158
CERCUL MILITAR NAŢIONAL
On February 28, 1942, Marshal Ion Antonescu
promulgated the Law no. 158 regarding the func-
tioning of the “House of the Military Clubs”. The new
institution – a novelty in the landscape of military or-
ganization – had the status of legal person and func-
tioned under the Ministry of National Defense, with
its headquarters located in Bucharest. The goal of the
House was to organize and to maintain military clubs,
boarding houses and rest houses for officers in all the
permanent garrisons in Romania. The members of the
House of the Military Clubs were divided into two cat-
egories: those who were members by right and those
admitted. All the active officers in the Romanian army
were members by right, while those admitted came
from the ranks of the retired officers who were willing
to pay the monthly subscription.
As for the Military Club in Bucharest, it was ad-
ministered by the “House of the Army”, which carried
out ample restoration works in 1942-1943. The Palace
survived both the large earthquake of November 10,
1940, and the Anglo-American and German bombard-
ments of 1944.
After August 23, 1944, given the Soviet occupa-
tion and the beginning of communization, the activity
of the military clubs has gone though major changes.
On October 22, 1947, the Ministry of National
Defense issued the “General norms regarding the or-
ganization, management and functioning of military
clubs” (Order no. 586602). The document merged the
military clubs of the officers with those of the non-
commissioned officers, which used to function sepa-
rately, into one single institution. Such a formula, re-
sulting from the unification of the two institutions,
was meant to break the tradition and to demonstrate
that “the army belongs to the people”, preparing, once
more, the process of communization of the army. By
ministerial decision no. 161 of 1949, the military clubs
were abolished, their place being taken by garrison
houses, institutions that were destined to officers,
non-commissioned officers, civilian employees and to
their families. They were subordinated to the political
deputies in the garrison. The document also stipulated
that, in Bucharest, the institution will be renamed into
the Central House of the Army, the Palace becoming
its headquarters.
The new institution was highly politicized, its ac-
tivity being strictly controlled by the political struc-
tures, just like the entire Romanian army and society.
A revealing illustration of this reality was the removal
and replacement of several symbols from the Palace
that reminded about national tradition. In the Marble
Hall, the effigies of King Ferdinand and Queen Maria
were draped and there was also an attempt to remove
the caryatids. In the Moor Hall, the royal coat of arms
was removed from the furniture and many others
spaces had their name changed.
Despite the complete ideologization, some seg-
ments of the activity of the Central House of the Army
managed to fulfill some of the needs of the officers’
corps. Courses for teaching foreign languages were
organized and the artistic potential of military and
civilian personnel (painting, dance, etc.) was put into
value. In some periods, the artistic activity reached
high levels and the military and civilian painters found
generous spaces for personal exhibitions. Also, many
international and protocol activities of the Ministry of
National Defense were hosted in the Palace, etc.
An unfortunate event, which had serious implica-
tions for the Central House of the Army, too, was the
earthquake of March 4, 1977, which severely damaged
the building. The restoration works began in 1979 and
ended in 1989, when the communist regime was over-
thrown.
