Funerals of Ion Moța and Vasile Marin

The two leaders of the Iron Guard had been killed in battle on the same day, January 13, 1937, at Majadahonda while fighting on the side of Francoist Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and the funeral that followed took the form of a highly-organized, cross-country procession.

The funerary train of Ion Moța (1902–1937) and Vasile Marin (1904–1937) toured around the country, with hundreds of thousands of people participating at the commemorations in many cities, holding religious services at several cathedrals.

[3] Ion Moța, the second-in-command in the Legion, suggested that a number of leaders of the Iron Guard should go to Spain and present a gift (a Toledo sword) to Francoist General José Moscardó Ituarte, then fight alongside the Nationalist forces.

The bodies of Moța and Marin were put in a mortuary train which left Spain via France and Belgium, reaching Berlin on February 6, 1937, where they were met by SS and SA squads, representatives of the German Nazi Party, of the Spanish Falange, and of Fascist Italy, as well as a large crowd of onlookers.

[6] In Pașcani, in the historical region of Moldavia, over 5000 peasants gathered to see the mortuary wagon; in Bacău, a group of 30 priests performed religious services in front of a crowd.

[7] In Transylvania, the most important stop was in Cluj, where many local politicians and intellectuals participated at the commemoration, including Alexandru Vaida-Voievod, Sextil Pușcariu, Emil Hațiegan and Ioan Lupaș.

[7] After crossing the Carpathians, the train went through Oltenia and Wallachia (where it made a notable stop in Pitești), finally reaching Bucharest's Gara de Nord station in the morning of February 11, 1937.

[7] After a short religious service, in front of the coffins, the Legionnaires performed the "Oath for Ion Moța and Vasile Marin", written by Legionary "Captain" Corneliu Zelea Codreanu.

[10] It is unclear where Moța and Marin's remains are currently buried; the Casa Verde was re-appropriated after the Legionary rebellion in January 1941, later becoming a maternity hospital and then, during the communist era, a driving school.

[5] Nicolae Iorga wrote a laudative article called "Two Brave Boys" in which the two were praised for fighting for the Christian faith, although weeks later, he condemned the rituals of the Legion, including the usage of a pagan symbol, the swastika.

[11] The Church showed vigorous support for the movement, conducting religious services across the country and bishops openly praising Moța and Marin in their speeches.