Soviet prisoners in Romania

The end of World War Two in Romania and its less well-known episodes

Radio România Internațional, 25.11.2024, 14:00

Romania took sides with Germany in World War Two. On June 22nd, 1941, jointly with Germany, Romania began military operations against the Soviet Union. However, we need to say the Soviet Union had been the aggressor state, the year before. In June 1940, in the aftermath of two cession ultimatums the Soviets issued to the Romanian government, the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, Romanian territories of the east and the north. Among other things, just as it would happen in any military operation, there also were prisoners.

Over June 22nd, 1941 and August 23rd, 1944, the Romanian Army captured 91,060 Soviet soldiers. Of them, 90%, that is 82, 057 military, were sent to Romania, in 12 concentration camps. According to the dictionary compiled by historians Alesandru Duțu, Florica Dobre and Leonida Loghin “The Romanian Army in World War Two”, of those who were detained in concentration camps,13,682 who were of Romanian origin from Bessarabia and Bukovina were released. Other 5,223 died, while 3,331 escaped.

On August 23rd, 1944, Romania pulled out of the alliance with Germany and on Romanian territory there were 59, 856 Soviet prisoners, of whom 2, 794 were officers, while 57, 062 were NCOs and soldiers. Considering the prisoners’ ethnic origin, 25, 533 were Ukrainians, 17,833 Russians, 2,497 Kalmuks, 2,039 Uzbeks, 1,917 Turks, 1,588 Cossacks, 1,501 Armenians, 1,600 Georgians, 601 Tartars, 293 Jews, 252 Polish, 186 Bulgarians, 150 Ossetins, 117 Azeri, as well as other several dozens of ethnic groups, in smaller numbers.

Documents reveal the Soviet prisoners in Romania were treated in accordance with the existing international legislation. Early into the war the living conditions were dire, and it was because of such conditions that most of the deaths were reported. Yet they improved rapidly, the reports compiled by the Romanian Army’s control commission mentioning the progress.

The Soviet prisoners were confined in concentration camps, accommodation, food, hygiene and medical assistance conditions were provided for them, they were interrogated and were given the chance to work.

Colonel Anton Dumitrescu took part in the act of August 23rd, 1944, himself and four NCOs being the ones who arrested Marshall Ion Antonescu and vice-Prime Minister Mihai Antonescu.

In a 1974 interview stored in Radio Romania’s Oral History Center, he recalled how, prior to his arresting Antonescu, he was sent to gather intel on the center of Soviet prisoners in Slobozia. The Romanian intelligence service had found out the Germans prepared that center as a launching site of the operations against the Romanian army, should the latter defect.

”In Slobozia there was a big centre with Russian prisoners. The Germans had garnished the entire camp with Vlasov troops. The Vlasov troops were the Russians who, led by general Vlasov, had taken sides with the Germans. And, in German uniforms, fought against the Russians. However, from the intelligence I had, the Germans wanted to be sure about that center should something happen with us, with the Vlasovs taking sides with the Russians and fighting against us.

I had been in contact with the Vlasovs in the Caucasus when, indeed, those people in no way wanted to surrender because the Soviets would have killed them. They were dead set on fighting. The entire region there was teeming with refugees from Moldavia and from Bessarabia and I did not see any Vlasov whatsoever.”

Engineer Miron Tașcă used to work in Braila, at the French-Romanian plant, with a mixed, civilian and military production. In 1995, he reminisced the Soviet prisoners who worked at the Braila-based plant and what happened with them, after the Soviets reached Romanian territory.

”We, during the war, at the factory in Braila, also worked with a series of prisoners. They were treated very well, they did not work on the machines, they did manual jobs, downloading and uploading stuff, and cleaning. Those prisoners, the Soviets set them free, took them and brought them back to Russia. The moment they were taken, they also knew they had to leave.

One of them, who told me he was an Uzbek, said he no longer wanted to return to the USSR. He asked me to go at all lengths to keep him there, he was a hard-working, silent and quiet boy. Of course, something like that was not possible. Prisoners were investigated, numbered, completely taken over, and that’s when he also left, the poor thing. But he was the one who under no circumstances wanted to return. Others did not want to return either, likeminded people, that is. Perhaps they did not know what was in store for them, but he, from the very beginning said he did not want to return. “

A student of the military school during the war, Catrinel Dumitrescu, in 1998 said that, prior to seeing Soviet military after 1944, he had also seen them as prisoners:

”I had seen Russians before, they were prisoners. There were, in our country, about 10-20 Russian prisoners who were free to work. They were accommodated with the gendarmes post and worked in the cleaning of roads, of roadside ditches, they called in at private residences and did menial jobs there, they received food and suchlike. After August 23rd, 1944, the first ones to flee, not to the East but to the West, were those Russians! ‘Cause they knew what was going to come. “

Soviet war prisoners in Romania are a less well-known chapter in Romanian modern history. It is that kind of chapter that still takes its time to reach public consciousness.