The Iron Guard in An Italian Military-Diplomatic Report of 1934 Sent to Benito Mussolini: Evaluation, Collaboration, Financing

The history of the Iron Guard, an interwar extremist organization, is well known. However, there are some documents that highlight little-known diplomatic assessments. The present study focuses on two diplomatic-military evaluations from 1934 of the Italian Legation in Bucharest. Italy’s interest in the Iron Guard is affirmed, but only for the future, meanwhile for the year 1934 the movement is to be followed and evaluated. The lack of a solid ideological affiliation between the Iron Guard and Italian fascism is demonstrated by the Italian side. For Italian diplomacy, the extreme right association can be useful in the competition with France and the Nazi regime. According to diplomatic assessments, the Nazi regime financed the Iron Guard, but no longer does so, demanding guarantees for the future. The Italian side claims that a possible financing of the Romanian extreme right must be done only when the Iron Guard will be close to taking power.