Soviet Occupation of Romania - Expulsion of Germans

Expulsion of Germans

The Red Army played a crucial role in the expulsion of Transylvanian Saxons from Romania that was initiated in January 1945. In October 1944, the Sănătescu government, at the request of the Allied Control Commission, began arresting young Romanian citizens of German descent, who were eventually placed at the disposal of the Soviet command. Faced with ultimatums from the Soviet command, the Rădescu government ordered the forced transportation by train of Transylvanian Saxons to the Soviet Union. In a Protest (dated January 13, 1945), the Rădescu government affirmed the Romanian government's duty to protect each of its citizens, regardless of ethnic origin, and noted the absence of a legal basis for the deportation of the Transylvanian Saxons. Such deportations would be outlawed in 1949 by the Fourth Geneva Convention; its Article 49 states: "Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive."