Romanian general
David Popescu
(25 May 1886 ? 11 April 1955) was a
Romanian
general during
World War II
and
Interior Minister
in 1940.
Biography
[
edit
]
He was born in 1886 in
Comarnic
,
Prahova County
,
Kingdom of Romania
, the son of Iulian (a priest) and Maria. He attended primary school in his hometown, and then went to the
Sfin?ii Petru ?i Pavel High School
[
ro
]
in
Ploie?ti
. He started military service in 1905, advancing to sergeant by 1906. After attending the Military School for Infantry and Cavalry Officers, he graduated in 1908 with the rank of second lieutenant; after further studies at the Special Infantry School, he was promoted to captain in 1912. In 1913 he fought with the 7th Regiment
Van?tori
in the
Second Balkan War
. Once Romania entered
World War I
on the side of the
Allies
in August 2016, Popescu fought in
Dobruja
as a battalion commander of the 40th Infantry Regiment.
[1]
He was wounded in action and sent to a hospital in
Ia?i
for treatment. Promoted to major in 1917, he spent the rest of the war instructing cadets in Ia?i and
Boto?ani
.
From 1921 to 1922, Popescu attended the
Military Academy of Turin
. After advancing in rank to lieutenant colonel in 1925, Popescu served as instructor at the
Higher War School
, and then as
military attache
in
Rome
from 1928 to 1930. During that period he was awarded the
Order of the Crown (Romania)
, Knight rank and the
Order of the Crown of Italy
, Officer rank. He was promoted to colonel in 1930, and
brigadier general
in 1938. He commanded the Guards Brigade from 1937 to 1939, after which he became the Deputy Chief of the General Staff and served as director of the
National Military Circle
, February?March 1939.
[2]
Popescu served as the
Minister of Internal Affairs
in the
Gigurtu cabinet
from July 4 to September 4, 1940, and in the
First Antonescu cabinet
from September 4 to September 14, 1940. In early July he helped manage the flow of refugees from
Bessarabia
and
Northern Bukovina
in the wake of the
Soviet annexation of those Romanian territories
.
[3]
On August 30, Popescu participated in a meeting of
King
Carol II
's Crown Council, where he was (alongside
Gheorghe Mihail
,
Nicolae P?i?
, and
Ernest Ballif
[
ro
]
) one of the four out of five military representatives who recommended accepting the provisions of the
Second Vienna Award
, by which Romania were to cede
Northern Transylvania
to
Hungary
.
[4]
On January 10, 1941 he was named commanding officer of the 11th Infantry Division of the
Romanian Armed Forces
. On May 9, 1941 he was awarded the
Order of the Star of Romania
, Commander rank.
[5]
Romania joined
Operation Barbarossa
on 22 June 1941 in order to reclaim the lost territories of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Popescu fought with his division in
Southern Bessarabia
and at the
Siege of Odessa
. On August 20 he was removed from the command of the division, and on August 31 he was dismissed and put into the reserves.
[6]
[1]
After
King Michael's Coup
of August 23, 1944, he was rehabilitated and promoted, first to
divisional general
and then to
army corps general
.
[1]
In 1946 Popescu was investigated by the
Bucharest People's Tribunal
in connection with
Ion Antonescu
's trial, but he was not arrested. After being denounced in 1950 as a "deadly enemy of communism", he was arrested and imprisoned at
Jilava Prison
. He was released on July 4, 1953, and acquitted of all charges.
[1]
He died in Bucharest in 1955.
[1]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Gheorghe, Constantin; ?erbu, Miliana.
"Mini?trii de interne (1862?2007). Mic? enciclopedie"
(PDF)
.
cultura.mai.gov.ro
(in Romanian). pp. 278?281. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on October 17, 2020
. Retrieved
October 17,
2020
.
- ^
"Conducere"
.
www.cmn.ro
(in Romanian). Cercul Militar Na?ional
. Retrieved
December 24,
2020
.
- ^
"Evacuarea teritoriilor romane?ti cedate in vara anului 1940"
(PDF)
.
biblioteca-digitala.ro
(in Romanian)
. Retrieved
October 17,
2020
.
- ^
Corneanu, Constantin (May 20, 2019).
"Eforturi politico-diplomatice pentru ap?rarea Romaniei Mari. 1918?1940"
.
aesgs.ro
(in Romanian)
. Retrieved
October 17,
2020
.
- ^
Decretul regal nr. 1.299 din 9 mai 1944 pentru acord?ri de decora?ii, publicat in
Monitorul Oficial
, anul CIX, nr. 109 din 10 mai 1941, partea I-a, p. 2.486.
- ^
Decretul Conduc?torului Statului nr. 2.554 din 12 septembrie 1941 pentru trecere in pozi?ie de rezerv? ?i de retragere, publicat in
Monitorul Oficial
, anul CIX, nr. 219 din 16 septembrie 1941, partea I-a, pp. 5.505-5.506.
External links
[
edit
]