The Russification and denationalization of Bessarabia were some of the consequences of the Iasi-Chisinau operation. The Soviets were responsible for the organized famine, forced collectivization and deportations and imposed Stalin’s cult of personality among Bessarabians, doctor habilitated of history Anatol Petrencu stated during a debate centering on the effects of the Iasi-Chisinau operation 80 years later. According to him, the date of August 23, 1944, when Romania withdrew from the alliance with Hitler, is one of the most controversial dates in the history of Romanians.
The historian reminded that on August 23, King Michael of Romania arrested Marshal Antonescu and took Romania out of the alliance with Hitler. It happened when the Soviet troops were already in Bessarabia.
“The date of August 23, 1944 is one of the most controversial dates in the history of Romanians. After the battle of Stalingrad, both the power, I’m referring to Marshal Antonescu, and the royal power and the opposition, were looking for a way out of the war. Antonescu said that the Germans lost the war and we were to save ourselves. Closer to 1944, the 11.111 operation was carried out to evacuate the equipment from Bessarabia. What the Romanians did not know then, neither the Royal House nor the political parties, was that there was an agreement between the great powers, that all the conditions would be imposed on Romania by the Russians on behalf of all. The agreement between the great powers was that those who entered the country with the armies imposed the conditions. On August 23, King Michael invited Antonescu to an audience and arrested him. This is where the notion of the coup d'état came from. King Michael arrested Antonescu, who was prime minister, and appointed Sănătescu in his place. King Michael had this right. He applied the Constitution of 1923. According to the constitution, the king had the right to dismiss the prime minister and appoint another prime minister. The king arrested him, took him to the outskirts of Bucharest and later handed him over to the Russians,” said Anatol Petrencu.
According to him, after the withdrawal of the Romanian troops from Bessarabia, the Soviets turned the Bessarabian natives into cannon fodder. They were sent to the most difficult segments of the front. Being extremely summarily trained, many Bessarabians died on the front, Bessarabia losing 50,000 men.
“We have documents that prove that on August 23, the Romanian soldiers withdrew. Only a garrison of Germans remained in Chisinau and fought as best they could. Then Romania withdrew from the war. The Russians presented this operation as something unbelievable. Where did King Michael acted wrongly? He was wrong when he accepted the conditions of the armistice. He considered that after his address to the people, the conditions negotiated with the Soviets would be met. But it didn’t happen that way. The Soviets signed the armistice only on September 12, 1944. From August 23 to September 12, Romania was considered an opponent country. This is where so many prisoners came from. The Russians were ruthless towards Romania. They bombed. Why? They took revenge on the Romanians. They took revenge because Romania stood by Germany. Very difficult times came for the Bessarabians because the military commissariats hunted down people to send them to the front. The Bessarabians were sent to the most difficult sectors of the front. For example, at Lake Balaton in Hungary or in Berlin. And so we lost about 50,000 people,” related the historian.
He noted that the consequences of the Iasi-Chisinau operation were harmful for the territory between the Prut and Nistru rivers. The Soviets brought organized famine, mass deportations and denationalization to Bessarabia.
“The Russification and denationalization were the consequences of this Iasi-Chisinau operation. The Soviets imposed their way of thinking and way of life in the MSSR. A special cult of Stalin was introduced - a fact that was not known until then by the Bessarabians. We should not forget about the famine caused by the Soviets in 1946-1947. The Soviets did nothing to save the people, even though they knew the people were dying. Then the deportations came. Wealthy people who had a stone house were deported. They were not kulaks. Also, the Soviets had an influence on the mentality of the people. They wanted to form the new man,” Anatol Petrencu pointed out.
The public debate entitled “Effects of the Iasi-Chisinau Operation 80 years later” was the 40th installment of IPN’s project “Impact of the past on confidence- and peace-building processes”. IPN Agency implements the project with support from the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.
