Bit of an unusual query here. I'm working on a novel tracking the adventures of a Polish fighter pilot as he fights the September 1939 campaign, escapes into Romania and gradually makes his way to Constanta to get a boat onwards to join French forces.
I've read lots of accounts from Polish POVs of pilots and others making their way in twos and threes through Romania with papers proclaiming them to be students or priests and wads of cash for bribing guards and officials.
What I'm trying to get hold of is the backdrop to this - I know that the Romanian PM Calinescu was generally sympathetic to the Polish cause and that the two nations had been formal allies for some years, but that he was deposed and murdered by the fascist Iron Guard late in September - about when my guy is trying to get from rural Romania into Bucharest, then out to Constanta. I also read in the Polish accounts that there were widely thought to be many Gestapo agents in Romania dedicated to finding these escapees.
So, I'm trying to get a feel for how dangerous the situation is for them - was the Iron Guard coup really just a change of regime in Bucharest at this stage or would every town and village have uniformed men on the street? Calinescu's government had turned an official blind eye to much escaping, as long as plausible deniability was maintained - how quickly did that change?
I'm envisaging my character arriving in Bucharest, blissfully unaware of what's been brewing, on the day of the assassination of Calinescu and with a suspected Gestapo agent in pursuit, and having to shake or dispose of the agent before he can rat them out to the trucks full of armed paramilitary thugs charging round the streets - then racing to get to Constanta before the new government can get men in place at the port to stop Poles leaving.
Does that sound remotely plausible?
Hello, maybe I can help a bit until a real historian can pitch in.
What I'm trying to get hold of is the backdrop to this - I know that the Romanian PM Calinescu was generally sympathetic to the Polish cause and that the two nations had been formal allies for some years, but that he was deposed and murdered by the fascist Iron Guard late in September - about when my guy is trying to get from rural Romania into Bucharest, then out to Constanta.
First of all, PM Calinescu was not deposed by the Iron Guard. He was assassinated by them but they did not get into government. Right after the event, the king (Charles II) ordered major reprisals against them and hundreds were rounded up and summarily executed. So to put it bluntly, right after the assassination the mood was decidedly anti Iron Guard with all the state aparatus moving to hunt them down. By some accounts the public opinion was very much against them and rooting for the Polish allies. The philo french and philo english sentiment in the country was really strong during that period and the pro-nazi elements were still contained.
was the Iron Guard coup really just a change of regime in Bucharest at this stage or would every town and village have uniformed men on the street? Calinescu's government had turned an official blind eye to much escaping, as long as plausible deniability was maintained - how quickly did that change?
As said before, the assassination of PM Calinescu did not lead to a change of government. The king appointed a new PM (Gheorghe Argeșanu) whose main task was to carry out the repressions against the legionnaires. Uniformed men from the civilian Police and not uniformed ones from the Secret Police might be on the streets hunting down said legionnaires and getting involved in shootouts with them but not going around to search for Polish soldiers on the run.
As for turning a blind eye to escapees, the Polish National Bank treasure was moved through Romania and went on board a British cargo vessel in Constanta while members of the Polish Government passed through as well. Strong German protests ensued but they were also exhausted after the Polish campaign and at the time they didn't have the means to pressure Romania into acting in any way hostile towards Polish refugees or retreating Army units. There is speculation that the Iron Guard was instructed by the Germans to make the hit on PM Calinescu for this reason. In any case I couldn't find any account of Romanian authorities trying to impede the movement of Polish units dissolving into the countryside south of the border. The situation might have changed in the summer of 1940 when Romania was carved up by Germany and USSR and a new government came into office containing some Iron Guard members. From this on and until January 1941 when they were put down for good they had pretty much free reign in the country to terrorise at will.
Regarding Gestapo agents, I found a fragment of the memoirs of the then chief of the Romanian Special Intelligence Service (SIS) that admitted to a Gestapo presence in the country that was working underground until september 1940 when they officially opened an office in Bucharest. Until then they were actively opposed by the SIS.
I'm envisaging my character arriving in Bucharest, blissfully unaware of what's been brewing, on the day of the assassination of Calinescu and with a suspected Gestapo agent in pursuit, and having to shake or dispose of the agent before he can rat them out to the trucks full of armed paramilitary thugs charging round the streets - then racing to get to Constanta before the new government can get men in place at the port to stop Poles leaving. Does that sound remotely plausible?
Well, if your guy sticks around until after July 1940 then you get trucks full of armed paramilitary thugs charging around the streets. If you wait past September then you might have more active Gestapo agents.
On the other hand, considering that tens of thousands of Polish refugees were housed in Romania and 120 000 Polish military men passed through Romania and Hungary to find a boat usually from Constanta to carry them to England, your guy should really be something special to warrant the Gestapo hunting him down.
If you find a good reason for him to stick around for long enough in Romania, you might have historical accuracy on your side but otherwise there would be little reason for him to have an action packed escape all the way to Constanta. There were so many Polish soldiers and refugees passing through and the authorities of the time as well as the public opinion were largely sympathetic to their cause.