Roumanie-Allemagne (1936-1941)

Abstract

Nicolas Titulesco resigned in 1936, and General Ion Antonesco formed his government in 1941. Rumania, which in 1936 was a democratic and independent country, became in 1941 an authoritarian regime, under the sway of Hitler’s Germany. The author presents the various personalities who succeeded each other in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Victor Antonesco, Nicolas Petresco-Comnène, Grégoire Gafenco, Constantin Argetoiano, Michel Manoilesco, le prince Michel Sturza), and sketches their portraits, thus giving a vivid picture of the policy of each one of them and their relations with Germany. He describes the gradual slide, imperceptible in the beginning, but constant, of Rumania towards catastrophe. He underlines the precarious geographic situation of the country. The Franco-British guarantees were without any real value. Any rapprochement with the Soviet Union was impossible. It sufficed for Hitler to point out the Soviet danger and to exploit the pressure on Bucharest that Moscow exercised together with Berlin. Rumania sacrificed everything to avoid the war. In spite of this she had to join in it. Once deeply engaged in warfare, 90% of Rumanians desired the total defeat of Germany in the West and 100% wished them victory in the East. They would have preferred to see, first Germany defeat the Soviet Union, then Great Britain defeat Germany. This nevertheless was an impossible dream.