Nicolae Malaxa
Encyclopedia
Nicolae Malaxa was a Romania
n engineer and industrialist.
origins in Huşi
, Malaxa studied engineering in Iaşi
(at the University of Iaşi) and Karlsruhe
(at the Polytechnic University
). Late in his life, Petre Pandrea, a Romanian intellectual who was for long a member of the Communist Party
and later became a victim of the Communist regime
, wrote a memoir which, in part, dealt with Malaxa's biography, recording it with a dose of hostility. In it, he indicated that Malaxa's father died a young man, and that Nicolae was kept in university with money earned by his mother and sister. Pandrea, who called Malaxa "a mama's boy" and argued that this had shaped his character, also noted that, after graduation and contrary to his family's wishes, the engineer married a divorcée (who had been married to one of his early business partners). In time, he claimed, tensions grew between the two Malaxas, after the "Puritan
" Nicolae came to resent his "frivolous" wife.
Malaxa joined the Romanian Railways Company
as a constructions engineer. Petre Pandrea implied that this went against procedure, and was the result of Nicolae Malaxa having befriended Chairman Alexandru Cottescu. The same source indicated that Malaxa continued to engage in business ventures, and that, upon the end of World War I
and the Romanian Campaign
, he was living in Iaşi and managing a grape-selling business. In 1918-1919, he quit his job at the Company and started a new business dealing with rolling stock
maintenance — the venture was instantly successful, a fact which Pandrea attributed to the infrastructure's decay under the previous occupation by the Central Powers
. Thus, Malaxa revitalized rail vehicles left into disrepair, which he sold back to the state at ten times the investment.
According to Time
, Malaxa "parlayed a shoestring into a chain of arms factories and a partnership in Rumania's largest iron works". By the end of the 1930s, the Malaxa factories were mass-producing steam locomotive
s, diesel locomotives, trainsets, rolling stock, steel pipe
s, and were one of the biggest industrial groups in Southeastern Europe
, and the main provider of equipment for the Romanian Railways during the period. In several of his locomotive designs, Malaxa used innovative solutions (in locomotive design — those developed in by George Constantinescu
on the basis of his theory of sonics
; in factory design — in collaboration with Horia Creangă
). Owning much of Romania's steel industry through his strong presence in Reşiţa
, he was chairman of the Ford Motor Company
's Romanian section, and arguably the richest man in Romania at the time.
Malaxa was close to the authoritarian
King
Carol II
. Together with Aristide Blank and Max Auschnitt
, he was one of the major businessmen present in the king's camarilla
(see National Renaissance Front
); such political connections also implied that his success was partly ensured by preferential deals agreed with the state, and in some cases by the placement of inferior products on a captive market
. According to Pandrea, Malaxa had made a habit of manipulating state officials into granting him preferential credits, which explained his interest in supporting Carol's moves. Reportedly, Malaxa and his wife were especially close to the king's mistress, Elena Lupescu, and even became related through marriage (after Lupescu's nephew, an engineer, married the niece of Malaxa's wife).
Around 1939, Carol's son Michael
was rumored to be in a relationship with Lulu Malaxa (Nicolae's daughter). Petre Pandrea also alleged that, soon after turning 17, the virgin Lulu had been raped by Carol on board his Luceafărul yacht
— before her father decided to intervene, remove her from the circle of friends, and send her to study in Paris
. Pandrea also claimed that this was the origin of the notorious conflict between the engineer and Auschnitt, alleging that the latter's wife, was Carol's third mistress and resented Lulu's apparent success. He also claimed that Elena Lupescu was cheating on the king with his secretary Ernest Urdăreanu, who was also an important figure of the camarilla and who kept close contacts with the Malaxas.
Unlike most other large industries in the country, Malaxa's was not tied to British
, French
of Czechoslovak
interests. Instead, Nicolae Malaxa maintained business links with Nazi Germany
as early as 1935. At a time when Nazi Germany was gaining more influence in Romania, Nicolae Malaxa collaborated with Hermann Göring
in confiscating the assets of the Jewish
Auschnitt (who had been arrested and prosecuted on false charges in September 1939), and subsequently placed his industrial empire in the service of the Reichswerke during World War II
.
Just after Carol fell from power in 1940, Malaxa was briefly imprisoned on charges that he had resorted to extortion
in previous years. Probably sympathizing with Nazi
ideology, he had financed the activities of the Romanian far right
Iron Guard
organization as early as the mid-1930s, and especially throughout the National Legionary State
the latter established. During the Rebellion and Pogrom
it provoked in January 1941, the Guard made use of arms manufactured by Malaxa, as well of his house (turned into a citadel and attacked by the Romanian Army) — he was consequently put on trial by Ion Antonescu
's government.
In February 1945, several months after the King Michael Coup which toppled Antonescu, and following the start of Soviet occupation
, his Bucharest factories were at the center of mysterious and violent events. At the time, independent Premier
Nicolae Rădescu
had come into conflict with the rising Romanian Communist Party
, and his frequent speeches to his supporters were disrupted by organized workers. This occurred in Malaxa's plant, and the incident ended with shots being fired and several people killed. The Communist Party claimed that they had been targeted by the Army, acting on orders from Rădescu, despite the fact that bullets recovered from the bodies were not of the kind used by the military. Aggravated by another of Rădescu's addresses, in which he deemed Communists "foreigners without God or a nation", the crisis ended with the appointment of a new cabinet endorsed by the Communist Party and the Soviet Union
and presided by Ploughmen's Front
leader Petru Groza
.
Malaxa used his opportunity to flee after being sent on an economic mission by King Michael, and settled in New York City
, where his family joined him after being expelled by the Groza government. Malaxa and his son Constantin (1922–1999) had their Romanian citizenship revoked in by the Communist regime
in 1948. In May of that year, he met with the ousted Nicolae Rădescu, and financed him money to start issuing an anti-communist
magazine titled Luceafărul (of which philosopher Mircea Eliade
was editor).
Alongside accusations involving his endorsement of the Iron Guard, it was alleged that he had been collaborating with the Romanian Communist Party
during his last years in Romania. In 1955, while Malaxa was visiting Argentina
, the Immigration and Naturalization Service
briefly revoked his reentry permit. Both charges were again voiced by Democratic Party politicians during Richard Nixon
's 1962 electoral campaign
for Governor
in California
, after focus was placed on the friendship and business connections between Nixon and Malaxa. A government investigation dismissed the accusations, but, in 1979, his pro-Nazi past was again investigated by The Washington Post
(which claimed that high-ranking American officials close to Malaxa had been involved in a cover-up).
Suspicions regarding Malaxa's alleged communism
, dismissed early in the era of McCarthyism
by Rădescu, were investigated in 1958 by the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, and centered on rich gifts he had sent to Communist leaders such as Ana Pauker
— Malaxa defended himself by arguing that these had been sent in order to ensure his family's safe passage into America.
Having apparently never applied for American citizenship, Malaxa died at his residence in New Jersey
.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n engineer and industrialist.
Biography
Born in a family of GreekGreeks in Romania
There has been a Greek presence in Romania for at least 27 centuries. At times, as during the Phanariote era, this presence has amounted to hegemony; at other times , the Greeks have simply been one among the many ethnic minorities in Romania.-Ancient and Medieval Period:The Greek presence in what...
origins in Huşi
Husi
Huși is a city in Vaslui County, Romania, former capital of the disbanded Fălciu County in the historical region of Moldavia, Romanian Orthodox episcopal see, and home of some of the best vineyards of Romania. The city is located on a branch of the Iaşi-Galaţi railway, nine miles west of the Prut...
, Malaxa studied engineering in Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
(at the University of Iaşi) and Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
(at the Polytechnic University
Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences
The Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences is an University of Applied Sciences in Karlsruhe. It is the largest university of applied sciences in the State of Baden-Württemberg offering both academic and professional higher education study programmes in engineering sciences, natural sciences,...
). Late in his life, Petre Pandrea, a Romanian intellectual who was for long a member of the Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
and later became a victim of the Communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
, wrote a memoir which, in part, dealt with Malaxa's biography, recording it with a dose of hostility. In it, he indicated that Malaxa's father died a young man, and that Nicolae was kept in university with money earned by his mother and sister. Pandrea, who called Malaxa "a mama's boy" and argued that this had shaped his character, also noted that, after graduation and contrary to his family's wishes, the engineer married a divorcée (who had been married to one of his early business partners). In time, he claimed, tensions grew between the two Malaxas, after the "Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
" Nicolae came to resent his "frivolous" wife.
Malaxa joined the Romanian Railways Company
Caile Ferate Române
Căile Ferate Române is the official designation of the state railway carrier of Romania. Romania has a railway network of of which are electrified and the total track length is . The network is significantly interconnected with other European railway networks, providing pan-European passenger...
as a constructions engineer. Petre Pandrea implied that this went against procedure, and was the result of Nicolae Malaxa having befriended Chairman Alexandru Cottescu. The same source indicated that Malaxa continued to engage in business ventures, and that, upon the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the Romanian Campaign
Romanian Campaign (World War I)
The Romanian Campaign was part of the Balkan theatre of World War I, with Romania and Russia allied against the armies of the Central Powers. Fighting took place from August 1916 to December 1917, across most of present-day Romania, including Transylvania, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian...
, he was living in Iaşi and managing a grape-selling business. In 1918-1919, he quit his job at the Company and started a new business dealing with rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
maintenance — the venture was instantly successful, a fact which Pandrea attributed to the infrastructure's decay under the previous occupation by the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
. Thus, Malaxa revitalized rail vehicles left into disrepair, which he sold back to the state at ten times the investment.
According to Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Malaxa "parlayed a shoestring into a chain of arms factories and a partnership in Rumania's largest iron works". By the end of the 1930s, the Malaxa factories were mass-producing steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s, diesel locomotives, trainsets, rolling stock, steel pipe
Piping
Within industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid....
s, and were one of the biggest industrial groups in Southeastern Europe
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, and the main provider of equipment for the Romanian Railways during the period. In several of his locomotive designs, Malaxa used innovative solutions (in locomotive design — those developed in by George Constantinescu
George Constantinescu
George Constantinescu was a Romanian scientist, engineer and inventor. During his career, he registered over 130 inventions. He is the creator of the theory of sonics, a new branch of continuum mechanics, in which he described the transmission of mechanical energy through vibrations.Born in...
on the basis of his theory of sonics
Theory of sonics
The theory of sonics is a branch of continuum mechanics which describes the transmission of mechanical energy through vibrations. The birth of the theory of sonics can be considered the publication of the book A treatise on transmission of power by vibrations in 1918 by the Romanian scientist Gogu...
; in factory design — in collaboration with Horia Creangă
Horia Creangă
-References:...
). Owning much of Romania's steel industry through his strong presence in Reşiţa
Resita
' is a city in western Romania and the capital of Caraş-Severin County, in the Banat region. Its 2004 population was 83,985.- Etymology :The name of Reşiţa, might comes from the Latin recitia, meaning "cold spring", as the great historian Nicolae Iorga once suggested, presuming that the Romans...
, he was chairman of the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
's Romanian section, and arguably the richest man in Romania at the time.
Malaxa was close to the authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
King
King of Romania
King of the Romanians , rather than King of Romania , was the official title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when Romania was proclaimed a republic....
Carol II
Carol II of Romania
Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
. Together with Aristide Blank and Max Auschnitt
Max Auschnitt
Max Auschnitt, also known as Auschnit or Auşnit , was a Romanian industrialist and rival of Nicolae Malaxa, who played an important role before World War II. Together with Aristide Blank and Malaxa, he was one of the major businessmen present in King Carol II's camarilla...
, he was one of the major businessmen present in the king's camarilla
Camarilla (history)
A camarilla is a group of courtiers or favourites who surround a king or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority but influence their ruler behind the scenes. Consequently, they also escape having to bear responsibility for the effects of their advice...
(see National Renaissance Front
National Renaissance Front
The National Renaissance Front was a fascist Romanian political party created by King Carol II in 1938 as the single monopoly party of government following his decision to ban all other political parties and suspend the 1923 Constitution, and the passing of the 1938 Constitution of Romania...
); such political connections also implied that his success was partly ensured by preferential deals agreed with the state, and in some cases by the placement of inferior products on a captive market
Captive market
Captive markets are markets where the potential consumers face a severely limited amount of competitive suppliers; their only choices are to purchase what is available or to make no purchase at all. Captive markets result in higher prices and less diversity for consumers...
. According to Pandrea, Malaxa had made a habit of manipulating state officials into granting him preferential credits, which explained his interest in supporting Carol's moves. Reportedly, Malaxa and his wife were especially close to the king's mistress, Elena Lupescu, and even became related through marriage (after Lupescu's nephew, an engineer, married the niece of Malaxa's wife).
Around 1939, Carol's son Michael
Michael I of Romania
Michael was the last King of Romania. He reigned from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930, and again from 6 September 1940 until 30 December 1947 when he was forced, by the Communist Party of Romania , to abdicate to the Soviet armies of occupation...
was rumored to be in a relationship with Lulu Malaxa (Nicolae's daughter). Petre Pandrea also alleged that, soon after turning 17, the virgin Lulu had been raped by Carol on board his Luceafărul yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
— before her father decided to intervene, remove her from the circle of friends, and send her to study in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Pandrea also claimed that this was the origin of the notorious conflict between the engineer and Auschnitt, alleging that the latter's wife, was Carol's third mistress and resented Lulu's apparent success. He also claimed that Elena Lupescu was cheating on the king with his secretary Ernest Urdăreanu, who was also an important figure of the camarilla and who kept close contacts with the Malaxas.
Unlike most other large industries in the country, Malaxa's was not tied to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
of Czechoslovak
First Republic of Czechoslovakia
-Independence:The Czechoslovak declaration of independence was published by the Czechoslovak National Council, signed by Masaryk, Štefánik and Beneš on October 18, 1918 in Paris, and proclaimed on October 28 in Prague...
interests. Instead, Nicolae Malaxa maintained business links with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
as early as 1935. At a time when Nazi Germany was gaining more influence in Romania, Nicolae Malaxa collaborated with Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
in confiscating the assets of the Jewish
History of the Jews in Romania
The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
Auschnitt (who had been arrested and prosecuted on false charges in September 1939), and subsequently placed his industrial empire in the service of the Reichswerke during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Just after Carol fell from power in 1940, Malaxa was briefly imprisoned on charges that he had resorted to extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
in previous years. Probably sympathizing with Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
ideology, he had financed the activities of the Romanian far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
Iron Guard
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
organization as early as the mid-1930s, and especially throughout the National Legionary State
National Legionary State
The National Legionary State was the Romanian government from September 6, 1940 to January 23, 1941. It was a single-party regime dictatorship dominated by the overtly fascist Iron Guard in uneasy conjunction with the head of government and Conducător Ion Antonescu, the leader of the Romanian...
the latter established. During the Rebellion and Pogrom
Legionnaires' Rebellion and Bucharest Pogrom
The Legionnaires' rebellion and the Bucharest pogrom occurred in Bucharest, Romania, between 21 and 23 January 1941.As the privileges of the Iron Guard were being cut off by Conducător Ion Antonescu, members of the Iron Guard, also known as the Legionnaires, revolted...
it provoked in January 1941, the Guard made use of arms manufactured by Malaxa, as well of his house (turned into a citadel and attacked by the Romanian Army) — he was consequently put on trial by Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
's government.
In February 1945, several months after the King Michael Coup which toppled Antonescu, and following the start of Soviet occupation
Soviet occupation of Romania
The Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Romania...
, his Bucharest factories were at the center of mysterious and violent events. At the time, independent Premier
Prime Minister of Romania
The Prime Minister of Romania is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled President of the Council of Ministers , when the term "Government" included more than the Cabinet, and the Cabinet was called The Council of Ministers...
Nicolae Rădescu
Nicolae Radescu
Nicolae Rădescu was a Romanian army officer and political figure. He was the last pre-communist rule Prime Minister of Romania, serving from December 7, 1944 to March 1, 1945....
had come into conflict with the rising Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
, and his frequent speeches to his supporters were disrupted by organized workers. This occurred in Malaxa's plant, and the incident ended with shots being fired and several people killed. The Communist Party claimed that they had been targeted by the Army, acting on orders from Rădescu, despite the fact that bullets recovered from the bodies were not of the kind used by the military. Aggravated by another of Rădescu's addresses, in which he deemed Communists "foreigners without God or a nation", the crisis ended with the appointment of a new cabinet endorsed by the Communist Party and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and presided by Ploughmen's Front
Ploughmen's Front
The Ploughmen's Front was a Romanian left-wing agrarian-inspired political organisation of ploughmen, founded at Deva in 1933 and led by Petru Groza. At its peak in 1946, the Front had over 1 million members.-History:...
leader Petru Groza
Petru Groza
Petru Groza was a Romanian politician, best known as the Prime Minister of the first Communist Party-dominated governments under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Communist regime in Romania....
.
Malaxa used his opportunity to flee after being sent on an economic mission by King Michael, and settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where his family joined him after being expelled by the Groza government. Malaxa and his son Constantin (1922–1999) had their Romanian citizenship revoked in by the Communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
in 1948. In May of that year, he met with the ousted Nicolae Rădescu, and financed him money to start issuing an anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
magazine titled Luceafărul (of which philosopher Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
was editor).
Alongside accusations involving his endorsement of the Iron Guard, it was alleged that he had been collaborating with the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
during his last years in Romania. In 1955, while Malaxa was visiting Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, the Immigration and Naturalization Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
briefly revoked his reentry permit. Both charges were again voiced by Democratic Party politicians during Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's 1962 electoral campaign
California gubernatorial election, 1962
The California gubernatorial election, 1962 was held on November 6, 1962. The Democratic incumbent, Pat Brown, ran for re-election against former Vice President Richard Nixon...
for Governor
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, after focus was placed on the friendship and business connections between Nixon and Malaxa. A government investigation dismissed the accusations, but, in 1979, his pro-Nazi past was again investigated by The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
(which claimed that high-ranking American officials close to Malaxa had been involved in a cover-up).
Suspicions regarding Malaxa's alleged communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, dismissed early in the era of McCarthyism
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
by Rădescu, were investigated in 1958 by the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, and centered on rich gifts he had sent to Communist leaders such as Ana Pauker
Ana Pauker
Ana Pauker was a Romanian communist leader and served as the country's foreign minister in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
— Malaxa defended himself by arguing that these had been sent in order to ensure his family's safe passage into America.
Having apparently never applied for American citizenship, Malaxa died at his residence in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.