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Ion Antonescu was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II. Having been responsible for facilitating the Holocaust in Romania, he was overthrown in 1944, before being tried for war crimes and executed two years later in 1946.
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politics · Dictator of Romania from 1940 to 1944 · politician · military personnel · diplomat · also Ion Antonescu, Antonescu
Born 2 June 1882 · Died 1 June 1946 · Q152030
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Ro-Ion Antonescu
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Maria Bucur wrote: "the perverse image of Antonescu is not the product of a propaganda campaign led by right-wing extremists, but a pervasive myth fed by historical debates and political contests, and which the public se
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After a period in which his own equivocal stance on the matter had drawn controversy, Constantinescu's successor Ion Iliescu established the Wiesel Commission, an international group of expert historians whose mission wa
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Became the first Romanian officeholder to recognise the collective responsibility of Romanian authorities
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Filmmaker and Social Democratic politician Sergiu Nicolaescu produced Oglinda, which depicts Antonescu (played by Ion Siminie) apologetically
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Tried and ultimately found guilty of economic crimes for her collaboration with the Central Jewish Office
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Died 1946-06-01.
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Antonescu claimed to have followed the pro-German path in continuation of earlier policies, and for fear of a Nazi protectorate in Romania
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When Jewish journalists Marius Mircu and Maier Rudrich contributed first-hand testimonies
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Resulting in the sentencing of Iosif Iacobici, Nicolae Macici, Constantin Trestioreanu and other military commanders directly involved in planning or carrying out the Odessa massacre
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Before being tried for war crimes and executed two years later in 1946
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And heavy casualties on the Eastern Front prompted Antonescu to open peace negotiations with the Allies, which were inconclusive
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Awarded Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Liberty (1943).
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Won Crimea Shield in Gold (1943).
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Awarded Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle in Gold with Swords (1942).
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As USAAF and RAF were able to bomb the oil fields in Prahova County (see Bombing of Romania in World War II, Operation Tidal Wave)
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And proposed to replace it with a major monument of this category, but that plan was eventually abandoned
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Awarded Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (1941).
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Awarded Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class (1941).
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Awarded Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland (1941).
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Awarded Iron Cross (1939), 1st class (1941).
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Took a risk by publishing a synthesis of Romanian literature which emphasised Jewish contributions, while composer George Enescu pleaded with Antonescu personally for the fate of Romani musicians
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Romania initiated a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" which included the Iași pogrom, the systematic execution of between 15,000–50,000 Jews during the 1941 Odessa massacre and the mass deportation of over 150,000 Jews and
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Career landmark: November 20, 1940, Romania formally joined the Axis alliance (Germany, Italy, and Japan).
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Two of Romania's regions, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, were lost to a Soviet occupation consented to by the king
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Career landmark: Prime Minister of Romania (1940–1944).
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While Antonescu remained a close friend of his widow, Veturia Goga
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To the authorities' alarm, Army General and Iron Guard member Gheorghe Cantacuzino-Grănicerul arranged a meeting between Antonescu and the movement's leader, Corneliu Codreanu
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Career landmark: Chief of the Romanian General Staff (1933–1934).
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Antonescu resumed his teaching in Sibiu, and, in the autumn of 1928, became Secretary-General of the Defence Ministry in the Vintilă Brătianu cabinet
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Made the acquaintance of lawyer Mihai Antonescu, who was to become his close friend, legal representative and political associate
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Crown Prince Carol (the future King Carol II) left his army posting to marry a commoner
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During the Second Balkan War against Bulgaria, Antonescu served as a staff officer in the First Cavalry Division in Dobruja
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Antonescu joined the Romanian Army with the rank of Second Lieutenant
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Born 1882-06-02.
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