August 23, 1944 was a day that
\nmarked the historic destiny of Romania between 1945 and 1989. On the afternoon
\nthat day, King Mihai I overthrew and arrested Marshal Ion Antonescu, the head
\nof the Government, and his acolytes and brought Romania out of the Alliance
\nwith Germany. His actions shortened the war by approximately six months, some
\nmilitary experts believe. The change brought great joy to the population, who
\nthought that day would open up a period of peace and economic prosperity, as
\nwell as a restoration of the democratic political system destroyed by Fascism
\nall over Europe. Unfortunately, people couldn’t foresee the advent of the
\nbloodiest political regime in the history of Romania – communism.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Center for Oral History of the
\nRomanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation stores a 1984 interview Mircea Ionnitiu
\ngave to Radio Free Europe. Ionnitiu went to school with Mihai I and advised the
\nmonarch throughout his hardest times. Ionnitiu recalled hostilities erupted
\nbetween Romania and Germany in the wake of Antonescu’s arrest. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
On the morning of August 24 hostilities broke out with
\nGermany. For 24 hours, the capital city was subjected to terror raids, a series
\nof civilian buildings were damaged or razed to the ground and civilians got
\ngunned down on Victory Road. The Government declared war to Germany following
\nthese hostile actions, and ordered the army to fight off the raids and drive
\nthe enemy out of the country. The last pockets of German resistance are
\ncleansed from the capital city and the last German troops stationed in the
\nBaneasa-Otopeni region are repelled. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
During the communist regime,
\nofficial propaganda talked of the Soviet contribution to the events of August
\n23, 1944 and the liberation of Romania. Under the Ceausescu regime, the focus
\nwas laid on the contribution of the communist party to the change that occurred
\non August 23 and to the liberation of Romania. Yet a major contribution was
\nleft out of history books all those years, namely the assistance of the US Air
\nForce in liquidating the German resistance in the days that followed the change
\nof power on August 23, 1944. Mircea Ionnitiu:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
What was surprising was the attack of the US Air Force on
\nGerman installations north of Bucharest, as per the instructions communicated
\non August 21. US heavy bombers attacked on August 26 at 1 AM. Their actions
\nhelped the Romanian military eradicate the presence of German soldiers around
\nthe capital city. Following this action the Romanian army captured some 700
\nprisoners, although it sustained some 1,400 casualties. Until August 30 the
\nrest of the country was liberated of all German resistance pockets, a total of
\n56,000 prisoners of war being captured, at a cost of 8,500 dead or gravely wounded.
\nFierce battles unfolded in Ploiesti, which held the largest concentration of
\nGerman military. Worth noting is the country was liberated exclusively by the
\nRomanian army. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Mircea Ionnitiu also spoke about
\nthe Soviet contribution to fighting off German resistance.<\/p>\n
The only operation that
\ninvolved the participation of Soviet troops was the cleansing of Ploiesti,
\nwhere Soviet troops entered the battle on August 29. Over 265 thousand Romanian
\nsoldiers helped win back northern Transylvania from Hungarian occupation, and
\nsome 8,500 were killed or wounded in this operation. Soviet troops helped carry
\nout military operations in Transylvania. The campaign ended on October 25,
\n1944, when Satu Mare and Carei in the north were liberated, the very day King
\nMihai turned 23. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Today, we look back on Romania
\nbreaking its alliance with Germany as a clever maneuver by means of which the
\nking and his entourage did everything in their power to ensure Romania gets off
\neasily from a very unpleasant situation. Mircea Ionnitiu believes however that
\nAugust 23 was not a day to celebrate. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
August 23 is not a celebration. It’s a day we need to
\nremember with utmost respect for those who gave their lives on the fields of
\nBessarabia, in the steppes of Ukraine, on the shores of the Don and Volga
\nrivers, in the valleys of the Caucasus and Crimea, but also those who fell
\ndefending Bucharest and sacrificed their lives liberating Cluj. It’s a mourning
\nday, when we, the survivors, need to reflect on the moral value of the useless
\nsacrifice made for the state and for the moral and spiritual reintegration of
\nthe nation. To conclude, I recall the words of King Mihai in the proclamation
\nof August 23, 1944: ‘Our people knows how to master its own fate! Whoever
\nopposes our decision, which stems from our free will and does not bear down on
\nanyone’s liberties, will be an enemy of our people. The new Government means
\nthe start of a new era, where the rights and liberties of all the citizens are
\nsafeguarded and will be observed’. This is an excerpt from the King’s
\nproclamation, and 40 years on we must continue to fight to attain these goals.
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
75 years since the events of August
\n23, 1944, we can argue Romanians have understood what the context back then was
\nlike, and why people felt the need to do their duty to the country. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A brief timeline of the events that day<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":130204,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41141],"tags":[32435,42835,30014,42836],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-130668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-history-show","tag-august-23","tag-liberation-of-romania","tag-mihai-i","tag-nazi-germany"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n