Romanian resistance movement during World War II

The Romanian resistance movement during World War II (Romanian: Mișcarea de rezistență din România) was a part of the anti-Axis resistance during World War II. This movement included both armed and unarmed actions by various resistance groups determined to overthrow the dictatorship of Ion Antonescu, which was allied with Nazi Germany, and to expel the Wehrmacht troops from the Kingdom of Romania. In Northern Transylvania, which was controlled by Nazi-aligned Hungary from 1940 to 1944, the resistance movement also sought the region's reintegration into Romania. Unlike other countries under Nazi occupation, no extensive partisan movement developed in the country.

The movement comprised several factions, including a predominantly political faction led by the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ), more militant groups influenced by the Romanian Communist Party (PCR), and various militaries and civilians without specific party affiliations. The PNȚ faction, which also received support from the National Liberal Party leadership, avoided direct confrontation with Antonescu and Germany, aiming instead to peacefully influence the dictator to relinquish his powers and withdraw from Germany's war effort. Throughout the conflict, this group maintained contact with Britain's Special Operations Executive, yet it resisted calls for acts of sabotage or violent uprisings. Conversely, the PCR faction, already banned prior to the war, achieved only limited success in sabotage operations. However, by 1944, it had established a few partisan groups and a significant paramilitary force. Unlike the PNȚ, the propaganda of the PCR and its affiliated organizations openly advocated for the regime's overthrow and active combat against German forces. Despite its support for the Soviet Union, the PCR struggled to establish consistent contact with the Soviets for most of the war. Romanian communists exiled in the Soviet Union before the war however helped the Soviet authorities establish two divisions made up of Romanian prisoners of war. Created in 1943, the two divisions ("Tudor Vladimirescu" and "Horea, Cloșca și Crișan") would eventually fight on the side of the Allies, initially under Soviet command, and later integrated into the Romanian Army.

Following the Axis defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad, a number of high-ranking officers loyal to King Michael I, who resented his reduction to figurehead status by Antonescu, joined the resistance. As the Soviet counter-offensive breached Romanian borders in the spring of 1944, these various resistance factions united to form the National Democratic Bloc in June. This coalition played a pivotal role in the overthrow of Antonescu by King Michael on August 23, subsequently supporting the Romanian Army in the liberation of the country from German occupation.