Soviet Invasion of Bessarabia 1940

[Klemen]

Živjo!

While going through the Romanian War Archives website I noticed the following book:

dr. Vitalie Varatic: Sase zile din istoria Bucovinei (28 iunie-3 iulie 1940) Invazia si anexarea nordului Bucovinei de catre URSS; Editura Institutului Bucovina- Basarabia, Radauti-Bucovina, 2001, 556 p.

and

Valeriu Florin: Basarabia in anii celui de al doilea razboi mondial 1939-1947; Dobrinescu, Ion Constantin Institutul European, Iasi, 1995, 374 p.

I am wondering has anyone already read these books? I am gravely looking for any information about the Soviet invasion of Bessarabia and Bukowina in 1940 and particularly I am interested in the information about the operations of the Romanian Army in some short skirmishes they had with the Soviets. These books offer any new enlightning perhaps on this largely forgotten campaign?

There is another book that has drawn my attention. It's this one:

Sever Neagoe: Granicerii romani: In cele doua conflagratii mondiale ale secolului al XX-leat; Editura Ministerului de Interne, Bucuresti, 1996, 290 p.

Now my Romanian is not exactly blooming, but from what could I tell this is a book about Romanian Border Guards in the 20th century, right? Any details about the Romanian-Sobiet border skirmshes around Izmail in 1940-1941?

lp,

Klemen

[dragos]

Edited: this is not about military skirmishes, but about the Soviet reprisals during 1940-1941 occupation.

During June 1940-June 1941, the Soviet reprisals in Bessarabia and N Bukovina consisted of arresting and deportation of Romanian population that was presumed to opose the Soviet regime. Almost all of the remaining Romanians that were public officials during 1918-1940 were punished: priests, military officers, lawyers, policemen, leaders of economic and cultural life etc. Until 18 July 1940, five of the Romanian politicians that were in "Sfatul Tarii" (the organization that on 27 March/9 April 1918 voted for unification of Bessarabia with Romania) were already arrested. In time the reprisals became more severe and the entire Romanian population was endangered.

In spring 1941 and in the first days of the war in the East, the Soviet reprisals against Romanian population were at their peak. Little before the liberation of Kishinev, the NKVD executed 85 Romanians which were burried in mass-graves, in the yard of the NKVD quarters in Kishinev. At Ismail, in the Jewish cemetery were discovered two mass-graves containing the bodies of 27 citizens, executed 2-3 days before the Red Army retreated. Other mass-graves of Bessarabian peasants were discovered at Cetatea Alba and at the locality Baimaclia. According to Romanian records, 25,000-30,000 individuals were shot or tortured to death only because they were public employees of the Romanian state.

The number of deportees during June 1940 - June 1941 is unknows, but some sources claims the number of 300,000.

You may find some information of interest here:

http://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/viewtopic.ph...=30&p=4813#4813

http://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/viewtopic.php?t=654

[Victor]

Also very interesting would be:
Armata Romana de la ultimatum la Dictat 3 volumes of origiunal documents by Florica Dobre, Vasilica Manea, Lenuta Niculescu, Europa Nova 2000.