Allied Commission - Romania

Romania

The Armistice Agreement with Rumania, signed on September 12, 1944, established, among others, the following:

• Article 1 "As from August 24, 1944, at four a.m., Rumania has entirely discontinued military operations against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on all theaters of war, has withdrawn from the war against the United Nations, has broken off relations with Germany and her satellites, has entered the war and will wage war on the side of the Allied Powers against Germany and Hungary for the purpose of restoring Rumanian independence and sovereignty, for which purpose she provides not less than twelve infantry divisions with corps troops."
• Article 4 "The state frontier between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Rumania, established by the Soviet-Rumanian Agreement of June 8, 1940, is restored."
• Article 18 "An Allied Control Commission will be established which will undertake until the conclusion of peace the regulation of and control over the execution of the present terms under the general direction and orders of the Allied (Soviet) High Command, acting on behalf of the Allied Powers". In the Annex to Article 18, it was made clear that "The Romanian Government and their organs shall fulfill all instructions of the Allied Control Commission arising out of the Armistice Agreement." and that the Allied Control Commission would have its seat in Bucharest.
• Article 19 "The Allied Governments regard the decision of the Vienna award regarding Transylvania as and void and are agreed that Transylvania the greater part thereof) should be returned to Rumania, subject to confirmation at the peace settlement, and the Soviet Government agrees that Soviet forces shall take part for this purpose in joint military operations with Rumania against Germany and Hungary."

In line with Article 14 of the Armistice Agreement two Romanian People's Tribunals were set up to try suspected war criminals. The Treaty of Peace with Romania was signed on February 10, 1947 and entered into force on September 15, 1947.

The Commission, placed under the nominal leadership of Soviet general Rodion Malinovsky (represented by Vladislav Petrovich Vinogradov) and was dominated by Red Army leaders.

The Commission was one of the tools used by the Soviet Union to impose communist rule in Romania. Soviet occupation forces remained in Romania until 1958 and the country became a satellite state of the Soviet Union, joining the Warsaw Pact and COMECON.