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My home country of Romania was basically under German occupation through most of WWII. My grand mother lived in a village before,during, and a little bit after

by dh2022 2y ago

My home country of Romania was basically under German occupation through most of WWII. My grand mother lived in a village before,during, and a little bit after WWII. German soldiers did not loot - they paid for whatever food stuffs they got from the village. At a different scale: the German government paid the Romanian Corporations for all the oil and grains they bought to supply their war effort. Germans were remembered fondly by Romanians. The subsequent occupation by the Russian Red Army music less so…

inglor_cz 2y ago
True, but this guy fell in Poland, which was treated harshly by the Nazis, and probably fought in the USSR, where the behavior of the Nazis was absolutely unhinged. I would consider looting much more probable in that region. Romania was, at least theoretically, an ally of Germany, so (non-Jewish) Romanians got treated better than conquered nations like Poles, who were Slavic and thus lower on the racial totem pole.
farialima 2y ago
> Romania was basically under German occupation through most of WWII. that's not correct. Romania was an independent country, with a king, government, etc. Romania was allied to Germany, and there was a German presence, but the Germans did not exercise any power. In fact, there was a "palace coup" that switch alliances in 1944.
- dh2022 2y ago
  Germans did not exercise any power… other than telling Romanians to send their troops to Don’s bend, and to Sevastopol. Or not selling any of their oil to anybody else. Or basically telling the Romanian Prime Minister Antonescu to suck it up while Hungary took a big chunk of Transylvania. About the coup: it took place on Aug 23, 1944. The Red Army already took all of Moldovan and was gunning for the Carpathian Mountains. The German front broke yet again. That was the end of German influence in Romania: at the end of September 1944 Arab was ‘eliberated’ by the Red Army.
the_af 2y ago
> My home country of Romania was basically under German occupation through most of WWII [...] Germans were remembered fondly by Romanians Romania was an Axis ally under a fascist dictator, Antonescu, and was not under German occupation. Why would Germans steal or loot from a willing ally? Romanian troops participated with around 280,000 to 380,000 Jewish deaths to the Holocaust. I suppose Jews in Romania don't remember their German "allies" too fondly. > The subsequent occupation by the Russian Red Army music less so… The Soviet (not Russian) Red Army was indeed brutal with former Axis allies. It shouldn't come as a surprise that siding with Nazi Germany was retroactively a terrible choice.
- dh2022 2y ago
  Germany had complete control of the country. When Hitler decided to give Hungary a big chunk of Transylvania Romania army could not what they really wanted: ie fight the Hungarians. [0] Instead they had to suck it up and march East into Russia proper. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Vienna_Award https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Vienna_Award
  - the_af 2y ago
    Germany did not have "complete control" of Romania. It was not a country under occupation. It was a willing ally, with a fascist dictator in charge: Antonescu. I think what you're describing is that Romania was not a peer on equal standing with Nazi Germany. Romanian troops took part, willingly, of Nazi death squad actions. Furthermore, Jews in Romania didn't remember the Germans "fondly".
    - dh2022 2y ago
      You are saying that giving up a chunk of their territory because Germany told them so does not mean Romania was under Germany’s control. That is the quality of your post. Pretty much the same quality in everything else you wrote (like for example what you wrote about the Einsatzngruppen troops)
      - 2y ago
lostlogin 2y ago
> Germans were remembered fondly by Romanians. Presumably not true for Jews. However pogroms were occurring pre-occupation, so maybe it’s much of a muchness once you’re being eradicated. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/romania https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/romania
the_af 2y ago
> At a different scale: the German government paid the Romanian Corporations for all the oil and grains they bought to supply their war effort. I already mentioned in another comment that Romania wasn't "under German occupation", but this bit I'm quoting here is also false. Germany theoretically paid Romania but in practice it defaulted in most/all payments, so that Romanians got nothing for their oil. It was a major problem that eroded public support for the Axis and made poverty worse in Romania. Again, not something that helped Romanians regard the Germans "fondly".

by dh2022 2y ago

inglor_cz 2y ago

True, but this guy fell in Poland, which was treated harshly by the Nazis, and probably fought in the USSR, where the behavior of the Nazis was absolutely unhinged. I would consider looting much more probable in that region. Romania was, at least theoretically, an ally of Germany, so (non-Jewish) Romanians got treated better than conquered nations like Poles, who were Slavic and thus lower on the racial totem pole.

farialima 2y ago

> Romania was basically under German occupation through most of WWII. that's not correct. Romania was an independent country, with a king, government, etc. Romania was allied to Germany, and there was a German presence, but the Germans did not exercise any power. In fact, there was a "palace coup" that switch alliances in 1944.

dh2022 2y ago
Germans did not exercise any power… other than telling Romanians to send their troops to Don’s bend, and to Sevastopol. Or not selling any of their oil to anybody else. Or basically telling the Romanian Prime Minister Antonescu to suck it up while Hungary took a big chunk of Transylvania. About the coup: it took place on Aug 23, 1944. The Red Army already took all of Moldovan and was gunning for the Carpathian Mountains. The German front broke yet again. That was the end of German influence in Romania: at the end of September 1944 Arab was ‘eliberated’ by the Red Army.

the_af 2y ago

> My home country of Romania was basically under German occupation through most of WWII [...] Germans were remembered fondly by Romanians Romania was an Axis ally under a fascist dictator, Antonescu, and was not under German occupation. Why would Germans steal or loot from a willing ally? Romanian troops participated with around 280,000 to 380,000 Jewish deaths to the Holocaust. I suppose Jews in Romania don't remember their German "allies" too fondly. > The subsequent occupation by the Russian Red Army music less so… The Soviet (not Russian) Red Army was indeed brutal with former Axis allies. It shouldn't come as a surprise that siding with Nazi Germany was retroactively a terrible choice.

dh2022 2y ago
Germany had complete control of the country. When Hitler decided to give Hungary a big chunk of Transylvania Romania army could not what they really wanted: ie fight the Hungarians. [0] Instead they had to suck it up and march East into Russia proper. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Vienna_Award https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Vienna_Award
- the_af 2y ago
  Germany did not have "complete control" of Romania. It was not a country under occupation. It was a willing ally, with a fascist dictator in charge: Antonescu. I think what you're describing is that Romania was not a peer on equal standing with Nazi Germany. Romanian troops took part, willingly, of Nazi death squad actions. Furthermore, Jews in Romania didn't remember the Germans "fondly".
  - dh2022 2y ago
    You are saying that giving up a chunk of their territory because Germany told them so does not mean Romania was under Germany’s control. That is the quality of your post. Pretty much the same quality in everything else you wrote (like for example what you wrote about the Einsatzngruppen troops)
    - 2y ago

lostlogin 2y ago

> Germans were remembered fondly by Romanians. Presumably not true for Jews. However pogroms were occurring pre-occupation, so maybe it’s much of a muchness once you’re being eradicated. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/romania https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/romania

the_af 2y ago

> At a different scale: the German government paid the Romanian Corporations for all the oil and grains they bought to supply their war effort. I already mentioned in another comment that Romania wasn't "under German occupation", but this bit I'm quoting here is also false. Germany theoretically paid Romania but in practice it defaulted in most/all payments, so that Romanians got nothing for their oil. It was a major problem that eroded public support for the Axis and made poverty worse in Romania. Again, not something that helped Romanians regard the Germans "fondly".