[3] He attended secondary school in his native city and in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, then studied law at the University of Paris, the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Berlin, and the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Romania in Cuza's time was one of the most Francophile nations in the entire world and the Romanian intelligentsia tended to be powerfully influenced by intellectual currents from France.

[5] Unlike the völkisch antisemites in Germany — many, but not all of whom were indifferent, if not actively hostile to Christianity — Cuza made a point of stressing the basis of his ideology in the teachings of the Orthodox Church.

The scope of this movement went well beyond fighting addiction: Cuza and Xenopol saw the root of this social evil with Jewish entrepreneurs of the rural sphere.

The prejudice had acquired a tradition by the turn of the century – however, such attitudes ignored the fact that few other employments were left open for Jews, who were awarded full citizenship only after 1923.

Cuza showed himself in favor of replacing the restrictive framework of the Romanian state by adopting universal male suffrage, and proposed a land reform – in which he saw an end to leasehold estates, of which Jews would have taken an undeserved profit.

It used the swastika as its symbol – one already connected to Anti-Semitic movements in Germany, and made himself known by supporting a Jewish quota in higher education (a demand which created a standoff with the government during a nationalist students' strike in 1923).

The purpose of the National Christian Defense League was "to fight with all legal means in order to support economic, political and social interests against the Jews".

[6] Cuza stated that the solution to the "Jewish Question" was to "remove them from the country, after a transitional stage during which their influence on Romanian life would be eliminated".

All major conflicts of the 1930s between Codreanu and the establishment found Cuza on the latter's side, eager to win back his movement's place as the leading antisemitic voice.

[citation needed] The Goga-Cuza government was not able to lift Romania from crisis: as a minority rule that was meant to satisfy the King, it only managed to alienate the public.