Dumitru Coroamă (July 19, 1885 – 1956) was a Romanian soldier and fascist activist, who held the rank of major general of the Romanian Army during World War II. He was especially known for his contribution to the 1940 establishment of the National Legionary State by the far-right Iron Guard, with which he had been secretly involved for a decade. After beginnings as a schoolteacher in his native Neamț County, Coroamă had become an officer of the 15th Dorobanți Regiment, first earning distinction during World War I. Coroamă helped organize the defense of Western Moldavia, then participated in the Hungarian–Romanian War, establishing Romanian control in Bistrița and Baia Mare. He received the Order of the Star of Romania and the Order of Michael the Brave.
While stationed in Piatra Neamț during the interwar, Coroamă took up various political and cultural activities, overseeing the Romanian Scouts and setting up a Military Club. He was also involved in establishing a local branch of the Iron Guard. He was moved around to the garrison in Satu Mare, also becoming a General in 1934. Despite his commitment to the revolutionary ideology of the Guard, he was well-liked by King Carol II, and in 1937 became commander of the Royal Palace garrison. This allowed him to sabotage Carol's attempt to use Palace troops against the Guard; he thus helped with toppling Carol. In the aftermath of the coup, Coroamă was mistrusted and marginalized by Conducător Ion Antonescu. Given command of the 4th Army Corps in Iași, he witnessed the clashes between Antonescu and his Guard colleagues, peaking during the Legionary Rebellion of 1941. Coroamă took a moderate stance, and his mediation helped Antonescu to restore order in Iași without bloodshed. However, Coroamă remained isolated by government, and had to resign. Later in 1941, as Nazi Germany and Romania opened an Eastern Front against the Soviet Union, Coroamă advised against continuing the offensive beyond Bessarabia. When this was ignored, he left military life altogether.
Coroamă returned to public life after the Royal Coup of 1944, participating in conspiracies against Soviet occupation. Reportedly, he was one of the Romanian generals prepared to support Germany during Operation Spring Awakening; he later switched his allegiance toward the Romanian National Committee and worked to consolidate a national network of anti-communist resistance groups, including Guardist ones. Arrested by the communist regime in May 1948, he spent six years doing penal labor, and was reportedly tortured. He died within two years of his release.
Biography Early decades and rise Coroamă was born on July 19, 1885, in Răpciune, a village in Hangu commune, Neamț County, nowadays covered by Lake Bicaz.Dieaconu et al., p. 107 He was the eighth of ten children born to Toma and Ecaterina Coroamă. His father, a likely immigrant from the neighboring Duchy of Bukovina, was mayor of Hangu in 1876–1881; as such, he represented his constituents in litigation against landowner Grigore Sturdza.Dieaconu et al., pp. 107–108 Dumitru was the eighth of ten children born to the couple; his more distant relatives included Eustochia Ciucanu, who was Staritsa at Agapia Monastery from 1960 to her death in 1992.Valeriu Anania, "Primim: 'Salvați Agapia!'", in România Literară, Issue 13/1992, p. 2 After graduating primary school in Schitu, the future general studied at the Petru Rareș High School, and worked as a substitute schoolteacher in Suceava County, at Broșteni, and then in Neamț, at Farcașa. N. Sava, "Generalul Dumitru Coroamă: 'Majestate, nu pot să execut ordinul de a trage în tineretul țării!'", in Ceahlăul, July 19, 2014Dieaconu et al., p. 108 Opting for a career in the Romanian Land Forces, he graduated from the Infantry Officers' School (1907), emerging as a Sub-lieutenant, and then took a graduate diploma from the Higher War School.Trașcă, p. 230. See also Dieaconu et al., p. 108
Assigned to the 15th Dorobanți Regiment in Piatra Neamț, Coroamă first saw action during the Second Balkan War of 1913."Extrase din memoriile originale ale foștilor comandanți", in În Slujba Patriei, January 2007, p. 8 He was again called to action during the campaign of World War I, overseeing defensive maneuvers on the fortified lines of the Trotuș, Oituz, and Uz river valleys. By 1916, Coroamă was a captain,Traian D. Lazăr, "Azi căpitan, mâine...", in Magazin Istoric, June 2018, pp. 60–61 and in full command the 3rd Infantry Battalion. He earned distinction following the Battle of Mărășești: he was cited on October 11, 1916, for his "initiative and energy in holding on to a difficult position", and, on December 27, was made a Knight of the Order of the Star of Romania. He continued to receive other distinctions, including the Order of Michael the Brave 3rd Class (presented by Eremia Grigorescu) and various medals of the Allied countries. He was later an Officer of the Order of the Star of Romania.
On December 6, 1918, Coroamă, by then a Major, led his troops into Transylvania, arriving by train at Bistrița (see Union of Transylvania with Romania). Upon entering that city, he met with the Hungarian Republican administration, which he did not immediately depose. When the incumbent mayor, Gábor Ajtai Nagy, asked him to "spare the city", Coroamă replied that this his only mandate was to reestablish order "together with city leaders".Ioana Dragotă, "Școala civilă de stat pentru fete Baia Mare (1893–1948).—Radiografie istorică.—Partea a III-a. Trecerea în administrația românească", in Bibliotheca Septentrionalis, Vol. XVI, Issue 2, 2008, p. 81 He was subsequently in charge of the Romanian garrison for the entire County of Bistrița.Victor Moldovan, Memoriile unui politician din perioada interbelică. Vol. I, pp. 81, 423. Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2016. Following the outbreak of a Hungarian–Romanian War, Coroamă led the assault battalion that secured Baia Mare on January 6, 1919.Liviu Tătaru, "Actul Marii Uniri de la 1 decembrie 1918. Desfășurări în Lăpuș, Chioar, Codru și zona Baia Mare", in Bibliotheca Septentrionalis, Vol. XXV, Issue 2, December 2017, p. 58 An accidental ecrasite explosionCornel Țucă, "Activitatea Senatului Național Român (Cluj) oglindită în notițele Sidoniei Docan", in Document, Issue 1/2009, p. 30 wounded Coroamă in the train station of Dej. He was badly hurt, and had to be sent to Cluj for recovery.
Coroamă's interwar career saw him returning to Piatra Neamț, where he was made Garrison Commander. In October 1927, he was promoted to ColonelTrașcă, p. 230 and in 1929 was officially made Commander of the 15th Regiment. The interval also witnessed Coroamă's involvement in far-right politics. In 1930, together with his wife, he established a Piatra Neamț chapter of the Iron Guard and sponsored its network of "Cross Brotherhoods". The family home featured a portrait of the Guardist leader, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, whom Coroamă had met during the previous war.Silvian-Emanuel Man, "Alegerile parlamentare din județul Neamț în anul 1931 în documente de arhivă", in Zilele Cercetării Științifice Studențești din Universitatea Constantin Brâncuși, Issue IV, 2012, p. 153 The building was flooded and suffered damages during the heavy rains of May 1930,Neptun, "Inundațiile catastrofale din orașul Piatra-Neamț", in Avântul, Issue 56/1930, p. 2 but was swiftly restored.A. A. Rotundu, "Colonelul Coroamă", in Avântul, Issue 150/1934, p. 1
King Carol II appointed Coroamă Brigadier General in late 1934,Generals from Romania, at Generals.dk after he had taken the final exams with top honors."D-l colonel Coroamă a reușit întâiul pe țară la examenul de general", in Avântul, Issue 143/1934, p. 1 During the early 1930s, he had involved himself with the Romanian Scouting Movement, presiding upon its meetings in Neamț County and directing its propaganda efforts.I. Fuioagă, "În sprijinul cercetășiei", in Avântul, Issue 122/1934, p. 1 He also founded a Military Club and provided lectures detailing his own front-line experience. In 1935, he was reassigned to lead the 16th Infantry Brigade of Satu Mare. In June of that year, he was included on a panel which proposed to transform Gorunzel meadow into the Satu Mare Airfield; the project was finally completed in September 1937.Porumbăcean & Câmpean, pp. 95–99 In November 1936, Coroamă presented military honors to Carol and Crown Prince Michael, who passed through Satu Mare on their way back from a state visit in Czechoslovakia.Porumbăcean & Câmpean, pp. 105–106 Alongside Greek Catholic Bishop Alexandru Rusu, he presided over the Satu Mare chapter of the Anti-Revisionist League, which campaigned against Hungarian irredentism.Porumbăcean & Câmpean, p. 70
1940 coup and 1941 rebellion In November 1937, Coroamă became General Officer Commanding 1st Guard Division at the Royal Palace in Bucharest, in service to Carol II. However, he secretly supported the Iron Guard's leader Horia Sima, who was in conflict with Carol's National Renaissance Front.Dennis Deletant, Hitler's Forgotten Ally: Ion Antonescu and His Regime, Romania, 1940-1944, pp. 49–50. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Z. Ornea, Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească, p. 327. Bucharest: Editura Fundaţiei Culturale Române, 1995. Sima's rise had been made possible by Carol's decision to arrest, and then assassinate, Codreanu. Coroamă's contacts with Sima were at the core of an enduring controversy between Guard factions: Codreanu's loyalist cells, which distrusted Sima, also viewed Coroamă as an agent of the Front and an appeaser. They noted in particular Coroamă's acknowledgement that he had mediated a September 1938 encounter between Sima and Carol's spymaster, Mihail Moruzov.Mihai Demetriade, "Victor Biriș, cel mai important agent de influență din penitenciarul Aiud (1957–1963)", in Caietele CNSAS, Issues 1–2/2012, p. 87. See also Dieaconu et al., pp. 109–110 During these contacts, Coroamă was expected to present Carol with a memorandum on behalf of Codreanu, who had been detained and would later be killed in custody. Coroamă himself claimed that the initiative was curbed by Sima, who did not want Codreanu alive.Dieaconu et al., pp. 109–110
As acknowledged by Sima, by May 1940 there were other encounters involving himself, Coroamă and Moruzov. During these parlays, they agreed that the Iron Guard should merge into the Front, which, on Coroamă's suggestion, was to be renamed "Front of the Nation".Miskolczy, p. 926 On June 6, 1940, he was promoted to the rank of major general. Coroamă rose to prominence after the events of autumn 1940, when the Second Vienna Award, which lost Romania rule over Northern Transylvania, engendered a political crisis. The Iron Guard began preparing for violent takeover, with Nicolae Petrașcu tasked with arming the would-be revolutionaries. As historian Ilarion Țiu notes, these "terrorist cells" were formed "from the second half of August, but on 3 September each member barely managed to have a revolver and the available hand grenades were very few".Țiu, p. 37 In this context, Coroamă cooperated with Sima; he also came into contact with another authoritarian figure, General Ion Antonescu, who was reluctantly appointed Premier by Carol. In early September, as a sign of his cooperation with Sima, Antonescu appointed Coroamă to the post of General Officer in charge of Bucharest's Military Command, replacing the loyalist Gheorghe Argeșanu.Miskolczy, p. 937