Mihai Antonescu
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Mihai Antonescu | |
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Minister of Justice | |
| In office 14 September 1940 – 24 January 1941 | |
| Prime Minister | Ion Antonescu |
| Preceded by | Ion V. Gruia |
| Succeeded by | Gheorghe Docan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 November 1904 National Liberal Party-Brătianu (1930-1938) |
| Education | Saint Sava National College |
| Alma mater | University of Bucharest |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Part of a series on |
| Fascism in Romania |
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Mihai Antonescu (18 November 1904 – 1 June 1946) was a
Early career
Born in
As a minister, he drifted to the
When the Iron Guard was suppressed and removed from power in January 1941 (see
Prominence
Throughout 1941, especially after the
Throughout 1941, Antonescu would approve the
Late in the war and execution
As 1942 came to a close, Ion Antonescu became alarmed at the deterioration of the Axis war effort and started looking for ways to withdraw Romania from the war. He attempted to persuade Hitler to make peace with the Western Allies and focus the full power of the Axis forces on the Soviet Union. When the Soviets won the Battle of Stalingrad on 2 February 1943, Antonescu came to the conclusion that the war was lost for the Axis, proceeding to destroy files and documents that revealed his active persecution of Romania's Jews. With Ion Antonescu's approval, he came to advocate the withdrawal from conflict of all minor allies of the Nazis - Romania, Hungary, Italy, and Finland.
Antonescu believed Benito Mussolini was powerful enough to stand up to Hitler, and that Italy could successfully negotiate an armistice with the Western Allies. Under Antonescu's plan, the four states and other European nations would turn against Hitler and join the Allies against Germany. In his capacity as foreign minister, Antonescu strengthened Romania's ties with Italy and paid a visit to Mussolini in June 1943, at which time he discovered that Mussolini agreed with certain aspects of his plan but was less than enthusiastic in regard to actually implementing it. Antonescu subsequently increased his efforts to improve Romania's relations with the United States and Great Britain. As such, he stopped the deportations of Romania's Jews, allowed Jewish emigration to non-Axis nations, and repatriated those who had survived Transnistria.
On 23 August 1944, as Soviet forces drew closer and closer to Romania,
See also
External links
- Footage of Antonescu's death before a firing squad Archived 2011-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Newspaper clippings about Mihai Antonescu in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
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