Healthy Young Bodies of an (Un)healthy Nation: Physical Education and Discipline in Straja Țării (1934-1940)

Abstract

This text discusses Straja Țării, the Romanian youth organization patronized by King Carol II, and created in the tense social and political atmosphere of the The 1930s. While reinforcing the loyalty to the king, Străjeria aimed for an integral education based on moral values, religious and patriotic feelings, and physical training. Although active for a short time, Straja was one of the main social intervention institutions, with high autonomy during the royal dictatorship, mobilizing considerable human and financial resources. It developed specific mechanisms and tools for youth control, including discipline through physical education leading to the strengthening of the young bodies. The paper analyzes the multiple functions of these mechanisms using archival documents, legislation, and health surveys carried out in that epoch. The research builds on three levels of analysis: the regulation of physical education and public health in interwar Romania (1); the social control of young bodies through Straja Țării (2); the health deficiencies of the young generation (3). The main argument of this article is that Straja has built an overrated national prototype of the vitality of youth, without properly addressing the deficiencies and cleavages of a relatively healthy nation.

Keywords

• youth
• discipline
• physical education
• public health
• straja țării