WW2 From the Romanian Perspective | Animated History

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Sources:
Cattaruzza, Marina, Stefan Dyroff, and Dieter Langewiesche, ed. Territorial Revisionism and the Allies of Germany in the Second World War. Vol. 15. New York: Berghahn Books, 2012.

Harward, Grant T. “First Among Un-Equals: Challenging German Stereotypes of the Romanian Army During the Second World War.” The Journal of Slavic Military Studies 24, no. 3 (2011): 439–480.

Harward, Grant T. Romania’s Holy War: Soldiers, Motivation, and the Holocaust. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2021.

Haynes, R. Romanian Policy Towards Germany, 1936-40. 1st ed. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2000.

Lampe, John R, and Ulf Brunnbauer, ed. The Routledge Handbook of Balkan and Southeast European History. London: Routledge, 2020.

Solomovici, Teşu. Mareşalul, Hitler şi evreii: ce s-a întâmplat în ziua de 13 octombrie 1942? : Felix Dies (Romania: Editura Teşu, 2019).

Stanciu, Cezar. “Communist Regimes and Historical Legitimacy: Polemics Regarding the Role of the Red Army in Romania at the End of the Second World War.” European Review of History 20, no. 3 (2013): 445–462.

Stefan Gheorghe. “Political and Legal Aspects Regarding Romania’s Participation in the Second World.” Journal of Danubian Studies and Research 12, no. 1 (2022): 321–336.

Music:
Puzzle Of Complexity - Jo Wandrini
A Long Walk - Rachel Meyer
Thrilling Moments - Alec Slayne
Torn From Your Embrace - Jon Bjork
Red Moon - Etienne Roussel
Fool Me Twice - Jon Sumner
Just Get It Done - Hampus Naeselius

Armchair Team Credits:

[TheArmchairHistorian]

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[Player-remo]

Switzerland: I have no enemies!
Romania: All I have is enemies!

[thunderbird]

Fun fact. Bulgaria did not take part in operation Barbarossa. This is most likely why it was allowed to keep the territory it took from Romania while Hungary did not.

[tibivaslo]

Half-Romanian half-Hungarian here, born and raised in Transylvania. The truth is that both HU and RO were cursed by their geographic position (in between Germany and the Soviets). If we were positioned like Portugal or Spain, we would have the luxury of being 'neutral' while still supporting the side we want to win the war. Instead, we had war fought on our own borders, and hundreds of thousands of our young men fight and die in foreign lands for foreign benefits. And then we got 45 years of communism as a 'reward'. Never again.

[haiduc]

As a basarabian (current day Republic of Moldova), my grand-grandfather was enrolled in the Romanian army when they crossed the river Prut and pushed the soviets back. My parents village is not far from the border, so I assume it was early on when the Barbarosa operation started. He got captured by the soviets probably in Crimea (some details have been lost) and spent a number of months as a POW.
After the Soviets occupied basarabia back or after Romanian surrender (again, details unclear), my grand-grandfather was told that he now is part of the soviet red army, and he's going to fight against germans now. How far he got with the soviet army, again, is lost..
But that was a common story for soldiers from basarabia.
P.S. I now live in Transilvania :D

[cgt]

I was hoping you would mention the Ploiesti Air Attack.

For those who dont know, in 1943 allied troops attempted to decrease axis fuel capacity by bombarding the romanian oil fields. This was called "Operation: Tidal Wave" and it took palce on 1st of August 1943.

Long story short: it failed as the allied aircraft engaged in a battle against the romanian airforce and the luftwaffe. Only around a hundred people died mostly prisoners after an american plane crashed into a complex.

Romanian army may have been severly weakened but it was still capable of fighting

[Wolfram_von_Richthofen]

Fun Fact: Romania was a more useful ally than Italy (Hungary and Vichy France likewise)

[goatman]

Thanks for this video. My grandfather fought in the 4th romanian army during ww2. His cousin who I'm named after died at stalingrad.

[tdr]

I am romanian.Both of my great grandfathers died on the eastern front, fighting for Germany. One at Sevastopol and the other one in Stalingrad, my grandpa was only 2 years old when his father died.. RIP!

[SSSR]

Only nation that is bordering Serbia and never went to war against them of their own will. And giving that Serbia was at war with all other neighbors (except Macedonians and Montenegrins but they are sperate story) that is quite the achievement.
As they say in Romania: 'we only have two friends on this world: Serbs and the sea.'

[michaelhenter]

Thanks for this very interesting video.
I was born in Transilvania, half Romanian half German. Had a great childhood there.
My Romanian grandfather fought at Stalingrad and survived.

[razvanciobotaru]

Thanks! Excellent and as a Romania 🇷🇴 I love this video, can you make one about Transnistria conflict.

[LurkerAnonymous]

Romanian battle doctrine: We don't have to win. We just have to make sure you lose.

[dragosstanciu]

Killing Codreanu was a huge mistake made by Carol II, because the Iron Guard became truly fanatical and firmly aligned itself with Germany's insane ideological program, in addition of Codreanu becoming a martyr and worshiped like a saint by the Guard.

[CraShRO]

My grandfather fought at Stalingrad. He started the war on day one of the liberation of Bassarabia. From his unit at Stalingrad only him and 12 others managed to escape and returned back to Romania by foot in the winter. When the soviets reached the country he again joined the fight and was wonded near the city of Iasi. After the war the new comunist goverment put him in prison because he was a member of the Iron Guard back in the 30's when he was in highschool. He got out after 7 years and died in 1990. He was highly decorated in combat. RIP grandpa!

[neilhannan]

German Alliance to Romania in a nutshell

If you have oil and I have oil and I have a straw and my straw reaches acccrrrooosss, the field starts to drink your oil
I drink your oil. I drink it up

[grey_apache]

Romania fought bravely, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place for the whole war

[crgraduu]

its crazy to think that the Joining of Romania caused so much damage to both sides during WW2 but its even crazier to think that Romania only took part to the wars because both the Allies and the Axis forced them into it by seizing romanian land

[Novac_Alexandru]

As a Romanian I thank you for making a video with Romania in World War Two since not a lot of people know about Romania's involvement in the conflict. Also Romanian military was the second most powerful from the Eastern Front and we had important victories at Odessa, Kiev, Sevastopol and we even participated in the battle of Stalingrad.

Fun fact: Prime Minister of Romania from WW 2 Ion Antonescu yelled at Hitler once and even called him crazy that shows how much confidence and guts Antonescu had and he was very respected by Hitler because he was always very documented about history and when Antonescu was meeting Hitler he always gave history lessons to Hitler also criticizing the Second Vienna Award.

[emeraldk.]

My grandfather fought in 1944 in Romanian Army being allied with the Soviets in the Tatra mountains for the liberation of Cehoslovacia. The Soviets were using them as cannon fodder, sending them in advance before sending the red army troops.