Though sometimes considered a minor Axis power, Romania played a significant role in World War II. Motivated by fear of Soviet invasion, Romania formed an alliance with Germany, hoping to secure its borders. This decision led to Romanian troops participating in the German invasion of the Soviet Union, including battles in Ukraine, Bessarabia, and Stalingrad. Ultimately, this path brought devastation to Romania, a nation with limited control over its wartime fate.
Prelude to War
In World War I, Romania sided with the Entente and gained territories from its neighbors. The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires created a power vacuum, allowing Romania further territorial expansion. This sparked nationalist desires for a “Greater Romania” encompassing all Romanian-speaking areas.
Hungary, despite its WWI losses, sought to regain its empire, posing a threat to Romania. In response, Romania joined Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia to form the “Little Entente” in 1921. Fearing the Soviet Union as well, Romania signed a defensive pact with Poland.
Romania enjoyed relative stability in the 1920s. Its democratic constitutional monarchy and the centrist National Peasant Party’s 1928 victory represented a brief democratic peak. However, the Great Depression caused economic turmoil, fueling the rise of nationalist movements mirroring those in Italy and Germany. King Carol II, ascending the throne, also held anti-democratic views. These factors steered Romania towards right-wing extremism.
The Iron Guard (Legionary Movement) embodied this sentiment with its blend of religious zealotry, nationalism, and anti-semitism. In 1938, Carol II became a dictator, dissolving political parties. Despite alliances with France and the UK, Romania’s new political climate and proximity to Germany led it to seek protection via closer ties with the rising power.
The 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, followed by the invasion of Poland, foreshadowed disaster. Romania, despite its ties to Poland, initially maintained neutrality.
Soviet Expansion and Internal Strife Lead to Romania’s Axis Alignment
In 1940, the Soviet Union reclaimed territories lost following its withdrawal from World War I. Romania proved unable to resist the annexation of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina. Additionally, Hungary regained Northern Transylvania, while Bulgaria seized southern Dobruja – the latter two transfers facilitated by German and Italian mediation.
These territorial losses severely undermined the Romanian monarchy, leading to King Carol II’s abdication. The fascist Iron Guard seized power, with Ion Antonescu as its figurehead and head of government. This alliance proved unstable, with tensions between Antonescu and the Iron Guard erupting into violence in Bucharest.
Seeking support, Romania formally joined the Axis powers in November 1940, initiating military preparations. Shortly after, the Iron Guard brutally executed 64 former government officials. In January 1941, they launched a coup attempt, accompanied by horrific anti-Semitic pogroms. Antonescu swiftly crushed the rebellion, expelling the Iron Guard from government. Many of its leaders escaped to Germany, finding support from Heinrich Himmler and the SS, who had previously favored the Iron Guard over Antonescu.
With German forces massing within its borders for the impending Soviet invasion, Romania’s path in World War II was sealed.
Romania’s Participation in the Eastern Front
Marshal Ion Antonescu initially committed Romania to the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union with the primary goal of recovering the territories of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, which had been seized by the Soviets in 1940. However, Romania’s ongoing territorial dispute with Hungary, also an Axis power, became a major factor in Antonescu’s decision to continue the campaign beyond the reclaimed provinces.
Seeking to avoid a diplomatic outcome favoring Hungary in the Transylvanian dispute, Antonescu aimed to earn Germany’s goodwill. Additionally, a belief persisted that failure to decisively defeat the Soviet forces beyond Bessarabia would leave Romania vulnerable to a future counter-invasion.
Therefore, the decision was made to join German forces in their relentless eastward advance.
Exploiting the element of surprise and benefiting from the strength of the German armies, Romanian troops swiftly recaptured Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Hungary, in a parallel bid to win German favor in the Transylvanian contest, also continued the offensive. The competition for Germany’s support propelled Romania further into the Soviet Union.
Romanian forces spent the latter part of 1941 engaged in the siege of Odessa and battling Soviet troops in Crimea. In 1942, the German assault on Stalingrad created an urgent need to protect the flanks of the German 6th Army. Romania, alongside Hungary and Italy, were summoned to Stalingrad – a battle destined to become one of history’s bloodiest conflicts.
When the Soviets launched Operation Uranus on November 19th, Romanian forces defending the flanks were overwhelmed. Despite determined resistance, they lacked the firepower and numerical strength to withstand the Soviet onslaught. The Soviets, driven by a fierce desire to expel the invaders from their homeland, breached Romanian lines.
This massive encirclement sealed the fate of over a quarter-million Axis troops. While the Romanians were held responsible for the faltering flanks, German command blamed their allies. In reality, the failure stemmed from German strategic overreach. Hitler, ignoring the counsel of his generals, had fatally extended his forces.
The defeat at Stalingrad, followed by the German loss at Kursk, marked a decisive shift in the war’s momentum. By the end of 1943, the Axis powers, including Romania, were in full retreat across the Eastern Front.
Romania’s economy was meanwhile severely strained. War materials were diverted to Germany without reimbursement, and Allied bombing raids caused significant damage and disruption.
- Depression: From Ancient Roots to Modern Challenges
- Oskar Schindler and His Road to Be a Hero of The Holocaust
- Alan Turing: A Wartime Hero and Computing Pioneer
The Battle of Romania and its Aftermath
In March 1944, Soviet forces reached Romania’s border. Their initial offensive focused on isolating the country from Axis support in the north. Despite early German defensive successes that halted the first Soviet push, a second, far more decisive offensive began on August 20th. Within days, Axis defenses and the Romanian army collapsed. The Soviet objectives were secured by August 29th.
On August 23rd, King Michael of Romania staged a coup, ousting the pro-Axis leader Ion Antonescu from power. The new Romanian government immediately surrendered to the Allies and declared war on the Axis.
Romania swiftly joined the Allies against its former Axis partners. In early September, Romanian forces invaded Northern Transylvania, then held by Hungary. After defeating the Hungarians, Romania continued to fight alongside the Soviets for the remainder of the war. Key engagements included the Siege of Budapest, the Bratislava-Brno Offensive, and the Prague Offensive, which concluded on May 11th, 1945 – three days after Germany’s surrender.
Following the war, Romania regained Transylvania, but faced $300 million in reparations to the Soviets. The country fell firmly within the Soviet sphere of influence, with a communist government installed. It later became a member of the Warsaw Pact.
Romania’s Complicity and Crimes in the Holocaust
Under the fascist regime of Ion Antonescu, Romania became a willing participant in the Holocaust. Antisemitism, already prevalent in Romanian society, intensified as the regime enacted discriminatory policies and encouraged violence against Jews. This systematic persecution culminated in brutal pogroms, mass executions, and the deportation of Jews to ghettos and concentration camps where they endured forced labor, starvation, disease, and death.
Between 1941 and 1944, an estimated 220,000 to 250,000 Romanian Jews were murdered. This includes approximately 90,000 Jews deported from Hungarian-controlled Transylvania to Auschwitz. The Roma population also suffered immense persecution and death.
Ion Antonescu was subsequently tried, convicted, and executed for war crimes, including his role in the Holocaust.
While Romania’s geopolitical situation during World War II was undeniably complex, the Antonescu regime’s actions mirrored the genocidal intent of Nazi Germany. The country’s willing complicity resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of its citizens.
Romania did eventually switch sides towards the end of the war, though its military goals focused on regaining lost territory rather than a fundamental shift in its attitudes towards the Holocaust. The country, like many perpetrators of the Holocaust, continues to grapple with the legacy of this dark chapter.
