EMIGRAłIA ROMÂNĂ DIN MAREA BRITANIE ÎN DECURSUL ANULUI 1941
ROMANIAN IMMIGRATION TO GREAT BRITAIN IN 1941

Summary/Abstract: After World War II broke out and diplomatic ties between Romania and the UK were severed, numerous Romanians remained in Great Britain, refusing to return to their home country. Most of them had belonged to the Romanian Legation in London. V. V. Tilea was the first to set up a Free Romanian Movement, in October 1940. It failed however, because the British could not acknowledge both the Antonescu government and an opposition movement in London. After Great Britain and Romania reciprocally closed their embassies on February 15, 1941, two rival Romanian groups were created in the UK. The Romanian Democratic Committee and the Free Romanian Movement both desired to be officially accepted by the British authorities. The British government acknowledged neither group, due to the extremely small number of group members and due to the absence of any known Romanian politician in their ranks. Romania’s part in the German offensive against Russia did not change matters. When Great Britain declared war on Romania on December 7, 1941, Romanian immigrants from the UK lost all hope to have their political movements acknowledged. Moreover, the Foreign Office advised Romanian immigrants to avoid politics and to enroll in the British army, if they wished to.

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