Bombe, lupte şi retrageri: instituţiile centrale din Bucureşti după căderea regimului Antonescu şi instalarea guvernului generalului Constantin Sănătescu, de la 23 august 1944 până la semnarea armistiţiului de la Moscova din 12 septembrie 1944
Bombs, Fights and Retreats: The Central Institutions in Bucharest After the Downfall of the Antonescu Regime and the Forming of the Sânâtescu Cabinet, from 23 August 1944 to the Signing of the Moscow Armistice on 12 September 1944

Summary/Abstract: The royal coup of August 23, 1944 was a major event in the history of the Second World War’s Eastern Front, with immediate military effects. The conspirators that brought the downfall of the Antonescu regime saw it as a measure of last resort, justifying their action with Marshal Ion Antonescu’s refusal of securing an immediate armistice with the Allies. While the arrest of the head and deputy of the Antonescu cabinet represented the first and most important event of the coup, other measures were undertaken in the following hours in order to secure control of the vital institutions by the Sanatescu cabinet, culminating with King Michael’s radio proclamation that announced the political changes to the whole country. The following days proved crucial as the ensuing battle with the German forces inside and near the capital, inaugurated by the bombings made by the enemy aircraft, forced the cabinet to retreat in a nearby village of Bolintin, until the risk of a Nazi coup was completely thwarted with the complete defeat of the German forces on Romanian territory. A new status quo was created with the entering of the Soviet troops in the capital, their status being clarified with the signing of the armistice in Moscow, three weeks after the royal coup. In our article we shall explore how did the central institutions function in this period, according to archive documents and memoirs.

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