused over 400,000 Hungarian refugees to migrate to the newly drawn Hungary, as they feared oppression in the ceded territories.

The hatred for the Paris Treaties, the financial ruin that followed suit, and the ethnic tensions would drive Hungary to align with the Axis Powers. This will pose a major threat to Romania, especially if they wish to keep the newly annexed territory of Transylvania.10

The rise of the Nation-States and Annexation of Territories:To understand Europe after the Paris Peace Conference and why Romania eventually received these territories, one must look at nationalism. Today we define a nation state as a state with some kind of shared identity.11 The problem with that idea is it completely discounts the fact that many parts of Europe, especially the Balkans, were extremely diverse. There is no clear line as to where one distinct group begins and where another ends. People who feel strongly about their national identity in an area controlled by another identity will start many wars over their identity in the interwar years and will be a strong contributing factor eventually leading to the rise of fascism.

After being a member of the Entente Powers in World War I, Romania found itself in an advantageous position following the First World War. Romania received the disputed territories of Banat, Transylvania, Bukovina, and Bessarabia in the Treaty of Trianon. Essentially, the Western powers favored Romania’s claims throughout the Balkans following the assistance provided in the Entente and due to the need to fill the power vacuum caused by the

9 https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/trianon_treaty_of10 https://encyclopedi a.1914-1918-online.net/bibliography/ITBT2FN511 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/international-migration/glossary/nation-state/


collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Even though these territories had a Romanian majority, they still had vast amounts of ethnic Hungarians, Serbs, and Germans. These new people faced an extremely challenging integration into Romanian society, especially after being separated for over a century. Non-Romanians faced discrimination, leading to the country being deeply fragmented. This fragmentation largely contributed to the rise of the Iron Guard Romania, the far-right fascist faction in the country.

After nearly doubling its territory in the first years after World War I, Romania was arguably one of the most powerful Balkan countries. Due to this growth, there was a large minority population of Hungarians, Germans, and Slavs. In response to the different ethnicities, the government drafted a new constitution in 1923, but it failed to recognize many of the ethnic tensions within the country, causing difficulty for much of the new population to integrate.12

Romania’s Neighbors:Hungary: After the political turmoil caused by the Treaty of Trianon and communist threats quashed by a monarchist counter revolution, Miklos Horthy was named Prime Minister of Hungary. The new government immediately repealed all rights created by the previous regime such as free speech, assembly, education, press, culture, and religion. The Horthy government also renounced the 1918 armistice. A new wave of authoritarianism swept the country and caused the country to fall under an iron grip of a new regime, all while the Allied Powers dealt with other matters. The new government also was extremely anti-semetic, barring Jews from university education and legalizing the death penalty.

In 1921, Austrian Emperor Charles IV attempted to overthrow the Hungarian monarchy and restore a Habsburg alliance within the country. After the failed coup, the right-wing factions were torn in Hungary as to whether or not they should support the restoration of the Habsburg king. A right-wing politician took advantage of this infighting and created a new party. He was then appointed Prime Minister. This right-wing politician, Bethlen, changed the electoral landscape of the country, eliminating peasants from participating in some parties and corruptly ruling a bureaucracy. Bethlen also sought to revise the Treaty of Trianon but failed as there was a lack of will from other powers.

As the standard of living plummeted due to the Great Depression, Hungary shifted further and further to the right. In 1931, Bethlen resigned due to the political turmoil. He was replaced by a reactionary Gombos after the two agreed to not call elections before the parliamentary term expired. Gombos’s entrance as prime minister marked the beginning of a far-right shift that lasted until 1945. He strongly pushed for an alliance with Germany and even coined the term “axis.” Gombos signed a trade agreement with Italy and Germany and lifted the economy out of depression in 1934.

With two powerful countries supporting Hungary in an alliance, 12 Keith Hitchins, A Concise History of Romania


Hungary began to renounce the Treaty of Trianon by openly disobeying the treaty’s restrictions on Hungary’s military. It is highly likely that Hungary will use this to violate other parts of the treaty, including regaining their lost territories.13

Bulgaria: Even though Bulgaria did not lose nearly as much land as their Triple Alliance counterparts, Bulgaria did lose territories to both Yugoslavia and Greece as a result of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine. Despite losing less land area, the territories lost were considered crucial parts of Bulgaria, and the reintegration of them would fuel their alignment towards Nazi Germany.

After World War I, Bulgaria still had the same government, ruled by King Boris III and a parliament much like Romania. The Boris government had

to face reparations and a refugee crisis from the lost territories immediately following the war. Despite this, the government did manage to pass social reforms and curtail some influence of the military in government. Opposition mainly came from the growing communist factions, which the Bulgarian government strongly opposed. In an effort to quash the influence of Communism, Bulgaria signed an agreement with Yugoslavia to recognize a new border and work together to stop the communists. The nationalists saw this as an opportunity to overthrow the current government and a right-wing government successfully took power. The repression was savage and social freedoms were suppressed.

More instability was created by the Great Depression to the point where another coup happened, and the new government dissolved all parties and trade unions. A corporatist economy was introduced, and an attempt to merge Bulgaria and Yugoslavia was made.14 Despite this, negotiations fell through when King Boris III staged another overthrow of the government, taking power for himself.

The King’s Government oversaw a period of growth and was known as the golden age of Bulgaria. King Boris’s government is slowly allying with Nazi Germany due to their shared bitterness over the great war and could eventually seek to take back the territories that were previously lost.

Romanian Government and the Far Right:A new constitution was drafted after the war which provided for an unstable, liberal constitutional monarchy. Between 1930 and 1940, the country experienced over 25 different governments. The king still had the ability to suspend parliament at will and call for snap elections whenever he saw fit. The throne was also rather unstable. When King Ferdinand died in 1927, Carol II was barred from the throne because of his love affairs and scandals. His lover, Magda Lupescu, was extremely unpopular with the people of Romania partly because she was Jewish. Meanwhile, Ferdinand’s son Michael was made king even though he was only five years old at the time. 13 http://countrystudies.us/hungary/30.htm14 Khristo Angelov Khristov. Bulgaria, 1300 years. Sofia, Bulgaria: Sofia Press, 1980. P. 192.


After the ousting of Carol II, the National Peasants Party brought about his return a few years later in 1930. The party recognized him as the official king in parliament, and from then on, he built up a cult of personality, which eventually lead to his full takeover of the country in 1938. In the meantime, the government became increasingly nationalistic and far right.

In July of 1926, the fascist Iron Guard Romania was founded. It was a radical, ultra-nationalist, anti-Semitic, anti-communist, far right party which became a paramilitary terrorist organization. The Iron Guard was led by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and, unlike other far right movements, was popular among the peasants and young people.15 To add to the chaos, when the Great Depression came about in 1929, it completely threw Romania into social upheaval. Riots and strikes were widespread and often were violently stopped. This added more fuel to the fire and caused more and more individuals to become radicalized. Because many students were unemployed after going to French style universities in a French style economy, much of the Iron Guard had a great detest for

France and the West.

Codreanu and the Iron Guardsmen pushed strongly for an ultra-nationalistic identity of Romania and rejected the values of human rights. Instead, the legion wished to impose a peasant and Eastern Orthodox culture as Romania’s “true identity.” This view spread throughout the country due to the propaganda and charisma of Codreanu. The party also created a red scare and vowed the Bolsheviks as an enemy of Romania. These radical stances eventually caused the party to be banned in the early 1930s, shifting the party towards more extreme terrorist tactics, including assassinating the prime minister who originally banned the party. Multiple attempts to persecute the Iron Guard were made, and they would often respond with violent terrorist activities. The Iron Guard will likely be a thorn in King Carol’s side, opposing him and his policies.

The Iron Guard was largely supported and funded by Nazi Germany, which by 1938, had a tremendous amount of economic and military leverage over Romania. Germany paid a premium for Romanian agricultural products and eventually accounted for half of Romania’s exports and imports.

Foreign Policy: Despite anti-French factions within the population, the Romanian government was largely pro-France and had a defensive alliance with them. Their alliance with France drew the country closer to many of the formerly Entente aligned and newly created countries. In 1921, Romania created the Little Entente which was a military alliance between Romania,

15 Crampton, Richard Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century-And After, London: Routledge, 1997 p. 115.


Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The aim of this alliance was to create a defense against the former Central Powers and prevent a Habsburg restoration.

The confidence in France waned when France built the Maginot Line and Germany remilitarized the Rhineland. In response to fears regarding Germany, the Romanians began a policy of collective security in 1933 with the Little Entente. To add even more strain on the foreign policy of Romania, the Germans had a foreign policy goal of Gleichschaltung, which sought to unify Germans around Europe. The policy was seen as a direct threat to Romania’s internal stability and didn’t sit well with King Carol, as the Germans supported the far-right Iron Guard. While supporting the far right, Germany continued their antagonisms towards Romania throughout the early 1930s, signing an economic agreement with Hungary, Romania’s largest competitor, in 1933.

By the time 1938 rolls around, the Little Entente is starting to be thrown under a huge strain created by Germany’s vast military growth and their increasing willingness to annex territories around them. This aggressive German foreign policy took many countries in the alliance by surprise, further putting strain on the alliance due to the fact that no one in the alliance prepared for the German aggression. Everyone thought that France would attack Germany and preserve the Treaty of Versailles should Germany become

more aggressive instead of rolling over like they did.

In addition to the Little Entente, Romania sought an alliance with Poland, who was under increasing Soviet threat. Being neighbors to such a major threat, both countries signed a defensive alliance in 1921. In 1926, when the alliance treaty was up for renewal, Romania and Poland saw the increased German threat to the area and thus signed a revised treaty. This treaty agreed that they would defend each other against any attack, not just by the Soviet Union. By the time Hitler took power in 1932, the threat to Polish security created by the Germans was clear. In response, both countries tried to create non-aggression pacts with the Soviet Union, but negotiations fell short as there were Soviet claims on Bessarabia.16 Relations continued to diverge with Poland when Romania created the Balkan Pact with Yugoslavia, Turkey, and Greece in 1934. Poland was not exactly friendly to many of these nations, especially Czechoslovakia who possessed the disputed area of Zaolzie. Polish-Romanian relations must be dealt with quickly and in complete consideration of the situation.

King Carol’s Involvement in Foreign Policy: In 1936, King Carol sent diplomats to Berlin to discuss German-Romanian relations. He offered rapprochement of relations and urged Germany not to support Hungarian restoration of territory.17 However, the Germans had a great interest in Romanian oil and sought to

16 https://web.archive.org/web/20071007125301/http://www.itcnet.ro/history/archive/mi1999/mi10/mi51.htm17 Weinberg, Gerhard, The Foreign Policy of Hitler’s Germany, New York: Enigma Books, 2013 pages 252-253.


improve economic relations between the two countries. Germany had to rely greatly on foreign oil imports since it had no oil of its own to extract. While Germany was begging Romania for oil, France was too. France wanted to strengthen the Little Entente and hoped that Romania’s army would compensate for France’s lower population when compared to Germany’s. Yet, King Carol opposed this proposed alliance as well. He signed a German-Romanian economic treaty which shifted Romania’s economic exports towards Germany. Despite this, the Germans remained unsatisfied with the amount of oil and revised the treaty in early 1938.

The hallmark of King Carol’s foreign policy was walking a thin line between improving relations with Germany and keeping their traditional French alliance in place. To compensate for the closer relationship to Germany, King Carol assured France that he would not allow foreign Soviet troops through his soil to invade Czechoslovakia.18 He also gave lip service to the French foreign minister that their alliance was not dead.19 The shakiness of the Romanian-French relationship got to a breaking point when Iron Guard leader Codreanu proclaimed that Romania would ally itself with Rome and Berlin. In response to the controversial speech, Carol committed himself to the destruction of the Iron Guard movement and proclaimed Romanian foreign policy as his own.

Industrialization: 1921 Land Reform Just after World War I, Romania had 72% of its people engaged in agriculture. That can be attributed to the lack of machinery, low literacy rates, and massive rural populations. As a result, Romania had one of Europe’s highest birth rates, infant mortality rate, and many other indicators that show a country is struggling to develop. Most farming was extremely primitive and labor intensive. Basic fertilizers found in other countries were non-existent in Romania.

In response to the massive shortcomings, Romania instituted a redistribution of land policy, the largest in Eastern Europe in history.20 The reform called for a major increase in property ownership and other things like universal male suffrage. The reform distributed large amounts of land across the country by expropriating land from foreign citizens, unfarmed land, and land belonging to the crown by giving it to the peasants. Before the land reform, large landlords owned 47% of the arable land, afterwards the number went down to 10.4%.21 The former landowners received compensation as they were issued long term bonds. The fact that the land redistribution program took a large amount of land away from the minority Hungarian population in Transylvania would cause a lot of tension between the Hungarian

18 Weinberg, Gerhard, The Foreign Policy of Hitler’s Germany Starting World War II 1937-1939, Chica-go: University of Chicago Press, 1980 page 415.19 Lungu, Dov “The French and British Attitudes towards the Goga-Cuza Government in Romania, De-cember 1937-February 1938” pages 323-341 from Canadian Slavonic Papers /Revue Canadienne des Slavistes Volume 30, Issue # 3 September 1988 page 327.20 Gella, Aleksander. Development of Class Structure in Eastern Europe, p.51. 1989, SUNY Press.21 Hitchins 1994, p.353 charts a more modest rise of 48% to 62% holding 1-5 ha.


and Romanian populations. While the land reform did increase social stability, productivity did not see much growth after the reform enactment. This was mainly because the reform did not touch on issues such as overpopulation, lack of education, poverty, and corruption. The reform was extremely controversial, with many people on the far left calling the reform merely a concession for the preservation of the ruling class. At the start of committee, 8% of landowners still have roughly half of the arable land in the country. There is only one tractor per 2,490 hectare of land. Fertilizers, seeds, and livestock are also still low in supply.22

Yet, even with the arguably failed land reform, Romania’s economy grew extensively from other factors. The Romanian government had a policy of heavy taxation and foreign investment which supported this rapid expansion. When the Great Depression hit the country in 1929, Romania faced a massive financial crisis and foreign investment dried up. The economy finally began to recover in 1934, when the government used domestic investment

to fund new industries and urbanization. Industrial production increased 26% between 1931 and 1938 as a result of these policies, even when the rest of the world was suffering.23

General and Urban IndustrializationDespite much of Romania’s industry being burned to the ground in World War I, urban Romanian industry saw a good amount of growth. Numerous captains of industry emerged and manufacturing increased. This included the railway, which was spearheaded by many industrial visionaries like Nicolae Malaxa. The railway enabled the transport of steel, oil, and other materials to these industrial centers, spurring growth. Oil was also a rapidly growing industry in the country, and at the time of our meeting, Romania is one of the top oil exporters in Europe.

The necessity of oil cannot be overstated. Without it, ships cannot sail, planes cannot fly, tanks cannot roll, runways cannot be built, explosives cannot be made, and machinery cannot be lubricated. Romania in 1937 was the 7th largest producer in the world after Russia, the United States, Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, and the Dutch Indies. Being such a large producer, Romania supplied 37% of Germany’s oil by the time King Carol II seized control.24

Seeing much of the failure of Romanian armament in World War I, Romania’s war industry was greatly expanded in the interwar period. The most notable was the aeronautics industry. Romania is on the verge of developing and finalizing the IAR-80, a state of the art aircraft that is comparable to the Hawker Hurricane and the BF-109. Production of this aircraft will be crucial to Romanian defense and regional security.

22 Phinnemore, David. The EU and Romania: Accession and Beyond, p.5. 2006, The Federal Trust for Education & Research.23 http://countrystudies.us/romania/21.html24 Robert Goralski, and Russell W. Freeburg, Oil & War: How the Deadly Struggle for Fuel in WWII Meant Victory or Defeat, (New York: Morrow, 1987), 23.


Yet unlike the Romanian developed IAR-80 fighter, much of Romania’s production came from foreign licenses such as the Brandt MLE, the ZB-30, Vickers Model 1931, and Soviet M1938 mortars. Despite these, some war materials were produced in house such as 75 mm Resita Model 1943, the Orita M1941, and various naval designs. This showed a heavy reliance on foreign countries for designs of their military equipment, creating another foreign policy challenge. The most important manufacturing plant was the Resita works, which produced much of the Romanian war machines. While Romania does not have an industrial capacity like a major European power, it does have the most formidable military industry in the Balkans and is one of the most powerful non-major powers in Europe. The challenges to expand Romanian industry are plentiful; there is a lack of infrastructure in many regions, much of the population is agricultural, and expansion of education is needed for people to have the ability to work in many factories around the country.

King Carol’s Coup: To understand the Camarilla in full, one must look at its leader King Carol. King Carol was known for his hedonism and lavish lifestyle, often throwing parties in his manor. Many of these parties caused great controversy among the Romanian people, as affairs were not uncommon. King Carol was often seen holding a drink in one hand and a woman in another, especially during his early life.

One of his biggest scandals was the fact that he had a relationship with Magda Lupescu, who was Jewish. This caused such a stir that there were campaigns to bar him from the throne because of his love affairs. He stepped down from the throne in 1925 and gave the throne to his son, Michael. After returning to the country in 1930, a coup to overthrow the throne was arranged, and he successfully took it back. Upon his return, he had a tremendous amount of influence over the country. He is known to manipulate the various political parties throughout the country and built a cult of personality around himself.25

This cult of personality was often used despite the reality of him being a hedon who loved gambling, sex, and parties. He portrayed himself as chosen by God to create a greater Romania. He did this through a great deal of propaganda which was well spread throughout the country and well developed in his message. This personality cult was used to ensure that a fascistic like grip of the country was held, despite tensions with the fascist organizations.26 The personality cult was highly utilized when he had to fight political opponents and create the royal dictatorship that he dreamt of.

In 1937, Carol appointed Octavian Goga to the prime ministership to weaken the legion

25 Haynes, Rebbecca “ Germany and the Establishment of the Romanian National Legionary State, September 1940” pages 700-725 from The Slavonic and East European Review, Volume 77, Issue # 4. October 1999 pages 705-706.26 Boia, Lucian History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness, Budapest: Central European University Press, 2001, pages 204-205.


party. He hoped that Goga’s incompetence would be enough justification to bring in a royal dictatorship. Per Goga’s request, King Carol dissolved parliament in 1938 after Goga barely survived a vote of no confidence. As a result, violence broke out across the country and enabled Goga and the king to enact emergency powers. Goga lead a largely anti-Semitic government, which was heavily criticized by France, UK, and the United States. Jews were stripped of their citizenship, and the goal of the Goga government was to exile the Jewish people from Romania.

However, King Carol was not an anti-Semite. Rather, he was an opportunist who used the anti-Semitic government to gain power. As Goga was stripping the rights of Jews away, it only proved to the country and to the world that he was an incompetent leader and had the goal to strip the country of its democracy. The global appall to the Goga government was used to ensure the people and the world would not protest when King Carol dismissed him and took over the Romanian government.27

On the 8th of February, 1938, Goga realized that he was being used and urged the Iron Guard not to run candidates in the upcoming elections to ensure the anti-semites would win a majority. King Carol used a secret alliance to execute a coup on the 10th. He declared martial law, suspended the constitution, and ended all civil liberties. He wrote a new constitution which was much more authoritarian and sent it to the people for approval. The referendum was

extremely undemocratic and required each citizen to appear before an election bureau to verbally state their approval at gunpoint. To no one’s surprise, the country approved the new constitution in a 99.87% landslide.

Conclusion:After taking over the Romanian government, you will be tasked with dealing with the many challenges that King Carol described in his letter. A second war is brewing, putting our territory at threat, fascism is on the rise, and the economy is in need of growth. Addressing these glowing issues will be paramount to the government’s success.

27 Haynes, Rebecca “Reluctant Allies? Iuliu Maniu and Corneliu Zelea Codreanu against King Carol II of Romania” pages 105-134 from The Slavonic and East European Review, Volume 85, Issue # 1, January 2007, page 124.


Positions:

Important Note: Many of these positions have ideologies and clear stances in politics. If your position has a political leaning, it is important to try to stay true to it.

Armand Călinescu: Minister of the InteriorEven though not officially on the Camarilla, Armand is a staunch supporter of King Carol and one of the chief orchestrators of the coup that eventually got King Carol into dictatorial power. Armand is a fierce opponent of the Iron Guard movement and sought to brutally suppress them. He is a founding member of the only legal political party, National Renaissance Front, and is extremely close to the king. He is often regarded as the shadow power behind King Carol’s throne. Before rising to power, he studied economics and political science in Paris. He is a leftist with strong inclinations to get Romania to ally with the Allies.

Magda Lupescu: His Royal MistressThere are many speculations on who Magda Lupescu is. Some even speculate that she is of royal blood and is the illegitimate daughter of Carol I, thus making her a cousin of Carol II. She is a Jewish person who has faced massive amounts of anti-Semitism and discrimination because of her background. While some sources say that Lupescu is a confident, strong, and outspoken woman, other sources say that she is a vulgar and abrasive. King Carol constantly displays their open relationship, and upon the return of King Carol in 1930, she was all but the official wife of him. Many, especially the far right, regard her as another back-room power to Carol’s throne. While she does have a tremendous amount of influence over the king, but she is typically put on the backburner over the king’s own interest. She lives in a lavish villa provided by the king and often meets with many rich and famous people of Europe. In the villa she is known for throwing lavish parties and meeting with high ranking people throughout Romania. Max Auschnitt: Industrialist and Political FigureSimilar to Cornelius Vanderbilt and Andrew Carnegie, Max Auschnitt is an arch-rival of Nicolae Malaxa. Together they are the prominent businessmen on the Camarilla. He is the director of the Iron Domains and Factory (UDR) of Reşiţa, the company that holds the highest market cap in Romanian, pre-soviet occupation. He was born to Jewish parents and graduated from a prominent school in Vienna, thanks to his rich family. He is president of the General Association of Industry and is a prominent figure at the Romanian Chamber of Commerce. All in all, he owns several steel businesses, which are crucial to war machines, buildings, and pretty much everything that involves money.

Nicolae Malaxa: Engineer and IndustrialistSimilar to Cornelius Vanderbilt and Andrew Carnegie, Nicolae Malaxa is an arch-rival of Max Auschnitt. He is one of the only businessmen to serve on the King’s Camarilla, showing his deep political connections within Romania. He is known for manipulating state officials to get contracts with the state for his company, Romanian Railways. The company owns much of the Romanian steel industry, mass produced locomotives, steel pipes, and other equipment for railroads. All of this has made him one of the richest people in Romania. Yet


much of this wealth is not exactly clean. He has close business ties with Germany, starting as early as 1935, and is close with Herman Goring.

Mihail Moruzov: Head of Secret PoliceMihail Moruzov is the founder of Romania’s first intelligence agency, the Secret Intelligence Service (SSI). He has a history of serving in the Romanian security service, especially during World War I. His career is marked by having an extensive network of informants, which he utilizes to bring down many of the king’s political opponents. His office possesses the newest technology known to the world at this time, including two-way radio, sensitive photoelectric cells, bugs, and more. He is also the founder of one of Romania’s first spy schools.

Grigore Gafencu: Minister of Foreign Affairs Gafencu began his career studying law and received his Ph.D. in law from the University of Bucharest. Previously serving as an assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gafencu has worked up to this position. He is extremely close to King Carol and a vocal opponent of the Iron Guard movement. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, he is challenged with the Axis Powers to his west and Russia to his immediate east. He is a staunch supporter of the Little Entente and wants to continue to strengthen Romania’s relationship with Poland to curtail the aggression made by their neighbors. However, he tries to retain Romania’s neutrality between its neighbors. Gafencu was also largely responsible for Romania’s rearmament during the mid-1930s and sold weapons to Czechoslovakia.

Gheorghe Vladescu-Racoasa: Ambassador to Soviet UnionWhile not yet the official ambassador to the Soviet Union, Vladescu-Racoasa has worked his way up from a lieutenant in the Romanian infantry. Following the war, he continued his studies at the University of Geneva where he was able to establish international connections. He served as the representative from Romania to the International Labor Organization but ended this position early after the revolution and the beginning of rule by King Carol. During this time, many of his contacts were damaged and the relations between the two countries are currently stalled. Seeing his skill as a diplomat, King Carol made him the unofficial ambassador with the goal of protecting Romanian territory and some diplomatic ties to Stalin.

Mihail Ghelmegeanu: Minister AgricultureMihail was born in Craiova and studied law at the University of Bucharest. After finishing his doctorate in law at the University of Paris, he was admitted into the country’s bar association and joined the National Peasants Party. He is known as a more moderate person within the party and supported agricultural reforms. He was the undersecretary of state for the Agriculture Ministry, and that was where he spoke out against the country’s electoral system which did not give rural areas enough representation. During the time of King Carol’s takeover, he was given the position of Minister of Agriculture and has extensive networks with the country’s farmers. He is responsible for ensuring there are enough crops to feed the population and that the people are well fed.

Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej: Communist Activist and PoliticianAs one of the leaders of Romania’s communist movements, he is responsible for carrying


out multiple workers strikes and radicalizing many people within Romania. Coming from humble beginnings, he jumped from job to job, initially starting out as an electrician. With his nickname of Gheorghiu-Dej coming from the secret police, he was imprisoned for his strikes and organizational efforts. He is also said to have many ties with Soviet Russia and organized many of Romania’s unions to support the communist party. He is most famous for organizing chaos in the Romanian Railways factories in Moldavia. Gheorghe wants to see the nationalization of many of Romania’s industries and is a fierce opponent of austerity. He has served for many years as the first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party.

Constantin Ion Parhon: Socialist Militant and DoctorConstantin teaches neurology and psychiatry at the University of Iași. He was the founder of both Romania’s labor party, after being inspired by the works of Karl Marx, and the Romanian School of Endocrinology. He is a staunch opponent of Romania’s rearmament, King Carol, and any participation in war. In addition to being a proud communist, he has multiple outlets in which he can explore and conduct research in his laboratories associated with the University of Iași. He has many associates throughout his field across the globe and is known for his over 300 publications at this point. All the while he hopes to continue to expand on his ever increasing knowledge.

Petru Groza: Staunch Socialist Agrarianist and PoliticianGroza emerged as a Romanian political figure at the conclusion of World War I as a member of the Romanian National Party. The Romanian National Party was a party mainly based in Transylvania that wanted more representation for ethnic Romanians in the region. In 1933, Groza founded the Ploughmen’s Front, a left wing organization which was more agrarian focused than the other left wing parties in Romania. Despite his left wing politics, he has a plethora of political connections in the Transylvanian region and amassed his wealth through owning a significant amount of land in the region. He is the voice of the common farmer, which is a significant portion of the population, on the Camarilla.

Prince Michel Sturdza: Ambassador to DenmarkMichel is a conservative nationalist and member of Romania’s Iron Guard movement. A descendant of the wealthy Sturda family of landowners, politicians, and boyars, Sturdza has a vast network of connections and is one of the reasons for selected to this position. During the time of this cabinet, he was also Romania’s ambassador to Denmark. In part because of his political ideology, he was said to have a close relationship with Joachim von Ribbentrop. In addition to having close relationships with the Germans, he is a vocal opponent of democracy and communism and wants Romania to expand its military industry while also increasing the power of the king.

Mitiță Constantinescu: Minister of FinanceMitita was born in Bucharest and attended the University of Bucharest’s law school. While he was pursuing his law degree, Romania entered World War I and he was drafted. After serving in the Romanian army, he went on to become the chief of staff at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Subsequently, he was appointed to become the governor of the National Bank


of Romania where he oversees the government’s financial matters and works with private banks to stabilize the Romanian economy. He has a tremendous amount of influence over monetary policy and monitors the Romanian treasury.

Nicolae Şova: Chief of NavyNicolae Sova is an extremely well experienced officer in the Romanian military. He graduated from two Romanian military academies at the top of his class, and after finishing he was a 2nd lieutenant in the Romanian military. After graduating, he was part of a military attache to Austria and was stationed in Vienna for two years coordinating military intelligence and executing administrative work. Having many connections to high ranking military officials, he was able to secure himself a spot in the Romanian navy. A few years later he was made Chief of the Navy.

Gheorghe I. Jienescu: Chief of AirforceJienescu was born in a small village outside of Craiova and attended a military school in 1914 after public schooling. After graduating in 1915, Jienescu was a part of a group of young officers that went to France to learn how to pilot aircrafts. After being in France for two years, he received his pilot’s license in 1922. Upon his return from France, he trained a large number of pilots who would all eventually serve in the Romanian Airforce. Seeing his leadership skills and ability to coordinate pilots, he was made chief of the Romanian Airforce, overseeing the many aircraft and pilots in the Romanian military.

Ernest Urdărianu: Secretary of King CarolUrdărianu’s father is a military man, one of his brothers is an engineer, and the other is a politician. As a black sheep of sorts, Urdărianu became interested in motor sports. Career wise, he started out as an aide in the palace but worked his way up into the good graces of the king to earn this position. It has been rumored that any individual who wants to speak to the king has to go through him, and he is quite influential in any political appointments. Urdărianu has extensive contacts based on the travel that he does with the king and is looking to keep both the king and his position in power.

Gavrilă Marinescu: Prefecture of Police in BucharestMarinescu climbed his way up the Romanian military until he attained the rank of colonel in 1927. After King Carol II took the throne, he immediately appointed Marinescu to be the prefect of police for his Camarilla. Marinescu is responsible for overseeing police activities in Romania, especially in cities where tensions are high near certain borders. It is rumored that Marinescu was given the duty of selecting a mistress for King Carol himself, so there is no doubt that the two are close.

Mircea Cancicov: Minister of Justice Cancicov was born in Bacau, Romania. Around the time he was born, the territory still belonged to the Austro-Hungarians, but he was Romanian. After being conscripted in World War I for the Austro-Hungarians, he pursued a law degree at the University of Bucharest. After obtaining a degree, he became a law professor at the University of Bucharest. Most


notably, as an attorney he prosecuted many communist and members of the Iron Guard for violence. Due to his infamous prosecutions, he was recruited to become King Carol’s Minister of Justice. He has deep connections with police throughout the country and has a tremendous amount of influence over the country’s legal system.

Victor Iamandi: Minister of EducationVictor was a political activist, lawyer, and professor at the University of Iasi. He was a member of the National Liberal Party and supporter of democracy within Romania. In his capacity in politics, he despised the Iron Guard movement and was one of the key players in prosecuting the Iron Guard. Iamandi’s background as a lawyer helps him run the Ministry of Education. Some of his responsibilities as Minister of Education include improving national education through programs, upholding set standards of education, and setting goals to achieve.

Miron Cristea: Patriarch of RomaniaMiron Cristea grew up as a Austro-Hungarian born Romanian and became a famous cleric and politician. He was elected as Metropolitan-Primate of the Orthodox Church in Romania in 1919. Following a series of shifts in power within the church, Cristea was enthroned as the first Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1925. He briefly served as prime minister before he retired in 1939. Under Carol’s specific request, he was invited to sit on the Camarilla so that the views of the Church could be upheld. Cristea realizes he is reaching the end of his days, which presents an inevitable power struggle which he must deal with considering his status as patriarch lasts until death.

Documents

King Carol s Camarilla - FLORIDA CRISIS SIMULATION X · 2019. 11. 22. · King Carol’s Camarilla Page 3 Historical Background: “The Balkans produce more history than they can