In 1941, the ruling circles of bourgeois-landowner Romania, having sold the country's independence to Hitler's Germany, involved the Romanian people in a war of conquest against the USSR. At that time, the leading part of the Romanian people launched a struggle against the foreign Nazi yoke and the bloody fascist regime of Antonescu, for the national liberation and independence of their homeland.
The national liberation struggle was closely intertwined with the social struggle against the landlords and the big bourgeoisie, who were the mainstay of the Nazi occupation and the Fascist regime. The bourgeois-landlord parties and the leaders of the right-wing socialists supported the fascist system and the anti-Soviet war. The national liberation and anti-fascist struggle of the Romanian workers was led by the Communist Party. In the most difficult conditions of the underground, it courageously fulfilled its duty to the working class and all working people. The Communist Party of Romania, based on the instructions of the Communist International, developed a correct political line aimed at developing a nationwide movement against fascism and the anti-Soviet war. She appealed to all patriotic and democratic parties and organizations to create a united national front of the Romanian people to fight against the Nazi occupiers and the military fascist clique of the traitor Antonescu. In the proclamation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Romania of July 8, 1941. It was stated: "The historical responsibility of the Romanian Communist Party before the Romanian people is to organize a struggle in Romania on the side of the great Soviet people and the enslaved peoples for the destruction of bloody German fascism and its minions in all countries, for the expulsion of the German occupiers from Romania, for the overthrow of the gang of traitors in power led by Antonescu, for liberation of the country from the German bloody yoke, for the victory of the USSR, for a free and independent Romania " 1 .
On September 6, 1941, the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party published a platform on the basis of which it proposed to unite all the patriotic forces of the country. The platform had the following requirements:: 1) Ending the war against the USSR. Peace with the U.S.S.R. and joint struggle with the U.S.S.R. against Hitlerite Germany. 2) The expulsion of the German occupiers. Restoration of freedom and national independence of Romania. 3) The overthrow of the military fascist dictatorship of Antonescu. Formation of a government of national independence consisting of representatives of all patriotic forces. 4) Annulment of the Vienna Arbitration, liberation of Northern Transylvania. 5) Ending the national oppression of the population of Bessarabia and Bukovina, Jews, etc. 6) Arrest and punishment of traitors who plunged the Romanian people into war against the USSR 2 .
These demands expressed the true interests of the Romanian people, who did not want to fight against the USSR. This was evidenced by the large number of deserters from the Romanian army 3, as well as the results of the plebiscite staged by Antonescu in the fall of 1941. Despite the situation of fascist terror and the threats of the authorities, the idea with the pla-
1 "Scanteia," August 21, 1949.
2 "Documente din istoria partidului comunist din Romania". Editura partidului munciforesc roman. 1951, p. 324 - 325.
3 At the trial of the main war criminals in May 1946, Antonescu was forced to admit that in order not to join the army, people signed up for various religious sects, which forbade their participants to fight.
bismuth failed miserably: only 7% of the total population participated in it4 . The results of Antonescu's subscription to a military loan also showed that the Romanian people did not approve of the war against the USSR. The government managed to place only a little more than half of the bonds it issued .5
The platform proposed by the Communist Party was met with hostility by the leaders of the bourgeois-landlord parties and the right-wing social Democrats. But the broad masses of the Romanian working people were sympathetic to Pei.
From the very beginning of the war against the U.S.S.R., the advanced strata of the working people, at the call of the Communist Party, waged a struggle against the Hitlerite war machine. They committed acts of sabotage and sabotage in the port of Constance, at military enterprises, in coal mines, etc.
In early January 1942, 12,000 miners stopped working in Petroshany to protest the war. Young miners in the town of Anina also refused to go to work 6 . At the country's largest plants in Reshitsa, a power plant was put out of action. In the Prakhov Valley, where the richest oil fields are located, fires broke out. Whole trains with planes of the Romanian company "I. A. R." were returned from the front, as the planes were unsuitable for use. Railway workers derailed trains with Hitler's troops 7 . Acts of sabotage took place at the Lemaitre factory in Bucharest, at the Targoviste arsenal, etc.
The fascist Government of Romania responded with ferocious terror to the workers ' struggle against the war. Antonescu ordered the execution of communists and the most severe punishment of all "violators of order" 8 . Mass arrests were carried out at the Bucharest Wolf factory and among the arsenal workers. Hundreds of Romanian freedom and independence fighters were exiled to the Targu Jiu concentration camp.
In July 1941, the faithful son of the Romanian people, communist Filimon Syrbu, was executed. "I accept death with my eyes open," he said before the execution, " because I am dying for a just cause... Long live free Romania! Death to the fascists! " 9 . In November 1941, another large group of fighters against fascism and the anti-Soviet war was shot. At the end of 1942, Petre Gheorghe, secretary of the Bucharest Committee of the Communist Party of Romania, was arrested and executed in February 1943. On the way to the execution, Petre Gheorghe shouted to the remaining political prisoners: "Hold your heads high! We will win the fight against the fascist invaders!" He accepted death with the words: "Get out the fascist invaders! Long live the Communist Party of Romania!"10. On March 18, 1944, Romanian fascists blew up the Rybnitsa prison together with a large group of Romanian anti-fascists. Among the dead were members of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Romania Andrei Bernat and Lazar Grunberg.
The terror of Siguranza did not break the will of the Romanian people to actively resist. The Communists explained to the workers that the salvation of the Romanian people consisted in uniting all the patriotic forces of the country. They exposed the treacherous policy of the leaders of the bourgeois landlord parties, Manu and Bratianu, who had entered into an agreement with the Antonescu clique.
Anti-fascist sentiments increasingly penetrated the ranks of the Romanian army. From the very first months of the war, desertion from its ranks began. It especially intensified after the victory of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad. In the great battle of Stalingrad, along with the Germans, the Romanian troops were also defeated; entire Romanian divisions surrendered. The defeat of the Fascist troops at Stalingrad caused confusion in the ruling circles of Romania. But in the hearts of the Romanian workers, it inspired hope that the time is not far when fascism will be destroyed.
At the end of 1942, under the leadership of the Communists, an organization of the advanced intelligentsia of Romania, the Union of Patriots, was created. It operated in Bucharest and in other cities of the country and aimed to unite the forces of the Romanian people in a single militant patriotic front for the liberation of the motherland from the Nazi yoke .11 At the beginning of 1943, the Anti-Hitler Patriotic War was organized.-
4 Pravda, March 3, 1942.
5 V. A. Karra. Construction of the Socialist Economy in the Romanian People's Republic, Moscow, 1953, p. 47.
6 "Scanteia", May 15, 1946.
7 "Romania libera", January 28, 1943.
8 "Scanteia", May 15, 1946.
9 "Scanteia", July 19, 1949.
10 "Scanteia", February 8, 1950.
11 "Romania libera", January 28, 1943.
The Communist Front is composed of the Communist Party of Romania, the Front of Farmers, the Union of Patriots, the Peasant Socialist Party, and the Mados organization of Hungarian Workers of Transylvania .12 It united in its ranks the advanced strata of workers, peasants, intellectuals, and the petty bourgeoisie.
The creation of the Anti-Hitler Patriotic Front was a major success for the Romanian Communist Party and marked the beginning of the political isolation of the bourgeois-landlord parties and their right-wing socialist agents. The Anti-Hitler Patriotic Front was based on the platform of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Romania of September 6, 1941. On January 28, 1943, the first issue of the illegal newspaper "Romania libera" ("Free Romania"), which was the organ of the country's patriotic forces, was published.
The performances of Romanian soldiers and officers who surrendered to the Soviet troops were an indicator of the mood and feelings of the broad strata of the Romanian people.
The first conference of Romanian prisoners of war in the USSR, held in January 1942, adopted an appeal to the Romanian people, which stated: "We want to have our own Romanian power in the person of a genuine national government of Romania, a government of peace, freedom and independence of Romania"13 . Prisoners of war called on the Romanian workers to organize partisan detachments to fight against the German invaders, and their compatriots who were at the front-to turn their weapons against Hitler and Antonescu. In the USSR, a Romanian-language newspaper Graiul liber was published, in which Romanian soldiers and officers who were prisoners of war collaborated. Many prisoners of war published appeals and appeals to their compatriots, spoke on the radio, exposing Fascist murderers and enslavers.
On February 2, 1943, the day when the liquidation of the German-Fascist group near Stalingrad was completed, 2,700 soldiers and 43 officers appealed to the Soviet government to allow them to participate in the battles against Nazi Germany .14 The Congress of Romanian Prisoners of War, held in September 1943 with the participation of Romanian communists who were in exile in the USSR, adopted a program of struggle based on the platform of the Anti-Hitler Patriotic Front15 .
On October 2, 1943, the Soviet Government, taking into account the patriotic desire of the Romanian prisoners of war and wishing to help them contribute to the defeat of fascism, granted the request of the Romanian prisoners of war and revolutionary emigrants to create a Romanian volunteer division from prisoners of war .16 It assumed all the costs of forming and equipping the division. This act showed the deep internationalism of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Government's confidence in the Romanian workers. The division was named after the leader of the peasant anti-Boyar and anti-Turkish uprising of 1821 in Wallachia, Vladimirescu.
The news of the division's formation caused a huge upsurge among Romanian prisoners of war. 90% of POW soldiers expressed a desire to become its fighters 17 . The Tudor Vladimirescu Division participated in the battles for the liberation of Transylvania, and also helped the peoples of Hungary and Czechoslovakia to throw off the Nazi yoke. The Soviet government highly appreciated the fighting of the Romanian volunteer division named after Tudor Vladimirescu. By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the division was named in commemoration of its participation in the capture of Debrecen Debrecen, and on May 3, 1945 was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In September 1943, a meeting of the leaders of the Communist Party was held,
12 The peasant organization "Front of Farmers" was founded in 1933. From the very beginning of its existence, the Front of Farmers enjoyed the support of the Communist Party of Romania. The program of the" Front of Farmers " provided for close cooperation between the peasantry and the working class. "Mados" is an abbreviation of the "Union of Hungarian Workers in Romania". It united the main masses of Hungarian workers living in Romania. Its activities were aimed at the joint struggle of Hungarian and Romanian workers against fascism and war, for democratic freedoms. The Peasant Socialist Party united some members of the National Tsaranist Party who were convinced of the disastrous nature of Maniu's treacherous line. After August 23, 1944, this party joined the "Front of Farmers".
13 Pravda, January 25, 1942.
14 Istoria RPR, 1952, p. 656.
15 "Romania libera", March 15, 1951.
16 "Scanteia", October 2, 1953.
17 Istoria RPR, p. 656.
prisoners in the camp in Targu Jiu. At this meeting, it was decided to create armed groups of patriots to fight against the German occupiers and their Romanian henchmen. The organization of these detachments was entrusted to the members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Romania, E. Bodnarasz, C. Parvulescu and I. Rangec, who were at large .18 However, the development of the national liberation struggle and the organization of a broad anti-Hitler front were hindered by enemy agents who had made their way to the leadership of the Communist Party. Its exposure was a vital condition for the party to carry out its historical tasks. Only by eliminating the traitors could the communist organizations be strengthened and activated, and all the anti-Hitler patriotic forces be brought together to overthrow the Antonescu dictatorship and turn their weapons against Hitler's Germany.
In April 1944, as a result of decisive measures, it was possible to neutralize enemy agents in the party and form the provisional leadership of the party, which maintained constant contact with the party leaders imprisoned in the camp in Targu Jiu. This connection was carried out by Bodnarasz; he managed to meet several times with G. Gheorghiu-Dej, from whom he received advice and instructions .19
The strengthening of the party leadership played a crucial role in strengthening the national liberation struggle. Since that time, the anti-fascist patriotic movement in Romania has taken on a broader scale. The national liberation struggle of the Romanian people intensified with the withdrawal of Soviet troops to the state border of the USSR with Romania (end of March 1944) and with the liberation of part of Moldova from the fascist troops. Of great importance for the expansion of the national liberation struggle was the statement of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. M. Molotov of April 2, 1944, which stated: "The Soviet Government declares that it does not pursue the goal of acquiring any part of the Romanian territory or changing the existing social system of Romania, and that the entry of Soviet troops into Romania exclusively by military necessity and by the continued resistance of the enemy forces. " 20
Commenting on the statement of V. M. Molotov, the newspaper "Romania libera" emphasized that the struggle against fascism is of paramount importance for the Romanian people: "The decisive moment has come... We can't wait any longer. The Romanian people must take their fate into their own hands and fight to get out of the war. " 21
The Communist Party of Romania has worked hard to organize partisan detachments. In June 1944, in the Karas Mountains near Oravica, the Maramesti partisan detachment was created, headed by railway worker Stefan Plavec. Under his leadership, the detachment attacked German transports of weapons and food. A loyal son of his people, Stefan Plavec fell in an unequal battle with the Romanian gendarmes 22 . .Another partisan unit fought in the area of Brasov-Ploiesti. Groups of this detachment operated in the vicinity of the cities of Sibiu, Sfintul Gheorghe, Ploiesti, etc. In June and July 1944 alone, this unit blew up seven German fuel transports. The unit controlled communications in the Craiova area and the Ploiesti - Fauren - Braila railway lines 23 . The Fascist authorities sent two regiments of soldiers to fight this detachment. In the battles with the Fascist troops, the glorious Romanian partisan railway worker Stefan Goidea was killed. Following the instructions of the Central Committee, the Communists created detachments of the Patriotic Guard. A group of Romanian patriots-soldiers and officers from a regiment stationed in Turnu-Mygurel-supplied them with weapons and ammunition .24 Under the leadership of Bodnarasz, armed detachments were established in Oltenia and weapons depots in the mountains and in the village of Brezoy, Vylcha county.
At the end of April 1944, the Romanian Communists achieved significant success in uniting the anti-fascist forces in the country. Under pressure from rank-and-file members of the Social Democratic Party, its right-wing leaders accepted the Romanian Communist Party's proposal to form a united workers ' front, which was established on May 1
18 Scanteia", August 24, 1945.
19 "Scanteia". August 24, 1946.
20 "Foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War". Vol. II. Moscow, 1946, p. 105.
21 "Romania libera", May 9, 1944.
22 "Scanteia", August 24, 1946.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.
1944 25 . The formation of the united Workers ' Front helped strengthen the political activity of the working class and increase its role in the national liberation struggle. At the same time, the formation of the United Workers ' Front was the first step towards the defeat of opportunism in the Rumanian labor movement.
In a manifesto issued on May 1, 1944, the United Workers ' front called on all Romanian workers to fight resolutely against Hitler's army and the Antonescu clique, for friendship and alliance with the USSR. 26 Under the leadership of the Communists, the United Workers ' Front carried out a great deal of work among the masses. Committees of the United Workers ' front were formed at the SET aviation plant, at the Malax steelworks, at the Mochiornita shoe factory, and at many enterprises in Bucharest, as well as in other industrial centers of the country. Along with demands of a national political nature, the committees also put forward economic demands of the working class.
In May 1944, the Anti-Hitler Patriotic Front entered into an agreement with the Tatarescu-led National Liberal Party. This group was most closely associated with the former King Carol and his entourage and was therefore excluded from participating in the government of the country during the Antonescu dictatorship. When the defeat of Hitler's Germany became obvious, the Tatarescu group started negotiations with the ruling circles of the United States and England about Romania's withdrawal from the war through E. Benes. Since the Tatarescu group began to advocate Romania's withdrawal from the war against the USSR, the Communist Party agreed to conclude an agreement with it.
After the Soviet troops liberated part of Romania from the Nazi troops, the leaders of the National Tsaranist and National Liberal parties, Maniu and Bratianu, began to maneuver. They agreed to enter into negotiations with representatives of the Communist and Social Democratic parties on the establishment of a bloc of democratic parties. At the same time, they refused to negotiate with representatives of other parties and organizations that were part of the Anti-Hitler Patriotic Front: the Front of Farmers, the Union of Patriots, and others. After lengthy negotiations, which were deliberately delayed by the leaders of the bourgeois-landowner parties, on June 20, 1944, representatives of the Communist Party of Romania, the Social Democratic, Liberal and National Tsaranist parties signed an agreement on the creation of a national democratic bloc. Under this agreement, the parties in the bloc pledged to fight for the conclusion of a truce, the overthrow of the Antonescu dictatorship, the establishment of a democratic system and the restoration of the country's independence .27
Representatives of the Communist Party concluded this agreement, considering that it can play some positive role for the overthrow of the fascist dictatorship. The Communists did not refuse to cooperate even with the bourgeois-landlord parties, if this could benefit the cause of national liberation. But the leaders of the bourgeois-landlord parties were playing a double game. They posed as supporters of overthrowing the fascist dictatorship and getting out of the anti-Soviet war in order to take over the national liberation movement and slow down its further development. Maniu and Bratianu negotiated with representatives of the United States and England and sought the occupation of Romania by the troops of these countries. At the same time, they reported the formation of the national democratic bloc to Antonescu, the executioner of the Romanian people. 28
But despite the treacherous actions of the leaders of the bourgeois-landlord parties, the national liberation struggle became increasingly widespread. Under the leadership of the Communists, the Anti-Hitler Patriotic Front strengthened its ranks and expanded its ties. In May 1944, the Romanian Communist Party established
25 From the first days of the war, the Communist Party of Romania repeatedly proposed the creation of a united workers ' front, but the leaders of the Social Democratic Party systematically rejected these proposals. See the articles by K. Parvulescu "The Truth about August 23" in the newspaper "Scanteia", March 25 and 27, 1946.
26 "Documente din istoria partidului..,", p. 356 - 357.
27 "Scanteia", January 1, 1945.
28 At the trial of Maniu and other leaders of the National Tsaranist Party, held in November 1947, a document written on 2 August 1944 by the Deputy Prime Minister of Romania, Michael Antonescu, was cited, in which the latter confirmed that Maniu had informed him of the formation and composition of the national Democratic bloc ("Le proces des dirigeants de l'ancien parti national-naysan". Bucarest. 1947. annexe 18).
contact with a group of Romanian patriotic officers. In April and July 1944, a group of Romanian professors led by Parkhon demanded that the Romanian government put an end to the criminal anti-Soviet war. 29 The circle of Romanian fighters against the fascist system and the continuation of the anti-Soviet war expanded more and more. But the internal forces were too weak and drained of blood by the Fascist terror to succeed in this struggle on their own. I needed outside help. This assistance came from the Soviet Union.
In his report on the 26th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, J. V. Stalin outlined the basic principles of the Soviet Union's foreign policy in the post-war period30 . It provided assistance in the liberation of the peoples of the countries enslaved by the Nazis and assistance in the reconstruction of their independent national states. The enslaved peoples were to be given the right to control their own future and independently decide on the state structure of their countries. The implementation of this program provided the Romanian people with the restoration of their independence, the creation of a single, independent, sovereign Romanian state.
The fair foreign policy of the Soviet Union, based on respect for the rights and independence of all peoples, was clearly expressed in the armistice terms proposed to Romania by the Soviet Government on April 12, 1944. These conditions ensured the restoration of Romania's independence. They met the national aspirations of the Romanian people. The terms stipulated " a break with the Germans and a joint struggle of the Romanian and Allied forces, including the Red Army, against the Germans in order to restore the independence and sovereignty of Romania." Further, the conditions stated that the Soviet government agrees "to annul the decision of the Vienna arbitration Court on Transylvania and to provide assistance in the liberation of Transylvania"31 . Antonescu's government rejected the Soviet government's proposals, hiding them from the people. It chose to continue the criminal anti-Soviet war. At the same time, the Romanian rulers negotiated with the imperialists of the United States and Great Britain about the occupation of Romania by American-British troops.
The overthrow of the Antonescu regime could not be carried out without first defeating the German and Romanian fascist troops. The defeat of the German and Romanian armies in the Kishinev - Iasi area dealt a crushing blow to the Nazis and their Romanian accomplices. But the Antonescu government continued its war against the Soviet Union, trying to organize resistance along the Galac - Namoloasa - Focsani line in order to delay the Soviet offensive. It hoped to get help from Hitler's Germany and wanted to promote the invasion of the Balkans by its resistance to British and American troops. Maniu, Bratianu, and the right-wing socialist lackeys of the bourgeoisie, who were acting in concert with them, hoped to prepare a new line of defense against the advancing Soviet troops under the cover of armistice negotiations. However, the victorious offensive of the Soviet Army overturned all the calculations of the reactionary clique. Under such circumstances, Maniu, Bratianu, Tigel Petrescu and others began to persuade Antonescu to start negotiations on an armistice with the USSR, while promising him full support. They hoped that in this way they would be able to preserve the fascist order in the country.
The refusal of the Romanian rulers to conclude an armistice on the terms proposed by the Soviet Government on April 12, 1944, led to the continuation of hostilities. Turning Romania into a battlefield meant a national catastrophe for the Romanian people. It was impossible to delay in such an environment. Only the patriotic forces of the country, led by the vanguard of the working class - the Communist Party of Romania-could save the country from destruction.
In order to strengthen the leadership of the struggle for the overthrow of the fascist system, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Romania decided to organize the escape of Gheorghiu Dej from the Targu Jiu concentration camp on the night of August 9-10, 1944. The escape was arranged with the help of party activists-teachers and peasants of Gorj and Vylcha counties 32 . A few days later, the following events were organized:-
29 "Scanteia", August 24, 1945.
30 See I. Stalin. About the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. Gospolitizdat. 1950, p. 125.
31 "Foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War". Vol. II, pp. 174-175.
32 The details of G. Gheorghiu-Dej's escape from the camp are described in the newspaper Scanteia, 24 August 1946.
beg and other leaders of the Romanian Communist Party.
The Soviet Army's offensive caused the strengthening of the anti-Hitler Patriotic Front. The workers, peasants, and advanced intelligentsia saw in the Soviet Army their liberator, their loyal ally. The victories of the Soviet Army created a favorable environment for the elimination of the fascist dictatorship.
The struggle to overthrow the Antonescu clique did not take the form of a mass popular uprising. However, it was a revolutionary act that demonstrated the political strength of the working class led by the Communist Party. On August 23, 1944, a detachment of the Patriotic Guard, led by Emil Bodnarasz, arrested Antonescu in the royal palace. The entire fascist clique was taken into custody. On the same day, the Communists began organizing the defense of the capital from German troops, occupying important strategic points of the city. The headquarters of the patriotic forces was organized, located on Alexandru Street. The Communist Party called on the citizens of Bucharest to take part in the defense of the capital before the Soviet troops arrived .33 Parts of the Romanian army after the overthrow of Antonescu turned their weapons against the German fascists.
On August 24 and 25, 1944, the Workers ' Guard and units of the Romanian army repelled attempts by Hitler's troops to capture Bucharest.
The victory of the Soviet troops was a decisive factor that contributed to the overthrow of the Antonescu regime on August 23, 1944.
"The overthrow of the fascist regime," notes G. Gheorghiu - Dej, " was a turning point in the entire history of the Romanian people."34 . The liberation of Romania by the Soviet Army made it possible for the Romanian people to join the coalition of freedom-loving peoples led by the Soviet Union and take an active part in the defeat of Hitler's Germany. The Romanian people received national freedom and embarked on the path of building a new life.
33 "Romania libera", May 6, 1951.
34 Gheorghiu-Dej. Glorious anniversary of the liberation of Romania. Pravda, August 23, 1950.
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