Bukovina Governorate

The Bukovina Governorate (Romanian: Guvernământul Bucovinei; Ukrainian: Губернаторство Буковина) was an administrative unit of Romania during the Second World War.

Administrative divisions of the Bukovina Governorate

Background and history

In 1775, the region of Bukovina, historically part of the Romanian principality of Moldavia became part of the Habsburg Monarchy, which would start a strong process of Ukrainization. Years later, in 1812, Moldavia also lost Bessarabia to the Russian Empire. In 1859, Moldavia united with another Romanian principality, Wallachia, creating the modern Romanian state. During the First World War, Romania was promised the obtaining of, among other territories, Bukovina as a condition for entering the war. It ended in victory for the country, and the region declared unification with Romania on 28 November 1918.[1][2]

The earlier incorporation of another territory, Bessarabia, in Romania, strained relations between the country and the Soviet Union. Romania tried to defend and secure its new borders during the interwar period with the help of France and the United Kingdom, but at the start of the Second World War, Romania was left defenseless and in a 1940 ultimatum, the Soviet Union demanded and received Bessarabia and also Northern Bukovina as "compensation" for the "great loss brought to the Bessarabian population".[1][2]

After this, Romania joined the Axis powers after territorial adjustments with Hungary and Bulgaria. This alliance would invade the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941,[1][2] although Romanian military operations only began on 2 July. After a few weeks, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were recaptured and integrated back to Romania. Subsequently, the Transnistria Governorate would also be established, but it was never formally annexed unlike the other two regions.[3]

Although Bukovina and Bessarabia had been recovered, it was decided that the regions would not be directly integrated into Romania, but would remain as autnomous "related" regions ruled by a governor (governorates). The five Romanian interwar counties of the region of Bukovina (Câmpulung, Cernăuți, Rădăuți, Storojineț and Suceava), as well as the Hotin County of northern Bessarabia and posteriorly, the Dorohoi County, formed the new Bukovina Governorate. It had three governors: Alexandru Rioșanu, who died in office, Corneliu Calotescu and Corneliu Dragalina.[3][4] Ion Antonescu, the leader of Romania, was sure that Nazi Germany would win the war until the Battle of Stalingrad, which was a failure for the Axis. He realized after this that German victory would be impossible and began to reinforce the east of the country.[1] In July 1943, the evacuation of Transnistria was ordered, and subsequent developments of the war forced Antonescu to evacuate the Bukovina Governorate as well in November of the same year. This operation was called "Operation 1111 B" ("B" for Bukovina).[5]

In the end, a 1944 coup ended with Antonescu's overthrow by the King Michael I and Romania changed sides and joined the Allies, giving up Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia to the Soviets "in exchange" for Northern Transylvania's recovery from Hungary.[1]

See also

References
  1. Hitchins, Keith (2014). A concise history of Romania. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–327. ISBN 9780521872386.
  2. Șandru, Florin (2013). "Political and cultural evolution of the Romanians in the Romanian ancestral territories of Bessarabia and Bukovina over the course of time". Bulletin of "Carol I" National Defense University. 2 (1): 46–65.
  3. Scurtu, Ioan (2015). "Basarabia în documente semnate de marile puteri (1920-1947)". Revista de Istorie a Moldovei (in Romanian). 93 (1): 76–85.
  4. Cărare, Livi (2010). "Considerații privind procesul de ghetoizare a evreilor din Cernăuți" (PDF). Institutul de Istorie "George Barițiu", Cluj-Napoca (in Romanian). 49: 99–107.
  5. Cazacu, Elena (2018). "Evacuarea provinciei Bucovina în primăvara lui 1944: Pregătirea Operațiunii 1111 B". Arhivele Totalitarismului (in Romanian). 100 (3–4): 98–107.

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