Romania during World War II

In June 1941, after a brief period of nominal neutrality under King Carol, Romania joined the Axis Powers. Romania became a member of the Axis under the government of Ion Antonescu. In August 1944, a coup led by King Michael deposed Antonescu dictatorship and put Romania on the side of the Allies for the remainder of the war. Despite this association with the winning side, "Greater Romania" was not to survive, with territory lost to both Bulgaria and to the Soviet Union following the end of the war. On April 13, 1938, Germany and the United Kingdom had pledged to guarantee the independence of Romania. But negotiations with the Soviets concerning a similar guarantee collapsed when Romania refused to allow the Red Army to cross its frontiers. On August 23, 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Among other things, this pact stipulated the Soviet "interest" in Bessarabia (which had been ruled by Imperial Russia from 1812 to 1918). This Soviet... full article at wikipedia