Was Romania damaged by World War 2?

Answer 1

Romania picked the wrong side in two world wars. In WWI they thought the Russians were doing well in 1916 and so joined with them. Romania was quickly overrun by German / Austrian troops and occupied for the duration of the war. In WWII, the Romanians thought they knew better. They sided with Germany from the start (what was the alternative? siding with Stalinist Russia was not really an option.) Germany assisted Romania in the war by proving military supplies and various trade. Romania provided most of Germany's natural petroleum supplies. Romania's military fought well alongside Germany's, on the Russian front. About 500,000 Romanian troops died here including large numbers in the Stalingrad campaign of 1942-43. The western allies bombed what parts of the country they could, but the long distances involved prevented the mass terror bombing perpetrated on Germany. After the war, Romania suffered like the rest of eastern Europe at the hands of the Soviets. The country was brutalized by Soviet occupation. Some territory was stripped away. A puppet pro-Soviet government was set up. Secret police terrorized the populace. Eventually the Soviets withdrew and Communism collapsed. The pro-Soviet leadership was disbanded or executed. The Romanians did extremely well out of WW1. They gained Transylvania, the Banat and several adjoining districts, the Bukovina and Bessarabia. The country doubled in size! They were in very good standing with the West because they suppressed the Bela Kun's Communist uprising in Hungary in 1919.

Answer 2

It's a little complicated, partly because Romania jumped around all over the place. Romania was neutral when the war started.

Like Poland, Romania's independence had been guaranteed by Britain and France. So in 1940 when Germany overran France and appeared ready to defeat Britain, Romania began trying to make friends with Germany. The problem was that part of the 1939 non-aggression pact that Germany had made with the Soviet Union allowed the Soviets to take parts of Romania. So in 1940 when the Soviets took that territory, and then Germany basically forced Romania to give land to Hungary, the Romanian king was overthrown, his 19 year old son became the new king (Michael I), and a fascist dictator named Ion Antonescu took control of the government.

The new Antonescu government then made friends with Nazi Germany. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Romania's military helped. Once the invasion stalled and then started getting pushed back, and the Allies began aerial bombing of Romania, the Romanian economy suffered and the Antonescu government became unpopular. On August 23, 1944, King Michael (with help from pro-Allies military and political figures) overthrew Antonescu, announced his loyalty to the Allies, and declared war on Germany. The Soviets continued their invasion, which was suddenly a lot easier since Romanian soldiers weren't fighting back anymore.

Romania was occupied by the Soviets for the rest of the war. After the war ended, Romania was mildly punished for siding with Germany for part of the war. However, the Soviet occupation resulted in the king being removed from power 1947. The country then became a Communist state under Soviet domination, eventually to be ruled by a brutal dictator named Nicolae Ceausescu.

Answer 3

During the WW2 Romania was not neutral.
In the first par of the war Romania was allied with Germany; after the treason from 23.08.1944 Romania was a humble ally of Soviet Union.