74. August 23, 1944 – Impact

[dragos]

by dr. Ion Alexandrescu

In his authors' view, the August 23, 1944 act was to bring great benefits for Romania and it should have determined a favourable reaction in the United Nations Coalition team. They were encouraged in this respect by V. M. Molotov's statement, made on August 25, 1944, in accordance to which the Soviet Government and the Red Army "have no intention to take any part of the Romanian territory, whatever it may be, or to change the political regime in Romania". The unanimity as concerned their points of view, which characterized by then the frame of the relationship between U.S.S.R., Great Britain and U.S.A., also enforced the conviction that both Great Britain and U.S.A. would appreciate Romania'a efforts and that they would backup the process of re-joining the other European democratic states.

The Declaration of the new Romanian Government — set up on August 23, 1944, and presided by General Constantin Sanatescu, under the aegis of the National Democratic Bloc - expressed the wishes of all Romanians, by showing that "the regime we want to set up will be a democratic regime, here all the public liberties and civil rights of the people will be fully respected and guaranteed". The first decrees of the new power - referring to the general political amnesty and to the abolition of the internment camp - also, the August 31, 1944 Decree, that stipulated the coming back into effect of the 1923 Constitution titles (II "About Romanian Citizens' Rights" and III "About State's Rights") clearly proved this reality.

Romania's entering the Anti-Hitlerite war meant a radical change in our country's foreign policy and situated the Romanian people on the United Nations' side, together with the other forces which led the resistance movements and the struggle for the national liberation in the majority of the European states. Romanian Army's fight for the liberation of the entire territory of Transylvania has stimulated the national unity consciousness and also has involved all social-political forces of the country to support the war effort.

Within the frame of this national, patriotic upsurge, determined by the fight developed for driving away the German and Hungarian troops, the political parties and groups restarted their activity. Practically, all democratical parties which have managed to survive the totalitarist regimes, in spite of the past pressures and of the interdictions, normally took again their activity; the National Liberal Party and the National Peasant Party, the two principal political forces which had ruled successively the country during the interwar period, the Social Democrat Party and the Communist Party, which became, after August 23, governmental parties. In the ressurected Romanian political life only one past element was missing: the extreme (radical) right. The small pro-Hitlerite groups or formations scrapped together were acting isolately. Therefore, they were to try, very soon, to integrate themselves or to penetrate in the democratical parties, but this fact did not change the structure, the programme or the doctrine of these parties.

The fulfilment of the national interest measures, assumed by the new Government instaured on August 23, was the result of the collaboration between all political parties, out of any discussion of their principles, in spite of the different conceptions and ideologies of the parties integrated in the National Democrat Bloc. But, as the events developed further, some new problems, concerning the internal political and social life of the country, and also some different and distinct positions, referring to the needful solution which was to be applied, both in the government coalition, and within other political groups and forces, have appeared. Between them one must include the so-called "epurare" (purge operation), that was to be done in the political life and within the administration structure - also insistently demanded by the Allies - followed by the programme and the role of the Government, by the mission of National Democratic Bloc and its structure, by different other social-economical issues in conjunction with Roma-nia's social-economical solution; the first and the last mentioned ones were to become, because of the communist pro-paganda, vital questions in the frame of the internal affairs of the country. From these resulted the successive government crises, in a period of only a few months.

All these social-political events developed under the truce regime, which consecrated, both de jure and the facto, the main position occupied by the Soviet Union in Romania's relation nth the Allies. The Truce Convention's pcles and its annexes juridically stipulated the control taken by Soviets under le whole political, economical, social and spiritual life of the country, which las to be carried out authoritatively and bluntly by the Soviet Command. Thus, any initiative that the Romanian Government would have taken was strictly limited and in both internal and foreign policy it was bound to follow the abusive interpretations of the Truce Convention's provisions, as the Soviet authorities — already having set up a de facto occupation regime — demanded.

The Truce Convention and the "percentage agreement", concluded at Moscow on October 9, 1944, have directed, through their consequences, the entire evolution of Romania after Au-gust 23. In the period that followed, decisive for the destiny of the country, the British and the Soviet Governments — shortly after joined by the U.S.A. - respected their mutual agreements and arrangements, thus proving their loyalty in referrence to the discussed issues.

In the given circumstances, the Communist Party, which was — in a veilled or unveilled way — backed by the Soviet authorities in Romania, or directly by Moscow, intensified its offensive for taking the power.

It has conceived and accomplished new political alliances, giving up the previous ones. It has used — with a cer-tain ability - the discontentments which appeared, due to the economical difficulties, for calling the people to fill the street in great demonstrations, to protest and to ask, again and again, a new Government (in which, of course, communists should have kept in their hands the main portofolios). The Soviet vicecommisar for the Foreign Affairs, A. I. Vyishinski, arrived each time in Bucharest, "to give satisfaction" to the voice of the crowd from the street, and he has installed new Governments, in which the communists and their allies consolidated their position; after that, on March 6, 1945, he imposed as prime-minister dr. Petru Groza. In the Government he led, the communists had 14 portofolios, from a total of 17.

So, only half a year since the great event, the righteous hopes of the August 23 act's organizers for a democratical, free and sovereign development of their country have failed.

[ocoleanui]

Excelent

[Florin]

Add to this the issuing of paper money printed by Soviet Union, in numerical equivalent of one billion (1,000,000,000) lei, for the usage of the Red Army passing through Romania. The Romanian government and the Romanian business owners were forced to accept this fake currency. And if you combine it with the stealing by the Soviet Union of the Romanian gold held at Tismana monastery, you get 2 strong reasons to the worst monetary inflation incurring in Romanian history - in 1946.

This post has been edited by Florin on August 06, 2008 12:56 pm