The troubled history of Moldovan society was marked by the double tragedy of refugees in 1940 and 1944, when the fate of Moldovans was decided by the great powers, represented by an aggressor state, without them being asked in any way what country they wanted to live in. There are currently at least two operative reasons for addressing this issue, one of them being the results of the recent U.S. presidential election. However, even during the election campaign, the U.S. president-elect promised a closer outcome for the Russian-Ukrainian war, but did not elaborate. Any radical change of situation in the war in the neighborhood will surely significantly affect the situation in the Republic of Moldova and this issue has been discussed for countless times so far. The second reason emerges from the results of the recent constitutional referendum by which Moldovan society confirmed its agreement to be part of the European Union. And this means that, unlike the years 1940 and 1944, but also the year 1812, this time the Moldovans can have a say on which side of an eventual new "iron curtain" they want to be, if such a scenario is reached in international politics. The scenarios for the Republic of Moldova in the new political and geopolitical conditions, their reasons and the steps that should be taken to avoid tragic events in our history were among the topics discussed by the experts invited to IPN’s public debate "Double tragedy of refugees of 1940 and 1944".
Igor Boţan, the permanent expert of IPN’s project, said that refugees are people who have been forced by circumstances to leave their country of origin due to war, violence and persecution, and crossed an international border to find safety. “Under the 1951 UN Geneva Convention and its special protocol, the refugees, because of a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social or political group, are outside their country of origin and are unable or, because of that fear, do not wish to benefit from the protection of that country,” explained the expert.
According to him, deportation is the forced expulsion of a person or an entire category of people to another state or locality, usually under escort. Thus, refugees leave their places under the pressure of circumstances, and deportees are forced to leave by the authorities or occupiers. "In the USSR, deportation was a form of repression, acting like a kind of instrument of Soviet demographic and national policy. Both individuals and entire nations recognized by official authorities as socially dangerous were subjected to deportation. The deportation of peoples was the forced relocation of citizens for national and social reasons to different regions of the USSR. Depending on the reasons for deportation and the economic needs of the state, the places of deportation were diverse – Siberia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia and others. In 1942-1945, Ingush, Kalmaks, Germans, Finns, Crimean Tatars, Karachais, Chechens, Balkars, Meskhetian Turks and other peoples living on the territory of the Soviet Union were deported because they allegedly cooperated with the Nazi occupiers," said Igor Boţan.
"As far as spheres of influence are concerned, they represent the claim of the exclusive right of some countries or empires to supervise another country or to participate in establishing the balance of power, influencing the policies of other states. As such, these areas are a manifestation of international rivalry between equal powers. History shows that the great powers create spheres of influence to limit the autonomy of smaller states and therefore prevent competitors from entering their markets, deprive other powers of influence in the region, strengthening their own positions, as well as deny potential adversaries the opportunity to strategically use the territory or resources of states, etc.," noted Igor Boţan.
Doctor habilitate in history Anatol Petrencu, president of “Alexandru Moșanu” Association of Historians of Moldova, said that on September 1, 1939, Germany, after having signed a non-aggression treaty with the Soviet Union with an additional secret protocol, by which the two powers of the time divided Eastern Europe among themselves, attacked Poland, and Poles were forced to flee. At that time, in the Romanian space, including in Bessarabia, many Poles, even soldiers with families, took refuge.
"We, the Romanians, witnessed this phenomenon first during World War II – around 50,000 Poles came to Romania. The attitude of the Romanian authorities and the population towards these refugees was very positive. Poland deposited here a part of Poles’ treasure. This is how Romania humanized these Poles. Some of them took refuge in the UK, but as far as the young people, young ladies are concerned, these were admitted to study in Romanian universities. The Romanian government was not afraid to lose as a part of Poland's treasure was in the custody of the Romanian administration,” related the historian.
The president of "Alexandru Moșanu” Association of Historians of Moldova said that the USSR got involved in World War II on September 17, 1939. Respectively, the Soviets promoted policies they pursued in the past, including applying the method of deportations. "As for Bessarabia, Point 3 of the Secret Additional Protocol stipulated that the Soviet Union has an interest in this territory. Thus, after the fall of France on June 22, 1940, four days later, on June 26, the Soviet Union submitted to Romania the first ultimatum, on 27 – the second ultimatum, and on June 28, the Soviet tanks crossed the border on the Nistru,” stated Anatol Petrencu.
"Historians know very well that King Carol II, who was also the supreme commander of the military troops, did not take measures to notify the population, to organize the evacuation. Although there was fear, the authorities reassured the people. And lo and behold, on June 28, what was to happen happened, but the Romanian authorities were not prepared to evacuate the population in somewhat acceptable conditions. With difficulty, the Romanian army was withdrawn. After July 3, the border imposed by the Soviets on the Prut was closed and the wave of refugees was stopped. Thus, the first category of refugees included those who managed to flee between June 28 and July 3. Historians counted over 100,000 people, including soldiers, people from the administration, wealthy people who had the opportunity to move, etc. The Romanian authorities in Bucharest failed to carry out this evacuation in somewhat acceptable conditions because the Russian troops anticipated the withdrawal of both the civilian population and the military from the territory of Bessarabia," explained Anatol Petrencu.
The debate involved writer Iulian Ciocan, author of the novel "And in the Morning the Russians Will Come", which was issued almost 10 years ago. As a hypothesis, the novel describes an eventual scenario of replication of the year 1940.
"Things haven't changed much. And now the attitude of the Russian Federation seems primarily contemptuous. Not even aggressive, but contemptuous. Russia looked at us then and looks at us now with contempt. My feeling is that Russia thinks it is somewhere up, and we are somewhere down, on a lower level. It looks down on us as a great power, as a force, which is simply waiting for the moment to crush us. I liked dystopias and I thought about writing about a dystopia. I thought that history repeats itself and in fact a new invasion of the Russian Federation is possible for the simple reason that Russia is convinced that this territory rightfully belongs to it. And the moment you have this conviction that this territory belongs to you, you come back when you have the opportunity and recover it," said Iulian Ciocan.
The writer also referred to the difference between the phenomenon of refuge that marked those who left for Romania and the phenomenon of deportations that marked many who remained at home. "It would seem at first glance that the fate of the refugees was a little better, more bearable than that of the deportees because they somehow avoided the gulag. But they also experienced a lot of problems. In my family, for example, there were people who had to leave in March 1944 because they had this conviction that Russia would come and they would be deported to Siberia. So, they became refugees so as not to become deportees. And they ran away and a cousin of mine, aged only one year, remained in the care of an aunt because his parents hoped they would come back and take him. They never returned. And it was only in 1964, with the permission of the Soviet authorities, that he arrived in Romania and saw his parents," related Iulian Ciocan.
The writer said that the refugees who came to Romania could also have big problems. For example, a relative of his had to falsify his documents and say that he was born in Romania in order to get a job, but also not to be repatriated to the USSR. Or, in such a case, there was a risk of ending up in Siberia.
"My impression is that we live in an extremely dangerous space and one of our great fears is that the Russians will come and occupy us, as they did in 1812, in 1940. There was also this war in 1992, which still fueled some fears. This does not mean, of course, that there are no people who have other perspectives, and who would not welcome Putin with bread and salt. They exist, but there are also people with greater discernment, who have this fear. And I really think that a return of Russia is very possible," noted the writer.
The public debate entitled “Double tragedy of refugees of 1940 and 1944" was staged within the cycle of debates "Development of political culture through public debates". IPN Agency carries out this cycle with the support of the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.
