soviet ultimatum to Romania

[solingen]

Does anyone know where can I find the text of the soviet ultimatum to Romania in 1940 and the romanian answer to it ?

[dragos]

The ultimative Soviet note delivered to Romanian Government on 26 June 1940:

"In anul 1918, profitand de slabiciunea momentana a Rusiei Tariste, Romania a ocupat in mod injust si abuziv teritoriul Basarabiei, distrugand astfel unitatea organica si seculara a acestei provincii cu restul Rusiei.
Uniunea Sovietica nu a recunoscut niciodata si sub nici o forma aceasta rapire savamolnica.
Necesitatea de a intretine bune relatii politice in aceasta parte a Europei si actuala situatie internationala cer o solutionare imediata a acestei probleme in litigiu.
Uniunea Sovietica considera oportun si necesar ca Basarabia sa fie restituita imediat, iar - pe de alta parte - cere sa i se cedeze Nordul Bucovinei, care reprezinta o unitate organica cu restul teritoriilor locuite de ucrainieni.
In acelasi timp, cedarea acestei regiuni din Bucovina constituie o compensatie justa pentru repararea nedreptatii savarsita prin stapanirea abuziva a Basarabiei timp de 22 de ani.
In consecinta guvernul U.R.S.S. pretinde: 1) Cedarea imediata a Basarabiei. 2) Cedarea imediata a Nordului Bucovinei. Guvernul sovietic isi exprima speranta ca Guvernul Regal Roman va gasi oportun sa se ajunga la o solutionare pasnica a acestui conflict si asteapta raspunsul cuvenit in cadrul zilei de 27 iunie 1940."

"In the year 1918, taking advantage of the momentarily weakness of the Tzarist Russia, Romania has occupied in an unjust and abusive manner the territory of Bessarabia, thus destroying its natural and secular unity with the body of Russia.
Soviet Union never conceded, in any form, this abusive seizing.
The necessity to maintain good political relations in this part of Europe and the actual international situation require an immediat solving of this problem.
Soviet Union considers it is opportunely and necessarily that Bessarabia to be immediately retroceded, and - on the other hand - it demands that Northern Bukovina, which is an organic part of the territories inhabited by ukrainians, to be ceded.
In the same time, the ceding of this region of Bukovina represents a just compensation in regard of reparations for the abusive possession of Bessarabia for 22 years.
In consequence, the USSR government demands: 1) The immediat ceding of Bessarabia. 2) The immediate ceding of Northern Bukovina. The Soviet government express its hope that Romanian Royal Government will consider a peaceful solution to this conflict and awaits the answer during the day of June 27, 1940."

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Romanian Royal Government's response on 27 June 1940:

"Guvernul Regal Roman, insufletit de dorinta de a solutiona in mod pasnic conflictul dintre Romania si U.R.S.S., roaga guvernul sovietic sa desemneze data si locul, pentru a se intruni plenipotentiarii celor doua tari spre a examina nota guvernului sovietic."

"Romanian Royal Government, willing to find a peaceful solution to this conflict between Romania and USSR, solicits Soviet Government to specify the time and the place for the meeting of official representatives, in order to discuss on the Soviet Government's note."

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The second ultimative note of the Soviet Government:

"Guvernul U.R.S.S. ia act de dorinta Romaniei de a solutiona pasnic conflictul si cere:
1) In terment de 4 zile, cu incepere de la 28 iunie 1940 ora 12 (ora Moscovei), teritoriul Basarabiei si al Bucovinei de Nord va fi evacuat de trupele si autoritatile romane.
2) Pe de alta parte, in mod succesiv, acelasi teritoriu va fi luat in stapanire de catre fortele Armatei Rosii.
3) La 28 iunie 1940, fortele Armatei Rosii vor ocupa punctele Cernauti, Chisinau si Cetatea Alba.
4) Autoritatile romane vor trebui sa predea in perfecta stare si in intregime: caile ferate, depozitele de orice fel, intreprinderile industriale etc.
5) Se va constitui o comisiune mixta plenipotentiara care va reglementa formalitatile predarii.
Guvernul sovietic asteapta raspunsul Guvernului Regal Roman pana la data de 28 iunie 1940, ora 12 (ora Moscovei)."

"The government of USSR has taken note of Romania's decision to solve the conflict peacefully, and demands:
1) In 4 days, beginning with June 28, 1940, 12:00 hours (Moscow time), Romanian troops and authorities will be evacuated from the territories of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina .
2) In the same time, the same territories will be successively taken over by the Red Army's forces.
3) On June 28, 1940, the Red Army will take control of the following centres: Cernauti, Kishinev, Cetatea Alba.
4) Romanian authorities will have to give in the railroads, depots of any kind, factories etc in perfect working condition.
5) A mixed commission of officials will be constituted to regulate the process of surrendering.
The Soviet Government awaits the answer of Romanian Royal Government until June 28, 1940, 12:00 hours (Moscow time)."

[mabadesc]

I've read this before, but I still can't believe the bastards gave us 4 DAYS to clear the whole province.

Do you know of any type of material we had to abandon? What about the stuff we were able to bring to Romania in these 4 days?

[dragos]

After the start of evacuation, Soviet troops acted as during an offensive, hurrying to capture as many Romanian military and material as posible. They catched Romanian columns from behind, dropped paratroopers to capture key positions (Reni, Bolgrad, Frecatei) and block the retreat of Romanians, and even advanced beyond the new demarcation line on Romanian territory. Thousands of Romanian military were captured, including 282 officers. Some were killed. Even the official representative of Romanian Government that had to meet the Soviet representatives at Cernauti was taken prisoner. Russian sources mention the capture of 52,704 rifles, 298 artillery pieces and huge amounts of ammunition. A document of Romanian General Headquarters reported in the same time that in most Bessarabian towns bands of armed communist jews shot functionaries of public institutions, and also military personnel.

[PanzerKing]

No wonder Romania was so eager to claim back these territories. I would have done the same.

[johnny_bi]

Pretty tough ultimatum .... :|

[Chandernagore]

>A document of Romanian General Headquarters reported in the same time that in most Bessarabian towns bands of armed communist jews shot functionaries of public institutions

Well, how did they actually distinguish bands of armed communists from bands of armed communist jews at the General Headquarters ? The story ressembles the burning of the Reichstag. That's the sort of stuff which occult facts to replace them with dubious political statements.

[dragos]

Source: Ministry of Defense Archives, fond 948, Section 2, file #941, page 558

Also:

Jewish population from everywhere had a hostile and defying attitude, insulting functionaries, assassinating some of them, robing treasuries of state institutions and carrying the worse actions.

Source: MoD Archives, file #155, page 3.

[mabadesc]

[quote]Well, how did they actually distinguish bands of armed communists from bands of armed communist jews at the General Headquarters ?[/quote]
Chander, I realize the statement from the General Headquarters sounds a bit strange, if not anti-semitic, but I've read literally hundreds of communiques from various division headquarters and even accounts from soldiers referring to similar events. You can argue that some people within the government or high-ranking officials were using anti-semitic propaganda, but I doubt that all field officers and soldiers were also anti-semitic.

I know it sounds strange, but in the '30's and '40's, through the end of the war, the majority of Romanian communists also happened to be jewish. Perhaps this was a natural reaction for them in joining the Soviets against the German/Nazi threat.
I'm not passing negative judgement in either direction, here. I'm just stating what seems to have been a trend and a fact, especially with the jewish population from Bessarabia.

If you have any opinions on the matter, I'd certainly like to hear them.

[Chandernagore]

[quote]If you have any opinions on the matter, I'd certainly like to hear them.[/quote]

Well, I'm simply not impressed by the sources. Given the rampant anti semitism in Europe at the time, a statement from the defense department stating it's all the Jews fault, ha ha. Clever guys managed to discover that the attackers had Jewish blood amidst the shooting, smoke and confusion.

False or true anyway what piece of information is really meaningfull and critical ?

1. the offenders were communist
2. the offenders were Jewish

Did these people act offensively because of their communist political leaning or did they offend because of their race ?

Are the causes political or racial ?

Ask yourself the question and draw the conclusions on that severely loaded little sentence.

[mabadesc]

[quote]Well, I'm simply not impressed by the sources. Given the rampant anti semitism in Europe at the time, a statement from the defense department stating it's all the Jews fault, ha ha. [/quote]

As I previously stated, this was not limited to one statement from the Defense Department. I'll be glad to post tons of incident reports from soldier sentry "Joe Nobody" (i.e., regular soldiers) or NCO officers who reported that as they retreated from Bessarabia they were beaten and their rank insignia were torn off by local groups of the Jewish community. It's well documented. Now, whether you choose to believe these reports or not, that's a different story.


[quote]Clever guys managed to discover that the attackers had Jewish blood amidst the shooting, smoke and confusion.
[/quote]

Since a lot of these soldiers were stationed in small towns/villages, they knew the local population quite well. It wasn't hard to detect who was jewish and who was not in most cases.
By the way, you mention "Jewish blood", but Judaism is a religion, not a racial or social group. To imply they constitute a "race" could be interpreted as anti-semitic in itself, something which I'm sure you were not trying to do.


[quote]Did these people act offensively because of their communist political leaning or did they offend because of their race ?

Are the causes political or racial ?[/quote]

Surely, these people acted in such manner because of their political extremist views, not because of their religion or "race" as you call it.
The causes were political, however, having said that, this doesn't take away from the fact that the majority of Romanian communists during that period of time were Jewish.

The more relevant question in my opinion becomes, why did they choose communism at that particular juncture in place and time?

One last comment. No group of people, including Jews, can be considered as "perfect" or labeled only as "victims". Doing so would be more of an insult towards them. The important factor is that all groups be viewed as equal.
Consequently, I am personally not ready to dismiss any negative action led by a Jewish majority simply because of the existing anti-semitism or because of the horrible fate they endured later on during the war. Discrimination, or racism, whatever one wants to call it, runs both ways and exists within all groups at one point or another. No particular group is exempt from it.
Therefore, although one is certainly entitled to believe whoever and whatever he wishes, I find it a bit subjective that you are willing to dismiss the considerable amount of written documentation by the Romanian military in Bessarabia and simply blame it on general anti-semitism.
Sorry for the length of my message, but since this may be considered a sensitive topic, I wanted to make sure that my message was not misunderstood.

[Chandernagore]

[quote]As I previously stated, this was not limited to one statement from the Defense Department. I'll be glad to post tons of incident reports from soldier sentry "Joe Nobody" (i.e., regular soldiers) or NCO officers who reported that as they retreated from Bessarabia they were beaten and their rank insignia were torn off by local groups of the Jewish community. It's well documented. Now, whether you choose to believe these reports or not, that's a different story. [/quote]

Precisely. Given that such behaviour was unlike any other Jewish communities in other countries one can only wonder why they acted that way in Bessarabia.

[quote]Since a lot of these soldiers were stationed in small towns/villages, they knew the local population quite well. It wasn't hard to detect who was jewish and who was not in most cases. [/quote]

Don’t know. I’m incredibly inefficient at it. Oh, where not some of those soldiers Jewish too ? No communist Romanians either ? That clear cut assassine sentence really bothers me.

[quote]By the way, you mention "Jewish blood", but Judaism is a religion, not a racial or social group. To imply they constitute a "race" could be interpreted as anti-semitic in itself, something which I'm sure you were not trying to do. [/quote]

Of course you’re right. That’s just how most anti semits interpreted it back in WWII… and again today.

[quote]Surely, these people acted in such manner because of their political extremist views, not because of their religion or "race" as you call it.
The causes were political, however, having said that, this doesn't take away from the fact that the majority of Romanian communists during that period of time were Jewish. [/quote]

Why do nobody ever mention the other religions when refering to Romanians ? If the factor in our case is solely political why mention the religion at all ? Do we ever say "the christian orthodox (or whatever) Romanian fascists who followed Antonescu" ? Nooooo, it’s simply "the Romanian fascists who followed Antonescu". The accentuation of the religion seems always reserved to the Jewish religion. A bit suspicious I think.

[quote]The more relevant question in my opinion becomes, why did they choose communism at that particular juncture in place and time? [/quote]

Right. I have not a shadow of an answer and surely that raises my doubts a notch.

[quote]Consequently, I am personally not ready to dismiss any negative action led by a Jewish majority simply because of the existing anti-semitism or because of the horrible fate they endured later on during the war. [/quote]

Absolutely. And that doesn’t prevent looking for and finding a coherent explanation either. It feels better than just utter "those communist bastards had every interest possible in acting against us that's pretty evident to all ! But, hey, you know they were almost all Jews, go figure…". The second sentence doesn't lead to a better historical perspective as to why and how things happened.

[quote]Therefore, although one is certainly entitled to believe whoever and whatever he wishes, I find it a bit subjective that you are willing to dismiss the considerable amount of written documentation by the Romanian military in Bessarabia and simply blame it on general anti-semitism.[/quote]

Mabadesc, there was considerable written documentation inside the 3rd Reich explaining why the Jews were sub-humans. That doesn’t turn such trash into facts or worthwhile analysis on biology and human nature. My point is that period documentation is inevitably politically tainted. Primary source like that must be checked and studied to get at the truth and not thrown at people as proofs. Ah well let's take another example : the fact that American historical documents often wrote about indian military victories as "massacres" (ex : Fetterman trail) and labeled true massacres of whole Indian villages as mere "affairs". First, that's no proof to me that Indians were always the bad guys and white men the angels and second, I would not write that in a history book today.

I have no idea to what extent the Jews in Bessarabia where involved in pro Communist activities. I’m certainly ready to discover that they did so massively. And because I also need to know why I cannot content myself with less than, say, some solid references to modern historical analysis. Otherwise all we have left to stare at is an empty shell, slowly filling with anti semitism.

Cheers

[mabadesc]

[quote]I have no idea to what extent the Jews in Bessarabia where involved in pro Communist activities. I’m certainly ready to discover that they did so massively. And because I also need to know why I cannot content myself with less than, say, some solid references to modern historical analysis.[/quote]

It looks like we're really not too far from seeing eye to eye. You just would like to see more historical proof because you don't trust the army communiques I mentioned. That's fair enough.

I do not know of other historical studies done on this subject, but if I come across any, I'll definitely let you know. Perhaps someone else reading this thread has more supporting evidence? If you do, please post...

[Chandernagore]

Yes, that's about the first half of the cake :arrow: Primary sources must be taken with a pinch of salt.
The second half of the cake is that it's far more important to know why these people would have acted as they did. In what measure was their origin/religion a factor in their acts ? If the answer in none then you strongly risk drawing wrong conclusions from the primary source. On the other hand if there is a correlation it would help a lot to understand it, as it becomes the only way to understand the events.

As it stands, we simply don't understand why the Jews from Bessarabia would have prefered Communist Russia to Romania. And that's a key to this part of the discussion...

[Geto-Dacul]

Translation from Romanian :

THE JEWISH ACTION (1st part)

I. THE JEWS OF BESSARABIA AND BUCOVINA DURING THE RETREAT

1. Revolutionnary Comittees
- At Cernauti, the commissar of the people is actually the Jew Sale Brull, of profession photograph, the mayor is the Jew Glaubach, mayor adviser the Jew Hitzig and prefect is another Jew, Meer or Beer.
- At Chisinau, the chief of the local Soviet is the Jewish lawyer Steinberg, from Husi.
- At Chilia Noua was formed a local comittee leaded by Dr. Rabinovici, doctor and mayor of the town.
- The ancient gazeteers of "Adevarul" and "Dimineata", Teziman and Candea received important functions in Bessarabia.
- At Soroca, the leader of the terrorist action was the Jew Leizer Ghinsberg, public guardian at the local police.

2. Attacks and murders
- The Jewish-Communist bands of Chisinau plundered the refugees who didn't had the possibility to defend themselves.
- In different train stations, the communist Jews, in groups with red banners, where trying to make pressures to determine the travellers to get out. In certain cases they abandonned only after the travellers defended themselves by firing with weapons.
- At Chisinau, a band of communist Jews tried to lynch the students in theology, who escaped only because of the intervention of a detachment of gendarmes, who used their weapons.
- The financiar inspector Preotescu and the ancient financiar inspector Padureanu, boarder, of Chisinau were both shot down.
- At Chisinau, the execution lists were draw up by the Jewish communist intellectuals Carol Steinberg, lawyer Etea Dinor and Dr. Derevici.
- At Chisinau, the Jewish lawer Sternberg leading a group, throwed with rocks on the Romanian troops retreating.
- The perceptor and notary of the comune Ceadar-Lung (Tighina) were murdered.
- The priest Dujacovschi of Tighina was assassinated.
- The chief of the gendarme post of Abaclia (Tighina) was shot by three Jews.
- The perceptor and perception agent of the Calaglia comune (Cahul) were retained during 9 hours and condemned to death, but succeeded to flee.
- The help comissar Chela Grigore of the police of Valcov, there are indications that he was killed.
- In the comunes of the Cetatea Alba county inhabited also by Bulgarians ; those ones made common cause with the communist Jews, participating at bloody events.
- In Cazaclia and Ceadarlunga were killed notaries, priests and policemen.
- At Reni, there very grave incidents between the Jews, who shot 2 Romanian sailors and the Romanian military autorities. The Jews were wearing red arm-bands.

15-20 communist-terrorist Jews were shot.

- In the Cetatea Alba county, the Jewish communist bands maltreated priests, they burned their bores with cigarettes and devastated the churches.
- At Cernauti, a group of Jews assaulted and throwed with rocks on 2 buses, in which were travelling soldiers; the Jews stopped only when the soldiers used their weapons.

In face of all those horrors comitted exclusively by Bessarabian Jews, we observe a profound indignation of the Romanian population, which in certain cases cannot withstand anymore her feelings of revolt.

Source : Arh. M.A.p.N., fond Marele Stat Major, Sectia 2, dosar nr. 155, f. 162-172.