ROMANIA fighting against Germany in WW2

[numis]

I have none , but am interested in acquiring ,awards to the Romanian forces which fought against Germany in the latter stages of World War Two

My reference books do not cover this specifically 

What were the awards ( and related documents / certificates etc ) that applied ?

Is there any standard group of awards to a recipient who participated that one should look out for ?

 

[Carol I]

On 09/02/2022 at 10:27, numis said:

I have none , but am interested in acquiring ,awards to the Romanian forces which fought against Germany in the latter stages of World War Two

My reference books do not cover this specifically 

What were the awards ( and related documents / certificates etc ) that applied ?

Is there any standard group of awards to a recipient who participated that one should look out for ?

 

Can you give more details on what you are interested? The awards were those in the national system of orders and in many/most cases the awardees went up in the hierarchy of orders. The only exception was the Order of Michael the Brave with Swords replacing the Order of Michael the Brave (including resetting the advance through classes). However, many awards were hidden or converted after the communist takeover. And I assume that Soviet and Czechoslovakian medals may also be considered as possible.

[Bayern]

Hello, Carol I stated clearly that the Romanian awards after the country turned against Germany (and Hungary ) were the same as before the 24th August 1944 because Romania remained a Monarchy and with her Army ; Navy and Air Force without changes . that was until  December 30 of 1947 when King Michael I was forced to abdicate .  Soviet awards were certainly conceded , beggining by King Michael awarded with the Order of the Victory by Stalin 

[numis]

Thanks for responses so far

 

How about retrospective awards for WW2 service after Rumania became communist ?

Was there not a campaign medal ( and any document with it ) ? And any other ?

 

Were there participants who had awards for fighting for ( ie Crusade against communism medal ) and later against Germany ?

 

What Soviet  Russian ( and Czech? ) awards were made to the Rumanians ? (Were any of the Russian campaign medals included ? )

 

What was the status exactly of Monarchial era awards in Communist Rumania ? 

Was any distinction made between those awarded for fighting against Germany with Russia and others ?

[Carol I]

You have brought up a very difficult topic, for the veterans, for the authorities and for the historians, one in which the context influenced very much the treatment of people, events and awards.

 

Between 1944 and 1947, awards were made with the national system of orders irrespective of whether the awardee had or had not been on the Eastern front. Some officers received higher classes of the orders for Western front activities after those received for Eastern front activities. In fact there were also cases when Eastern front participants received awards for activities on the Eastern front after the Soviets became the allies. The only notable difference was the Order of Michael the Brave being replaced by the Order of Michael the Brave with Swords (speculations were that this was done at the pressure of the Soviets who were suspicious of the awards made to high German officers). Old awards could be worn, but it was war followed by troubled years and events were rather few.

 

The Soviet-backed Communist takeover in Romania intended to create a rift with "the old regime" after 1947. The proclamation of the republic also brought an annulment of the national system of orders. New decorations were created to reward the loyality to the new regime. Wearing the old decorations was banned and there was a program for exchanging old decorations with new ones (however I do not have details). This had limited effect as the armed forces were gradually purged of old members who in many cases also faced many years of repression. The authorities recognised/celebrated only Western front veterans (mostly low ranks) as WWII veterans. Few of the veterans received Czechoslovakian and probably Soviet awards (again I do not have details).

 

Only the beginning of the 1990s brought a more balanced treatment and a recognition of the awardees of old royal orders. The WWII Commemorative Cross was issued in mid-1990s to the few WWII survivors and replacement insignia for WWII-awards were also made/circulated. Old surviving decorations were taken out of drawers and dusted out for public events, but after 50+ years the numbers of the awardees was extremely low. Nevertheless, new and old awards were once again mixed on new uniforms:

 

General Ioan Dicezare (1916-2012) - Source: Agerpres

[Bayern]

Carol I ,thanks for your data ! General Dicezare was a notable fighter pilot in the 7 Grupul Vanatoare and fought in Stalingrad , over 500 combat missions and a kill count of 16 confirmed and 3 non confirmed . but its all that i could find ,nothing about him after August 1944 but he must have continued in service and after December 1947 also 

[Carol I]

8 hours ago, Bayern said:

Carol I ,thanks for your data ! General Dicezare was a notable fighter pilot in the 7 Grupul Vanatoare and fought in Stalingrad , over 500 combat missions and a kill count of 16 confirmed and 3 non confirmed . but its all that i could find ,nothing about him after August 1944 but he must have continued in service and after December 1947 also 

Dicezare fought on the Eastern Front with Grupul 1 Vanatoare.

 

Another example is Ion Dobran (1919-2021) who fought on both fronts, was dismissed from the army in the 1950s and could work as a pilot only in the 1960s. The photo below shows him with his WWII awards (including one replacement decoration), as well as a modern one. Several other decorations are on his ribbon bar.

 

Another flyer that had a somewhat smoother career was B. Ferderber, the navigator of YR-IMB when he used his WWII knowledge and who was apparently decorated for that incident.

 

Changing the branch, please look at the life of General N. Dascalescu, who fought on both fronts, was dismissed from the army, thrown into jail, released (apparently at the intervention of Czechoslovakian communist authorities) and eventually reinstated in the rank and pension. Some anecdotal evidence mentions that he was allowed to wear an uniform and the decorations he received on the Western front, but he refrained any further collaboration with the Romanian authorities at that time.

[Carol I]

I remembered two other generals that should be mentioned in relation to Eastern front activities, both receiving for those activities the Order of Michael the Brave with Swords 3rd class after the Order of Michael the Brave 2nd class on the Eastern front, General Avramescu who was most likely assassinated by the Soviets and General Dumitrache who survived many years after the war.

 

The complexity of the topic increases if we take into account the members of the Soviet Tudor Vladimirescu Division that fared somewhat better in post-war years, including its high ranking officers. They probably received more or higher ranking Soviet decorations.

 

Regarding Soviet decorations awarded to Romanian officers, some names are mentioned in the following topic on a related forum.

[Bayern]

Multumesc Domnul Carol !  Of course the Tudor Vladimirescu and Horia Closca si Crisan Divisions are a topic in itself.  Respect to General Lt General Gheorge Avramescu ,I understand that he was perhaps the best Romanian General in the Eastern and the Western Fronts . he was a victim of the Smersh probably because it was a possible Premier 

[numis]

Thank you for the additional information posted above

I would be interested to know whether the Western Front Army was composed mainly of troops who had already served on the Eastern front or whether there was either fresh recruitment of men who had not yet served in action and not been on the Eastern front 

I am more interested in the awards received by the lower ranks than by the senior officers .

In terms of what I might collect personally , I would be interested to collect only awards to persons who had ONLY served on the Western front against the Nazis 

Was there any anti-fascist resistance in Romania 1941-4 and , if yes, how were they eventually rewarded for such activities , if they were rewarded?

[new world]

I think have a group to a Romanian officer, who had a Royal award and continued to serve during People Republic period. I recall his Royal award was listed in his early Socialist period officer document.  

[Carol I]

I came by chance upon the photo of this group showing the awards of a reserve officer that has fought on both fronts. It illustrates a possible combination of WWII and post-WWI awards, but of course it is difficult to extrapolate it to all WWII veterans.

Source

Edited September 7, 2022 by Carol I