Arise Gheorghe, Arise Ioan!

Arise Gheorghe, Arise Ioan!
by Radu Gyr
Original titleRidică-te Gheorghe, ridică-te Ioane!
CountryRomania
LanguageRomanian

Arise Gheorghe, Arise Ioan! (Romanian: Ridică-te Gheorghe, ridică-te Ioane!) is a poem by Radu Gyr. In 1958 Radu Gyr was imprisoned and sentenced to death (commuted to life sentences and pardoned in 1964) by the communist authorities of the Romanian People's Republic because of his subversive poem.[1] The poem had asked for peasants to oppose in every way the regime's agricultural policies: it had been issued as the last wave of brutal collectivization was taking hold of the rural landscape. According to Orthodox priest Fabian Seiche, while in prison, Gyr was not treated for any illnesses he had, was often starved, and even tortured.[2]

It is still a very controversial issue in Romania.[3][4] Literary critic Alex Ștefănescu finds that the poem is "full of drama, of great expressive power" in which "communism itself is transfigured and appears as a metaphysical evil". He contends that the poem has nothing to do with Gyr's past membership in the Iron Guard fascist movement, but can be viewed separately; he proposes a thought experiment: "If we did not know that Radu Gyr he was a legionnaire in his youth, we would not see anything legionary in this poem. It is about a cry of revolt against communism, in the tragic years when our peasants were forcibly dispossessed of their land by the Soviet occupiers, in complicity with the Romanian communists". On the other hand, the critic Nicolae Manolescu considers that the poem is "literary mediocre", yet he also emphasizes "the confusion between Gyr's legionarism and the anti-communism of the poem".[5]

On 12 November 2012, Romanian politician Mihail Neamțu sparked outrage by recited the poem at a campaign event.[6] Neamțu defended himself, stating that his intention by reciting the poem had been to honour victims of the Nazi Holocaust and Soviet Gulags.[7]

References

  1. ^ Bouleanu, Elisabeth (February 15, 2016). "Cum a fost condamnat la moarte Radu Gyr pentru poezia "Ridică-te, Gheorghe, ridică-te, Ioane!"" [How Radu Gyr was sentenced to death for the poem "Arise Gheorghe, Arise Ioan!"]. Adevărul (in Romanian). Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  2. ^ Seiche, Fabian (2014). Martiri și mărturisitori români din secolul XX. Închisorile comuniste din România [Romanian Martyrs and Witnesses of the Twentieth Century. Communist Prisons in Romania] (in Romanian). Făgăraș: Editura Agaton. ISBN 978-9731981574. OCLC 1139536049.
  3. ^ Ciobanu, Laura (November 8, 2012). "Mihail Neamțu, acuzat de antisemitism. ARD se delimitează de declarațiile acestuia". Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian). Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  4. ^ "Mihail Neamțu respinge acuzațiile de antisemitism, după ce a recitat din Radu Gyr: Negaționismele la adresa Holocaustului sau ale Gulagului sunt respingătoare, extremiste și inacceptabile". HotNews (in Romanian). November 8, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  5. ^ Boicea, Dan. "Istoria unei poezii care a făcut istorie: Ridică-te, Gheorghe, ridică-te, Ioane!". Historia (in Romanian). Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  6. ^ Gandul.info (2012-11-12). "Reacția ARD la scandalul "Neamțu-legionar". MRU: "Nu doar că ne delimităm, condamnăm orice manifestare de extremism și intoleranță"". Gândul (in Romanian). Retrieved 2023-03-06.
  7. ^ Gandul.info (2012-11-12). "Legionar sau ignorant? Co-președintele ARD, Mihail Neamțu, acuzat oficial de incitare la extremism: "Sunt doar eclectic în stil"". Gândul (in Romanian). Retrieved 2023-03-06.
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