Transnistria (World War II)

noautocat
Native name	Guvernământul Transnistriei
Conventional long name	Transnistria Governorate
Common name	Transnistria
Subdivision	Governorate
Nation	Romania
Status text
Government type	Military-civilian administration
Title leader	Governor
Title deputy
Leader1	Gheorghe Alexianu
Deputy1
Year deputy1
Legislature
House1
House2
Type house1
Type house2
Capital	Odessa
National motto
National anthem
Political subdiv
Today	Republic of Moldova (Transnistria), Ukraine
Year start	1941
Year end	1944
Date start	19 August 1941
Event end
Date end	29 January 1944
Era	World War II
Event post
Image border
Flag type
Flag	} -->
Image coat	}.svg -->
Symbol type
Symbol	} -->
P1	Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Flag p1	Flag of Ukrainian SSR.svg
Border p1
Image p1
P2	Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
Flag p2	Flag of Moldavian SSR.svg
Border p2
Image p2
S1	Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Flag s1	Flag of Ukrainian SSR.svg
Border s1
Image s1
S2	Moldovian Soviet Socialist Republic
Flag s2	Flag of Moldavian SSR.svg
Border s2
Image s2
Stat year1	1941
Stat area1	42000
Stat pop1	2326224
End year1	1944
Footnotes

Transnistria Governorate () was a Romanian administered territory, conquered by the Axis Powers from the USSR during Operation Barbarossa, and occupied from 19 August 1941 to 29 January 1944. Limited in the west by the Dniester river (separating it from Bessarabia Governorate) in the east by the Southern Bug river (separating it from the German Reichskommissariat Ukraine), and in the south by the Black Sea, it comprised the present-day region of Transnistria (which compared to the World War II whole is only a small strip along the bank of the Dniester) and territories further east (modern Odessa Oblast eastward of the Dniester and southern Vinnytsia Oblast), including the Black Sea port of Odessa, which became the administrative capital of Transnistria during World War II.

In World War II, Romania, persuaded and aided by Nazi Germany, took control of Transnistria for the first time in history. In August 1941, Adolf Hitler persuaded Ion Antonescu to take control of the territory as a substitute for Northern Transylvania, occupied by Horthy's Hungary following the Second Vienna Award. Despite the Romanian administration, the Romanian state did not formally incorporate Transnistria into its administrative framework; the Nazi-friendly Antonescu government hoped to annex the territory eventually, but developments on the Eastern Front precluded it.

Romanian conquest of Transnistria

and the "Crusade against Bolshevism".]] Until 26 July 1941, Romanian Army had pushed the Soviet Army out of Bessarabia, the territory of Romania occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940. Nazi Germany wanted Romania as an ally in the war against the Soviet Union. However, Romania was complacent with recovering its own territory. To facilitate the persuasion of the then-dictator of Romania Ion Antonescu, Hitler ordered the German Army to advance into Ukraine from north to south, following a route east of the Southern Bug river, in order to trap Soviet troops between Dniester and the Southern Bug. Antonescu was thus put in the face of a simple task for his army: conquer from the encircled and retreating Red Army troops a precisely delimited area. Antonescu ordered the Romanian Fourth Army to undertake this task.

During the first week of the advance, in mid-August 1941, Romanians took over all of the region, except for a small area around Odessa without a fight. At the time, Romanians had 60,000 soldiers to conquer the city from its 30,000 defenders. However, the organization was so poor, and the command was so superficial, that the attack resulted in a military blunder. Exploiting this success, the Soviets stopped the evacuation of the city by sea and instead sent reinforcements, bolstering the strength of the Soviet forces up to 100,000. Romanians were forced to more-than-double their own numbers as well. Although occasionally on some small portions of front line, low and medium rank Romanian officers showed clear successes, the general organization of the siege was disastrous for the Romanians, and several generals were dismissed afterwards. Eventually, after 2 months of siege, the Romanian army took control of the city at the price of 92,000 casualties. Only in the Battle of Stalingrad were Romanian casualty figures higher, but then Romanians would face a numerically and technically superior enemy. Although the Soviets eventually left the city, the whole operation was a success for the Soviets, as they were able to block a larger enemy force with a smaller one, and inflict significant casualties on the attackers. This result was especially important, because the Soviet High Command initially ordered the city abandoned. At the end of the war, Odessa received the title of Hero city.

Once Romanian troops entered Odessa, they established headquarters of two of their divisions in the local NKVD building. However, the building was mined by the Soviets, who blew it up, killing over 100 members of Romanian divisional headquarters, including almost 50 officers, paralyzing the activity of the two divisions for two weeks. In reprisal, Ion Antonescu ordered the arrest and massacre of civilians suspected of aiding the Red Army. When it became clear that identifying individuals directly responsible for the incident would be almost impossible, Antonescu ordered shooting of Jews. The massacre that followed resulted in 19,000 civilians killed, the majority of whom had nothing to do with the military action. A further number of Odessa Jews were deported to ghettos and concentration camps in the northern half of the region.

A partisan movement, with a strength of 300, was active in the Odessa catacombs all throughout the occupation. It managed to organize an excellent communication with the partisan headquarters in Moscow. Antonescu was advised to use poisonous gas to clear the catacombs, but afraid of the public implications of such an act decided to abstain from it. Eventually, Romanians were able to inflict a high number of casualties on the partisans with the help of some partisans who switched sides and revealed the movement through the catacombs. Yet, the catacombs were never completely cleared, and the partisans maintained a continuous resistance movement until the return of the Red Army.

Status with respect to Romania proper

Albeit not annexing the region outright, the Romanian Antonescu government organized the territory in the Guvernământul Transnistriei under Romanian governor, Gheorghe Alexianu.

Administrative divisions

The territory was divided into 13 counties (sing. Judeţ). Below these were subdivisions named Municipiul, Oraşul and Raionul.

Counties

Ananiev (Ananiv)

Balta (Balta)

Berezovca (Berezovka)

Dubăsari

Golta (Golta)

Jugastru (Yampil)

Movilău (Mohyliv-Podilskyi)

Oceacov (Ochakiv)

Odesa (Odessa)

Ovidiopol (Ovidiopol)

Rîbniţa

Tiraspol

Tulcin (Tulchyn)

Raions and towns

Judeţul Moghilău (Moghilău)

*Oraşul Moghilău

*Oraşul Şmerinca

*Raionul Balchi

*Raionul Copaigorod

*Raionul Crasnoe

*Raionul Iarişev

*Raionul Sargorod

*Raionul Şmerinca

*Raionul Stanislavcic

Judeţul Tulcin (Tulcin)

*Oraşul Moghilău

*Raionul Şmerinca

*Raionul Braslav

*Raionul Spicov

*Raionul Trostineţ

*Raionul Tulcin

Judeţul Jugastru (Iampol)

*Oraşul Iampol

*Raionul Cernovăţ

*Raionul Crijopol

*Raionul Iampol

*Raionul Tomaspol

Judeţul Balta (Balta)

*Oraşul Balta

*Oraşul Berşad

*Raionul Balta

*Raionul Berşad

*Raionul Cicelnic

*Raionul Obadovca

*Raionul Olgopol

*Raionul Pesceana

*Raionul Savrani

Judeţul Râbniţa (Râbniţa)

*Oraşul Bârzula

*Oraşul Râbniţa

*Raionul Bârzula

*Raionul Camenca

*Raionul Codâma

*Raionul Piesceanca

*Raionul Râbniţa

Judeţul Golta (Golta)

*Oraşul Golta

*Raionul Crivoe-Oziero

*Raionul Domaniovca

*Raionul Golta

*Raionul Liubaşovca

*Raionul Vradievca

Judeţul Ananiev (Ananiev)

*Oraşul Ananiev

*Raionul Ananiev

*Raionul Cernova

*Raionul Petroverovca

*Raionul Sfânta Troiţca

*Raionul Siraievo

*Raionul Valea Hoţului

Judeţul Dubăsari (Dubăsari)

*Oraşul Dubăsari

*Oraşul Grigoriopol

*Raionul Ciorna

*Raionul Dubăsari

*Raionul Grigoriopol

*Raionul Ocna

*Raionul Zaharievca

Judeţul Tiraspol (Tiraspol)

*Municipiul Tiraspol

*Raionul Grosulova

*Raionul Razdelnaia

*Raionul Selz

*Raionul Slobozia

*Raionul Tebricovo

*Raionul Tiraspol

Judeţul Ovidiopol (Ovidiopol)

*Oraşul Ovidiopol

*Raionul Balaevca

*Raionul Franzfeld

*Raionul Ovidiopol

*Raionul Vigoda

Judeţul Odessa (Odessa)

*Municipiul Odessa

*Raionul Antono-Codincevo

*Raionul Blagujevo

*Raionul Ianovca

*Raionul Odessa

Judeţul Berezovca (Berezovca)

*Oraşul Berezovca

*Raionul Berezovca

*Raionul Landau

*Raionul Mostovoi

*Raionul Veselinovo

Judeţul Oceacov (Oceacov)

*Oraşul Oceacov

*Raionul Crasna

*Raionul Oceacov

*Raionul Varvarovca

Population

In December 1941 Romanian authorities conducted a census in Transnistria, and ethnic structure was following: Official languages of administration were Russian and Romanian.

Organization

The Romanian administration of Transnistria attempted to stabilise the situation in the region during the occupation. To this end, it opened all churches, previously closed down by the Soviets. In 1942-1943, 2,200 primary schools were organized in the region, including 1,677 Ukrainian, 311 Romanian, 150 Russian, 70 German and 6 Bulgarian. 117 middle and high schools were opened, including 65 middle schools, 29 technical high schools, and 23 academic high schools. Theaters were opened in Odessa and Tiraspol, as well as several museums, libraries, and cinemas throughout the region. On 7 December 1941, the University of Odessa was reopened with 6 faculties - medicine, polytechnical, law, sciences, languages and agricultural engineering.

The Holocaust in Transnistria under Romanian occupation

Many Jews were deported to Transnistria from Bessarabia and Bukovina. During the period 1941–1944, 200,000 Roma people and Jews became victims of the Romanian occupation of Transnistria. Not being Romanian territory, Transnistria was used as a killing field for the extermination of Jews. Survivors say that in comparison with the Holocaust of Nazi Germany, where deportations were carefully planned, the Romanian government did not prepare to house thousands of people in Transnistria, where the deportees stayed. The people were instead placed in crude barracks without running water, electricity or latrines. Those who could not walk were simply left to die.

In Odessa, between 80,000 and 90,000 of the city's roughly 180,000 Jews remained at the time the Germans and Romanians captured the city on October 16, 1941. Six days later, a bomb exploded in the Romanian military headquarters in Odessa, prompting a massacre of Jews; many were burned alive. In October and November 1941 alone, Romanian troops in Odessa killed about 30,000 Jews. Transnistria was the site of two concentration camps and several de facto ghettos (which the Romanian wartime government referred to as "colonies"). In addition, most of the remaining Jews in Bessarabia (84,000 of 105,000) and northern Bukovina (36,000 of 60,000) were herded into these as well. The Holocaust Encyclopedia (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) writes that "Among the most notorious of these ghettos… was Bogdanovka, on the west bank of the Bug River… In December 1941, Romanian troops, together with Ukrainian auxiliaries, massacred almost all the Jews in Bogdanovka; shootings continued for more than a week." Similar events occurred at the Domanevka and Akhmetchetkha camps, and (quoting the same source) "typhus-devastated Jews were crowded into the 'colony' in Mohyliv-Podilskyi." Other camps, also with very high death rates, were at Pechora and Vapniarka, the latter reserved for Jewish political prisoners deported from Romania proper. and Norman Manea.

Position of Antonescu government

Antonescu, in a government meeting showed intentions to deport all Jews behind the Ural Mountains if it would be possible: "I have about 10,000 Jews left in Bessarabia, who in a few days will be taken across the Dniester, and if circumstances will allow, they will be taken beyond the Urals".

Notes and references

External links

Rumania in World War II, 1939-1945, World History at KMLA. Accessed 11 Nov 2007.

I. Altman Глава 3 Гетто и Лагеря на Территории СССР ("Chapter 3: Ghettoes and Camps on the territory of the USSR") in "Холокост и Еврейское Сопротивление на Оккупированной Территории СССР" ("Holocaust and Jewish Resistance in the Occupied Territory of the USSR"). TOC. Originally on history.pedclub.ru/shoa; archived on the Internet Archive 21 October 2004; page is encoded in Win-1251.

Romania, Holocaust Encyclopedia, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Accessed online 19 December 2006

Alexander Dallin - Odessa, 1941-1944: A Case Study of Soviet Territory Under Foreign Rule

Map

Igor Niculcea, Rumynskii okkupatsionnyi rezhim v Transnistrii [Romanian occupation of Transnistria], in Записки Iсторичного Факультету, Odessa, Ukraine, 1997, p. 182-187.

Igor Casu, Istoriografia şi chestiunea Holocaustului: cazul Republicii Moldova [Historiography and the question of Holocaust: The case of Republic of Moldova] (in Romanian) in Contrafort, Chisinau, 11-12, 2006 and 1, 2007 (www.contrafort.md)

Diana Dumitru, The Use and Abuse of the Holocaust: Historiography and Politics in Moldova, Holocaust and Genocide Studies 2008 22(1):49-73.

Vladimir Solonari, "Patterns of Violence: Local Population and the Mass Murder of Jews in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, July-August 1941," in Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 8 (4: 2007), 749-787.

Vladimir Solonari,"'Model Province': Explaining the Holocaust of Bessarabian and Bukovinian Jewry," Nationalities Papers, Vol. 34, No. 4, September 2006, pp. 471–500.

See also

History of Transnistria

Category:History of Transnistria Category:Military history of the Soviet Union Category:Military history of Romania during World War II Category:Romania – Soviet Union relations Category:The Holocaust in Transnistria Category:The Holocaust in Ukraine Category:The Holocaust in Bessarabia and Bukovina Category:World War II Eastern European Theatre Category:Former governorates of Romania