Ion antonescu biography of michael jackson

Biography of Ion Antonescu

Ion Antonescu () was a Romanian statesman and military leader, serving as the military dictator ("Conducător") of Romania from to He was born on June 2, , in Pitesti. Antonescu began his career as the Chief of the Romanian General Staff in , and later became the Minister of Defense in In September , he assumed dictatorial powers in Romania.

Antonescu signed the protocol of Romania's accession to the Axis Powers and led the country into war against the Soviet Union in June , on the side of Nazi Germany. However, on August 23, , he was arrested as a war criminal following an anti-fascist uprising. He was sentenced to death by the People's Tribunal on June 1, , and executed.

Ion Antonescu came from a military and landowning family. He received his education at a military school and college in France. He participated in suppressing the peasants' uprising in During the Balkan War in , he served as the Chief of the Operational Department of a cavalry division. In , he became the commander of a cavalry squadron. Antonescu also participated in World War I and the military intervention against the Hungarian Soviet Republic in He held high positions in the Romanian army.

In , Antonescu became the military attaché in Paris, and later in London in During this time, he married a Frenchwoman of Jewish origin (whom he later divorced), and his stepmother was also Jewish. In , he became the Chief of a cavalry school and in and , the High Military School. In , he served as the Secretary of the Ministry of National Defense and later commanded a regiment and a brigade. In , he was appointed as the Chief of the General Staff of the Romanian Army and became the commander of a division in In , he was appointed as the Minister of Defense. Antonescu was extremely popular among the army and in financial-industrial circles.

Due to the growing influence of Antonescu, King Carol II ordered his arrest in the mid, but he was soon released. After a series of unpopular actions, including the cession of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union and territorial concessions to Bulgaria and Hungary, King Carol II found himself isolated. In July , Antonescu sent a letter of protest to King Carol II against the return of Bessarabia to the USSR and was placed under house arrest. Under pressure from ruling circles, King Carol II was forced to appoint Antonescu as the head of the so-called "National Legionary Government" on September 5, The government included not only Antonescu's military supporters but also representatives of the fascist movement "Iron Guard." The next day, Antonescu demanded that King Carol II abdicate in favor of his son, Michael I.

Already in September , a German military mission arrived in Romania, and German divisions were sent to Ploiesti to secure the oil fields. On November 23, , Antonescu signed the protocol of Romania's accession to the Tripartite Pact, stating the "organic and natural connection" between the Legionnaires, the Nazi Party, and the Italian Fascists. He then held negotiations with Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel regarding the reorganization and improvement of the Romanian army. Antonescu abolished the constitution, intensified repression against the opposition (by September , Romania had established 35 concentration camps), and declared Romania a National Legionary State, with the ruling party being the "Iron Guard." At the end of October , he was forced to take measures to suppress the unleashed terror of the "Iron Guard," and his relationship with Horia Sima gradually deteriorated.

During the crisis in late November , caused by the assassination of N. Iorga and V. Madjare by Iron Guard members, Antonescu attempted to remove the Legionnaires from the government but, at Hitler's request, abandoned his intention. On November 30, , he announced the dissolution of the Legionary Police. During his meeting with Hitler in Berlin on January 14, , he secured his support in the fight against the "Iron Guard." On January 20, , the "Iron Guard," believing that Germany would support them, launched a revolt. However, Hitler sided with Antonescu, and on January 22, he suppressed the uprising, expelled all Iron Guard members from key positions, and formed a government with his own supporters. Antonescu was declared the leader of the state ("Conducător") and the Supreme Commander of the Romanian army. He established a regime of personal power, with the army fully supporting him.

At Germany's demand, Antonescu organized the deportation of about 40, Romanian Jews to German concentration camps, and their properties worth about $40 million were confiscated. Later, he sanctioned the arrest of Jews in the Soviet territory annexed to Romania (Odessa, etc.). In , a German grouping consisting of the 11th German, 3rd, and 4th Romanian armies was created on Romanian territory for the war against the Soviet Union. On June 22, , Romania joined the war against the Soviet Union on the side of Germany. Romanian forces (which began their offensive on July 1, ) were tactically subordinated to the command of Army Group South, but a Romanian-German force under Antonescu's command, called "Army Group Antonescu," was also formed. The group included the 3rd Army (under Gen. P. Dumitrescu), the 4th Army (under Gen. N. Ciuperca), as well as the 2nd Corps (under Gen. N. Macici) and the 11th Infantry Division. Until mid-August , Romanian forces operated in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina.

On August 6, , Antonescu was awarded the German Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. In , he also served as the Minister of War. After the explosion that destroyed the headquarters of the Romanian troops in Odessa on October 22, , he ordered the execution of Jews for each killed officer and Jews for each killed soldier (a total of 25, Odessa Jews were killed according to this order). In January , Keitel, who arrived in Bucharest, demanded an increase in Romanian troops on the Soviet-German front. As a result, Antonescu conducted a mobilization of additional contingents in the summer of However, the losses were so great that Antonescu was forced to conduct another mobilization in September The enormous losses suffered by the Romanians under the Stalingrad led Antonescu to begin preparations for Romania's withdrawal from the war (negotiations were entrusted to M. Antonescu). Nevertheless, during his meeting with Hitler on April , , he met all of his economic demands.

On March 24, , Soviet troops entered Romania. In August , Soviet forces inflicted a heavy defeat on German and Romanian troops during the Jassy-Kishinev operation, and a rebellion broke out in Romania. On August 23, , Michael I called Antonescu to the palace, where the king demanded an immediate armistice with the Red Army. Antonescu refused, suggesting to entrench on the Focsani-Nemoloaia-Galati line and also stating that Germany, their ally, should be informed of the armistice 15 days in advance. After that, Antonescu was arrested by Major Anton Dumitrescu, and on August 24, Romania announced its withdrawal from the war. Subsequently, Antonescu was sent to the Soviet Union. After the war, he was handed over to the Romanian communist government. On May 17, , he was sentenced to death by a Romanian court in Bucharest and executed. In early , Antonescu was rehabilitated by a Romanian court.