Romanian bar?

[Eric Gaumann]

I'm pretty sure this is Romanian pre-WW2. Can anyone help identifying the individual medals please?

[Eric Gaumann]

reverse

reverses

[Dave Danner]

I'm pretty sure this is Romanian pre-WW2. Can anyone help identifying the individual medals please?

1. Order of the Star, Knight with Swords (one of the swords appears to be broken off)
2. Order of the Crown, Knight with Swords, on the war ribbon
3. Order of the Crown, Knight
4. Cross of Merit for Medical Personnel (AKA Cross of Sanitary Merit) in gold
5. Trans-Danube Cross, for the War 1877-78
6. Officer's 25 Years Long Service Decoration
7. Balkan War Commemorative Medal, 1913
8. World War I Commemorative Cross, with bars for ARDEAL, CARPATI, OITUZ, MARASESTI and 1918
9. World War I Inter-Allied Victory Medal
10. Carol I Jubilee Medal

[landsknechte]

..

[Eric Gaumann]

Thanks Dave! I didn't notice the broken sword. Ugh! That's tough to deal with. Strange to see both the blade *and* the hilt missing from one of two swords. Maybe it's a rare variation for a 'semi-military' officer?


Still a nice, old, bar.

[Eric Gaumann]

What's the difference between these two? They're both the Order of the Star of Romania, right? Is one a post-1918, non-imperial version?

[dragos03]

The first one (left) is a WW2 order of the star. The second is from WW1.

[Dave Danner]

Technically, it is the post and pre-1932 versions of the order, since this was also a peacetime award. The order was redesigned that year.

[Dave Danner]

For a clearer comparison, here are a Type I (pre-1932) Knight's Cross and a Type II (post-1932) Officer's Cross:

[Eric Gaumann]

Thanks for the comparison Dave.

Both are nice Orders, typical sweet enamal work. Any idea what the cypher on the Type 2 alludes to: King Joe Schmidt the First or dictator Josephus Smithus I Rex?
Also, I'd presume that in 1932 the royal Romanian political body was overthrown by some "democratic" rabble hence the difference in titles?

[Dave Danner]

Carol II became King in 1930. He was the oldest son of King Ferdinand I, who had died in 1927. As Carol had renounced his claim to the throne in 1925 over a scandal (the Magda Lupescu affair), between 1927 and 1930 Carol's son Michael (Mihai) was king under a regency. Carol deposed his son in 1930.

Having been diplomatically outmaneuvered and threatened into losing large chunks of the kingdom to Hungary and the USSR, Carol was forced to abdicate in 1940 by Marshal Ion Antonescu. Michael I became King again, ruling (nominally) until 1947. As far as I know, Michael still considers himself legitimately the King.

[dragos03]

King Carol II was a fan of decorations. He created many new awards, redesigned many of the older ones and changed their importance in the order's list. He even created a medal called "Remembering King Carol II", with 3 classes, although he was still young.
Also, he liked to award medals and orders "as a gift", without papers.
Besides Mihai I (who became an ally of the ruling party and abandoned all his old supporters) there are a few other sons and grandsons of Carol II (from his mistresses) who claim to be the king.
Mihai I met this year with president Iliescu (an old communist) and the surviving knights of the Order of Michael the Brave and was presented as a hero, who saved Romania in WW2. This is ridiculous, because over 100.000 Romanian soldiers died because of his actions and the country fell under communist rule.

[Dave Danner]

Mihai I met this year with president Iliescu (an old communist) and the surviving knights of the Order of Michael the Brave and was presented as a hero, who saved Romania in WW2. This is ridiculous, because over 100.000 Romanian soldiers died because of his actions and the country fell under communist rule.

More the case that they died because of his inactions, though what he could have done is debateable. I suspect that had he tried to stand up to Antonescu, the Conducator* and his allies would have arranged for Mihai's early departure from the throne, if not life in general.

* For the non-Romanians, Marshall Antonescu's title of Conducatorul, or "the Leader" (more fully Conducatorul statului, "the Leader of the State"), would be the Romanian equivalent of Der Führer or Il Duce. Ante Pavelic, the ruler of the Independent State of Croatia, gave himself a similar title - Poglavnik.

[dragos03]

I meant the 160000 soldiers who were captured or killed by the Russians after 23 August 1944. The king ordered an armistice without talking with the Soviets first. Our troops had orders to stop the fight but the Soviet army was ordered to continue the attack. Only a few of them returned from the siberian camps.
The king is entirely responsible for their deaths. He received the Pobeda order while his soldiers froze to death in the camps.