1939: Rumania

The year 1939 was full of dramatic events in the history of the Balkan kingdom which, under the energetic leadership of King Carol II, had to weather great storms in its internal life and foreign relations. Situated at the mouth of the Danube and on the Black Sea, rich in wheat and oil, Rumania is in a strategic position coveted by many of the countries preparing for war or warring in Europe. In view of the composite character of her population, Rumania could not feel secure from her neighbors. Bulgaria to the south claimed the Dobruja, which she had lost to Rumania in 1913; Hungary claimed Transylvania, which she had possessed until 1918; the Soviet Union claimed Bessarabia and certain parts of Northern Rumania inhabited by Ukrainians. Germany was most eager to subject Rumania, at least to complete economic control, and to exploit the rich natural resources of the country. The Soviet Union aspired to the inclusion of Rumania into her system of security. Italy was eager not to allow any exclusive domination of the Balkans by the Soviet Union or Germany. Great Britain and France were interested in maintaining Rumania's independence. As against the growing menace of German or Soviet penetration of the Balkans, the Balkan States themselves tried to form a defensive alliance; but their mutual jealousies and the negative influence of Italy have thus far frustrated all attempts. Under these circumstances Rumania had the most difficult task of keeping the balance between these conflicting tendencies. The great poverty of her population and her army's entire lack of modern military equipment did not facilitate this task.

Calinescu Premier.

Patriarch Miron Cristea, Prime Minister of the National Government which had been formed to combat the Fascist Iron Guard, died on March 6. He had headed the Rumanian Church since the establishment of the Patriarchate in 1925 and had become Premier in February 1938. The Vice-Premier, Armand Calinescu, became Premier. He had been already Minister of the Interior in the short-lived, pro-Fascist and anti-Semitic cabinet of Goga; and he could be relied upon to follow the King's policy of a right-wing dictatorial régime with many concessions to the Fascist viewpoint, without, however, adopting Fascism outright and with a strong insistence upon Rumanian independence. It was this government which concluded on March 24 a five-year economic, industrial and commercial treaty with Germany.

Treaty with Germany.

This treaty, which put virtually every phase of Rumania's agriculture, industry, transportation and exploitation of natural resources under German control, was a result of the great push which had carried Germany to the annexation of Bohemia and Moravia and of Memel, and to the conclusion of similar treaties with Lithuania and Slovakia. According to this agreement Germany was to absorb practically everything that Rumania produced, whereas Rumania was to receive by barter exchange manufactured German products. This treaty, however, was never put into full effect.

Integrity Guaranteed by Britain and France; Trade Agreement.

Great Britain and France, now awakened fully to the danger of further aggressive German designs, tried to alleviate Rumania's economic position and guaranteed her independence and territorial integrity in case she should decide to take up arms against a German aggression. On May 12, an Anglo-Rumanian trade agreement was concluded which in promising Rumania British loans for the development of her industries would counteract the intended monopolization of Rumania's economic life by Germany. The Rumanian Government declared in an official statement that the development of the country's economic life must be a factor for peace and not a cause for rivalry. Rumania accorded most-favored-nation treatment to all corporations financed in greater part by British interests, and Britain promised to facilitate the importation of Rumanian wheat and lumber. A credit of $25,000,000 to allow the Rumanian Government to purchase goods in Great Britain was, in addition, extended by the British Government.

National Elections.

On June 1, elections were held in Rumania for a new Parliament according to the new dictatorial electoral law. The present régime has abolished all political parties with the exception of the one government party, the Party of National Rebirth. Only members of this party are allowed to vote. The new Parliament includes a senate of 176 members, half elected and half appointed by the king, and a Chamber of Deputies of 258 members, of whom 86 are elected by the corporations of agriculture, of the liberal professions, and of trade and industry respectively. All electoral campaigns were strictly forbidden. The newly elected Parliament could not be expected to exercise any power whatsoever in view of the royal dictatorship.

Assassination of Calinescu.

That the Fascist Iron Guard had not yet lost all its hold on the population was clearly shown by the discovery on June 17 of an alleged plot to assassinate King Carol. A nation-wide round-up of former members of the outlawed organization followed, and many of the leaders were arrested. A similar plot by the Iron Guard succeeded on September 20, when Armand Calinescu, the Prime Minister, was assassinated in one of Bucharest's main streets. The assassination was intended as a prelude to a National Socialist uprising; but the movement was quickly and ruthlessly smashed, the nine assassins immediately captured and executed on the site of the assassination. Imprisoned leaders of the Iron Guard perished, and many suspected of affiliation with this revolutionary body were apprehended and executed in the purge that swept through the land. Calinescu was the second Rumanian Premier to have been assassinated by Iron Guardists. In December 1933 the assassination of Premier Ion G. Duca had ushered in a period of force and violence in Rumanian politics.

New Anti-Nazi Government.

King Carol named a new government with General George Argesanu as Premier, General Ion Ilcus as Minister of the Interior, and General Gabriel Marinescu as Minister of War. This government quickly restored order by strong-handed methods, so that on September 28 Constantine Argetoianu, President of the Senate, could become Prime Minister. The international situation forced Rumania, however, to change the Cabinet on Nov. 24 after a majority of the ministers had rejected Germany's reported demands for a virtual monopoly over Rumania's oil and raw material exports. The new head of the government, George Tatarescu, had played a prominent role in Rumanian politics and had been Premier from January 1934 until the autumn of 1937. He is a staunch supporter of the King and is supposed to have pro-French sympathies. Rumania's foreign policy, however, remained unchanged, and Grigore Gafencu, the Foreign Minister, was retained in the new Cabinet.

Trade Negotiations.

The new ministry found itself soon in the midst of trade negotiations with Germany and with Great Britain. Both countries competed for Rumania's exports, essential for the maintenance of their war machines. The German negotiations centered around a protocol to the commercial accord of March 1939, the provisions of which were so far-reaching that Rumania was unable to carry them out. Geographic position makes Rumania especially vulnerable to German pressure, and Germany possesses in the Danube a convenient means of transportation for Rumanian goods. Germany is also able to use Hungary's demands on Rumania as a means of pressure.

Hungarian and Russian Territorial Demands.

In the second half of November the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Count Stefen Csaky, voiced energetically Hungary's demands for a revision of her frontier with Rumania and hinted at the desire for the return of Transylvania. Rumania's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Grigore Gafencu, answered on Nov. 29 with a forceful speech in which he stressed his country's neutrality and, at the same time, its resolution to maintain its frontiers intact and to meet any aggression with armed force. The position of Rumania had become critical in the fall on account of the Soviet Union's expected demands upon Bessarabia and her gain of more extensive frontiers with northern Rumania in what had formerly been Polish territory.

Cooperation with Turkey.

Of utmost importance for Rumania was her close cooperation with Turkey. In case Rumania were involved in war, any help from Great Britain or France depended entirely upon the possibility and readiness of Turkey to allow help to reach Rumania. In her treaties of mutual assistance with Great Britain and France, Turkey promised to come to Rumania's help in the event of her being attacked; but in these treaties an important exception was made in the case of the Soviet Union. Rumania tried also to maintain closest diplomatic and military relations with Yugoslavia, and this effort was facilitated by the family ties between the two royal houses. See also BALKAN ENTENTE; LITTLE ENTENTE; RELIGION: Jews.