Ivan Nikolaevich Burenin (russian: Иван Николаевич Буренин; August 8, 1896 – June 21, 1986) was a major general of the Red Army during World War II. From August to December 1, 1944 he was the Soviet commander of the Bucharest garrison.General Aurel Aldea

The arrest of Ion Antonescu

According to former King Michael I of Romania and his secretary

Mircea Ionnițiu Mircea Ionnițiu (sometimes incorrectly spelled "Ioanițiu" or "Ioannițiu") (born date unknown, Bucharest – November 13, 1990, Woodland Hills, California, United States) was a Romanian writer, author of memorial notes. In his adolescence, he ...

, the day the Red Army entered Bucharest (28 August, 1944),

Emil Bodnăraș Emil Bodnăraș (10 February 1904 – 24 January 1976) was a Romanian communist politician, an army officer, and a Soviet agent, who had considerable influence in the Romanian People's Republic.''Final Report'', p. 646 Early life Bodnăraș was ...

personally delivered the deposed dictator

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) 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. A Romanian Army career officer who made ...

to General Burenin. The former head of the government had been arrested at the

Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

during the events of 23 August 1944, on King's orders and then detained in the Fichet room in Casa Nouă until after two o'clock in the morning. For security reasons (German retaliation was soon expected), between two and three o'clock, on the request of his collaborators and the new Sănătescu government, the King left the Palace for Dobrița, a small village in

Gorj County Gorj County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gor(no)-'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolj (“lower Jiu”). Demographics In 2011, the county had a ...

. After his departure, around four o'clock, the military Palace Guard transferred Antonescu and his fellow detainees under the supervision of the civil squadron organised by the main political parties, as it was discussed previously (the Police and the

Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

were not to be trusted yet, because their commanders were close Antonescu collaborators). In fact, this squadron was exclusively formed by men of the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that woul ...

, because the other parties ( PNL, PNȚ) were unable to provide the necessary men in time for the coup. Under the supervision of Bodnăraș (which had deserted the Romanian Army in the 1930s), the Communists immediately moved the detainees to a safe house in the

Vatra Luminoasă 'Vatra' is alternatively from Proto-Albanian *ōtar* meaning Hearth as per its etymology. It may refer to: Geography * Vatra, Botoşani County, a village in Hudeşti Commune, Botoşani County, Romania * Vatra, Teleorman County, a village in Tro ...

neighborhood, where Bodnăraș' girlfriend lived. From here the detainees were delivered to the Soviet military, who flew them to the USSR. Their repatriation took place in

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

, when the group was put under trial] by the

Romanian People's Tribunals The two Romanian People's Tribunals ( ro, Tribunalele Poporului), the Bucharest People's Tribunal and the Northern Transylvania People's Tribunal (which sat in Cluj) were set up by the post-World War II government of Romania, overseen by the Allied ...

. Some of them, including Antonescu, were condemned to the death penalty and subsequently shot.

Notes

Bibliography

- ''Amintiri și reflecțiuni'' (''Memories and Reflections''), Editura Enciclopedică, 1993, , page 42-72 *

Mircea Ciobanu Mircea Ciobanu (; born Mircea Sandu ; May 13, 1940 in Bucharest – April 22, 1996 in Bucharest) was a Romanian poet, writer, editor, translator and essayist. He is best remembered for his two volumes of interviews with HM King Michael I of Roman ...

- ''Convorbiri cu Mihai I al României'' (''Talks with Mihai I of Romania''), Editura Humanitas, 2008, , page 31

The arrest of Ion Antonescu

Notes

Bibliography

See also