Transnistria Governorate Guvernământul Transnistriei
Governorate of Romania
1941–1944
Flag Coat of arms
Administrative map of the Transnistria Governorate
Capital	Odesa
Area
• 1941[1][2]	39,733 km2 (15,341 sq mi)
Population
• 1941[1][2]	2,326,226
Government
• Type	Military–civilian administration
Governor
• 1941–1944	Gheorghe Alexianu
• 1944	Gheorghe Potopeanu
Historical era	World War II
• Established	19 August 1941
• Disestablished	1 April 1944
Preceded by Succeeded by Ukrainian SSR Moldavian SSR Ukrainian SSR Moldavian SSR Army Group Rear Area Command
Today part of	Moldova (Transnistria) Ukraine

The Transnistria Governorate (Romanian: Guvernământul Transnistriei) was a Romanian-administered territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. A Romanian civilian administration governed the territory from 19 August 1941 to 29 January 1944. A brief military administration followed, during which the Romanians withdrew from the region by late March 1944. German control became official on 1 April 1944.

Limited in the west by the Dniester river (separating it from Bessarabia), in the east by the Southern Bug river (separating it from the German Reichskommissariat Ukraine), and in the south by the Black Sea, it comprised the present-day region of Transnistria (which compared to the World War II whole is only a small strip along the bank of the Dniester) and territories further east (modern Odesa Oblast eastward of the Dniester, southern Vinnytsia Oblast and a small part of Mykolaiv Oblast), including the Black Sea port of Odesa, which became the administrative capital of Transnistria during World War II.

In World War II, the Kingdom of Romania, persuaded and aided by Nazi Germany, took control of Transnistria for the first time in history. In August 1941, Adolf Hitler persuaded Ion Antonescu to take control of the territory as a substitute for Northern Transylvania, occupied by Miklós Horthy's Hungary following the Second Vienna Award. Despite the Romanian administration, the Kingdom of Romania did not formally incorporate Transnistria into its administrative framework; the Nazi-friendly Antonescu government hoped to annex the territory eventually, but developments on the Eastern Front precluded it.^[3]

Romanian conquest of Transnistria

Following the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, a strong concentration of Soviet troops became present on the border with Romania. Nazi Germany wanted Romania as an ally in the war against the Soviet Union for fear that the Soviets were a threat to the Romanian oilfields.^[4] Romania in turn aligned their foreign policy with Germany for an assurance against the Soviet Union.^[5] With regards to Operation Barbarossa, Antonescu accepted Hitler's ideas that the conflict was a "race war" between the Aryans, represented by the Nordic Germans and Latin Romanians on the Axis side vs. the Slavs and Asians, commanded by the Jews on the Soviet side.^[6] Romania in turn committed two armies for the invasion of the Soviet Union, totaling over 300,000 troops between them.^[7] For their commitment, Romania was promised Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the area between Dniester and Southern Bug.^[8] On 19 August 1941, Germany and Romania signed an agreement placing Transnistria under the authority of the latter. Altogether, the area amounted to 39,733 square km.^[9]

Antonescu's personal project

The creation of a separate Romanian occupation area was Ion Antonescu's initiative. German leadership was divided about allowing Romania such privilege. Even Hitler, who encouraged Romanian eastward expansion, originally meant to award eastern territories after the war. However, Antonescu's stubborn insistence eventually swayed the Germans. While refusing to declare Transnistria's annexation, Antonescu instructed its Governor to work in Transnistria "as if Romania had been installed in those territories for two million years". Part of Romania's grand strategy was to use Transnistria as a bargaining chip at the end of the war to obtain various gains, from Russia or Ukraine or possibly from Germany and Hungary. Romania's immediate aims, however, stemmed from Ion Antonescu's acute inferiority complex. His perception was that his beloved country was being looked down upon by other European countries. From his perspective, raising Romania's ranking required it ruling over other peoples, in an orderly, efficient and "civilized" manner, comparable to how other European states ruled over their Asian and African subjects. According to Antonescu's own words: "Yes. The whole prestige of this country is engaged in Transnistria. We have to demonstrate that we are able to administer a larger country.". Civil service in Transnistria would paradoxically surpass in quality its counterpart within Romania itself. On 19 August 1941, Antonescu decreed the creation of the Romanian Administration in Transnistria.^[10]

Siege of Odessa

During the first week of the advance, in mid-August 1941, Romanian forces took over all of the region, except for a small area around Odessa, without a fight. At the time, the Romanians had 60,000 soldiers to conquer the city from its 34,000 defenders. However, the organization was so poor, and the command was so superficial, that the initial assault on the city failed, resulting in a siege.^[11] Exploiting this success, the Soviets bolstered the cities defenses with naval marines, warships and paratroopers.^[12] Multiple attempts by the Romanian Fourth Army failed and a siege ensured.^[13] German forces were brought into the reinforce the attackers and eventually in October 1941 after two months of fighting, the Romanian army took control of the city. Casualties were significant with Romanian losses standing at 90,020 casualties.^[14]

Once Romanian troops entered Odessa, they established the headquarters of two of their divisions in the local NKVD building. However, the building was mined by the Soviets, who blew it up, killing over 61 troops, including 16 officers and one general.^[15] In reprisal, Ion Antonescu ordered the arrest and massacre of civilians suspected of aiding the Red Army. When it became clear that identifying individuals directly responsible for the incident would be almost impossible, Antonescu ordered the shooting of Jews. The massacre that followed resulted in 100,000 civilians killed, the majority of whom had nothing to do with the military action. A further number of Odessa Jews were deported to ghettos and concentration camps in the northern half of the region.^[16]

A Soviet partisan movement was active in the Odessa catacombs from October 1941 to 1944 with varying levels of activity. Romanian troops attempted to flush the partisans out with chemical weapons and by sealing off as many exits as they could. The catacombs were never completely cleared, however the impact of these partisan movements were not significant.^[17][18]

Diplomatic clashes with the Germans

The borders of Transnistria were for the most part natural and self-evident: the Black Sea (south) along with the rivers Bug (east) and Nistru (west). The problem of Transnistria's northern border caused some friction between the Germans and Romanians. The latter wanted to push the border north of the town of Zhmerynka (Romanian: Jmerinca), a strategically important railway hub. The Germans resisted at first, but ultimately conceded. Another point of contention was Antonescu's decision to create a civil administration for the region, directly subordinated to himself. This effectively removed the region's administration from Wehrmacht control. Although consternated, the Germans could only acquiesce. Initially, the railways in the region remained under German control. After months of negotiations, the railways were taken over by the Romanian State in March 1942. The Romanians initially agreed to leave the port of Odessa under German control. This was because there were not enough Romanian engineers to repair the Soviet-inflicted damage. According to Antonescu, Hitler asked his permission to let the Germans use the port, implying recognition for Romania's sovereignty. On 10 June 1942, the Romanians gained control of the port of Odessa from the Germans. From early October 1942 to the end of their rule over the region, the Romanians had no major problems with the Germans.^[19]

Status with respect to Romania proper

Albeit not annexing the region outright, the Romanian Antonescu government organized the territory in the Guvernământul Transnistriei under Romanian governor, Gheorghe Alexianu.^[3]

The Nazi-allied Antonescu government hoped to annex the territory eventually, but developments on the Eastern Front precluded it.^[3]

Romanian opposition parties were against Romanian operations beyond Bessarabia and Bukovina.^[3] Two eminent political figures of the day, Iuliu Maniu and Constantin Brătianu, declared that "the Romanian people will never consent to the continuation of the struggle beyond our national borders."^[20]

Administrative divisions

The territory was divided into 13 counties (sing. Județ). Below these were subdivisions named Municipiu, Oraș and Raion.

Counties

• Ananiev (Ananiv)
• Balta (Balta)
• Berezovca (Berezivka)
• Dubăsari
• Golta (Golta)
• Jugastru (Yampil)
• Movilău (Mohyliv-Podilskyi)
• Oceacov (Ochakiv)
• Odesa (Odesa)
• Ovidiopol (Ovidiopol)
• Rîbnița
• Tiraspol
• Tulcin (Tulchyn)

Raions and towns

• Județul Moghilău (Moghilău)
  • Orașul Moghilău
  • Orașul Șmerinca
  • Raionul Balchi
  • Raionul Copaigorod
  • Raionul Crasnoe
  • Raionul Iarișev
  • Raionul Sargorod
  • Raionul Șmerinca
  • Raionul Stanislavcic
• Județul Tulcin (Tulcin)
  • Orașul Moghilău
  • Raionul Șmerinca
  • Raionul Braslav
  • Raionul Spicov
  • Raionul Trostineț
  • Raionul Tulcin
• Județul Jugastru (Iampol)
  • Orașul Iampol
  • Raionul Cernovăț
  • Raionul Crijopol
  • Raionul Iampol
  • Raionul Tomaspol
• Județul Balta (Balta)
  • Orașul Balta
  • Orașul Berșad
  • Raionul Balta
  • Raionul Berșad
  • Raionul Cicelnic
  • Raionul Obadovca
  • Raionul Olgopol
  • Raionul Pesceana
  • Raionul Savrani
• Județul Râbnița (Râbnița)
  • Orașul Bârzula
  • Orașul Râbnița
  • Raionul Bârzula
  • Raionul Camenca
  • Raionul Codâma
  • Raionul Piesceanca
  • Raionul Râbnița
• Județul Golta (Golta)
  • Orașul Golta
  • Raionul Crivoe-Oziero
  • Raionul Domaniovca
  • Raionul Golta
  • Raionul Liubașovca
  • Raionul Vradievca
• Județul Ananiev (Ananiev)
  • Orașul Ananiev
  • Raionul Ananiev
  • Raionul Cernova
  • Raionul Petroverovca
  • Raionul Sfânta Troițca
  • Raionul Siraievo
  • Raionul Valea Hoțului
• Județul Dubăsari (Dubăsari)
  • Orașul Dubăsari
  • Orașul Grigoriopol
  • Raionul Ciorna
  • Raionul Dubăsari
  • Raionul Grigoriopol
  • Raionul Ocna
  • Raionul Zaharievca
• Județul Tiraspol (Tiraspol)
  • Municipiul Tiraspol
  • Raionul Grosulova
  • Raionul Razdelnaia
  • Raionul Selz
  • Raionul Slobozia
  • Raionul Tebricovo
  • Raionul Tiraspol
• Județul Ovidiopol (Ovidiopol)
  • Orașul Ovidiopol
  • Raionul Balaevca
  • Raionul Franzfeld
  • Raionul Ovidiopol
  • Raionul Vigoda
• Județul Odesa (Odesa)
  • Municipiul Odesa
  • Raionul Antono-Codincevo
  • Raionul Blagujevo
  • Raionul Ianovca
  • Raionul Odesa
• Județul Berezovca (Berezovca)
  • Orașul Berezovca
  • Raionul Berezovca
  • Raionul Landau
  • Raionul Mostovoi
  • Raionul Veselinovo
• Județul Oceacov (Oceacov)
  • Orașul Oceacov
  • Raionul Crasna
  • Raionul Oceacov
  • Raionul Varvarovca

Population

In December, 1941 Romanian authorities conducted a census in Transnistria and the ethnic structure was as follows:^[21]

Romanian urban population (December, 1941 census)^[22]22">edit