Britain versus Roumania and the Soviet military authorities, 1945-1947

Abstract

After World War II, Britain mounted an intensive campaign to prevent
Jews from illegally leaving Roumania by sea. The Soviet Union, which had
massive Red Army forces stationed in Roumania, allowed the sailings to take
place, in order to weaken Britain’s standing in the Middle East in general
and Palestine in particular. The Soviets did not initiate the illegal departures,
but did exploit the Roumanian authorities’ desire to get rid of some of their
Jews, and incidentally fulfilled the aspirations of the Jews themselves to get
out. The Soviets and the Roumanian authorities evaded British pressure and
threats by allowing the Roumanian Jews to sail from neighbouring Yugoslavia
and Bulgaria.