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Born in Romania · Nationality Romanian — Politics / regimes / war

Mihai Antonescu

Authoritarian regimes, wars and mass atrocities Politics and government

Documented profile covering 10 controversies, including “Arrest following overthrow of Antonescu regime and trial before People's Tribunal” and “Death sentence and execution at Jilava”.

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Profile No. 2419 · Updated on 12 October 2026

10Documented controversies+ 1 background event

8Sources

1 followed by a conviction

§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology

I. Documented controversies

Case · 5 documented stages

Arrest following overthrow of Antonescu regime and trial before People's Tribunal

Conviction

23 August 1944–17 May 1946

Arrest following overthrow of Antonescu regime and trial before People's Tribunal

Conviction

Following King Michael's coup d'état on 23 August 1944, Mihai Antonescu was arrested alongside the regime's principal leaders. He was subsequently tried in 1946 as part of the 'Antonescu group' before the People's Tribunal.

Attribution: Accused

Sources · 2

[1]
United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumInternational Commission on the Holocaust in Romania — War Criminal TrialsOfficial documentVery high reliability
[2]
Radio România InternaționalExecuţia lotului AntonescuBroadcastHigh reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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17 May–1 June 1946

Death sentence and execution at Jilava

Conviction

Mihai Antonescu was sentenced to death for war crimes in the trial of the regime's principal leaders. After clemency was refused, he was executed by firing squad at Jilava on 1 June 1946 alongside Ion Antonescu, Gheorghe Alexianu and Constantin Vasiliu.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Accused

Sources · 3

[1]
Memorialul JilavaFortul 13 Jilava — memorial historyArchiveHigh reliability
[2]
Radio România InternaționalExecuţia lotului AntonescuBroadcastHigh reliability
[3]
United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumInternational Commission on the Holocaust in Romania — War Criminal TrialsOfficial documentVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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1941–1942

'Romanianisation' policy and forced transfer of Jewish businesses

Conviction

The regime organised the 'Romanianisation' of Jewish businesses and property. Figures used by Mihai Antonescu himself referred to hundreds of sales, often at ruinous prices for Jewish owners.

State of the evidence: Documented

Sources · 1

[1]
International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania / Jewish Virtual Library mirrorThe Exclusion of Jews from Romanian Society during the Antonescu RegimeArchiveHigh reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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8 July 1941

Explicit support for expulsion of Jews at July 1941 Council of Ministers meeting

Conviction

At a Council of Ministers meeting that he chaired in the Marshal's absence, Mihai Antonescu reiterated his support for the expulsion of Jews from Bessarabia and Bukovina.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumGhettos 1939–1945: New Research and Perspectives on Definition, Daily Life, and SurvivalArchiveVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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été–automne 1941

Deportations of Jews from Bessarabia and Bukovina to Transnistria

Conviction

Under the regime in which Mihai Antonescu held one of the highest positions, Jews from Bessarabia and northern Bukovina were deported en masse to Transnistria under deadly conditions.

State of the evidence: Documented

Sources · 2

[1]
United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumGhettos 1939–1945: New Research and Perspectives on Definition, Daily Life, and SurvivalArchiveVery high reliability
[2]
International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania / USHMMFinal Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in RomaniaOfficial documentVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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23 January–May 1942

Agreement in principle to German demands to include Romanian Jews in the 'Final Solution'

No legal proceedings

Mihai Antonescu negotiated repeatedly with Gustav Richter, an SS adviser on Jewish affairs. He formally accepted certain German demands and indicated that the Romanian government wished to rid itself of Jews from the Banat in particular.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
European Review of History / ScienceDirectIdeological Transfers and Bureaucratic Entanglements: Nazi ‘Experts’ on the ‘Jewish Question’ and Romanian-German Relations, 1940–1944Academic publicationVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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22 July 1942

Letter of 22 July 1942 giving Romanian consent to deportation to German camps

No legal proceedings

According to German archives and the historical commission's research, Mihai Antonescu gave Richter confirmation of government consent to the immediate deportation of Jews from southern Transylvania and the Banat, presented as consistent with the Marshal's wishes.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 3

[1]
European Review of History / ScienceDirectIdeological Transfers and Bureaucratic Entanglements: Nazi ‘Experts’ on the ‘Jewish Question’ and Romanian-German Relations, 1940–1944Academic publicationVery high reliability
[2]
International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania / USHMMFinal Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in RomaniaOfficial documentVery high reliability
[3]
Wilson CenterBetween Hungary and Romania: The Case of Southern Transylvania's Jews During the HolocaustOfficial documentHigh reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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été–September 1942

Preparation to deport almost all Romanian Jews to Bełżec

No legal proceedings

Romanian authorities, in coordination with German officials, prepared a plan to deport up to approximately 292,000 Jews to the Bełżec extermination centre, with very few exemptions. The arrangements were to be developed according to Mihai Antonescu's instructions.

State of the evidence: Documented

Sources · 1

[1]
International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania / USHMMFinal Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in RomaniaOfficial documentVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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September 1942

Vinnitsa meetings with Ribbentrop and German leaders on extermination and the war

No legal proceedings

Mihai Antonescu met Ribbentrop and other German officials several times in Vinnitsa. The issue of accelerating the extermination policy was explicitly discussed, and he did not reject the 'Final Solution' at that time.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania / USHMMFinal Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in RomaniaOfficial documentVery high reliability
[2]
European Review of History / ScienceDirectIdeological Transfers and Bureaucratic Entanglements: Nazi ‘Experts’ on the ‘Jewish Question’ and Romanian-German Relations, 1940–1944Academic publicationVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

8–13 October 1942

Suspension of deportations in autumn 1942

No legal proceedings

In October 1942, Mihai Antonescu announced that transports of Jews beyond the Dniester should be suspended, amid the deteriorating military position of the Axis, diplomatic pressure and domestic interventions.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Political responsibility

Sources · 2

[1]
European Review of History / ScienceDirectIdeological Transfers and Bureaucratic Entanglements: Nazi ‘Experts’ on the ‘Jewish Question’ and Romanian-German Relations, 1940–1944Academic publicationVery high reliability
[2]
International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania / USHMMFinal Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in RomaniaOfficial documentVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

II. Documented background

Documented biographical or institutional milestones (elections, appointments, foundings, acquisitions…). These are not controversies and are not counted as such.

1941–23 August 1944
Rise to centre of Antonescu regime as deputy prime minister and foreign minister
Mihai Antonescu became one of the principal civilian officials of Ion Antonescu's regime, simultaneously serving as deputy prime minister and foreign minister during the alliance with Nazi Germany.
Sources · 2
1. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum — International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania — War Criminal Trials
2. Radio România Internațional — Execuţia lotului Antonescu

III. Constellation of documented links

Linked profile (portrait or initials) — click to open it
Line width: number of documented references
Hover over or tap a line: controversies and sources

Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

List of documented links (1)

Ion Antonescu1 documented reference
- Death sentence and execution at Jilava Source ↗

IV. Has something changed?

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I. Documented controversies

Sources · 2

Sources · 3

Sources · 1

Sources · 1

Sources · 2

Sources · 1

Sources · 3

Sources · 1

Sources · 2

Sources · 2

II. Documented background

Rise to centre of Antonescu regime as deputy prime minister and foreign minister

III. Constellation of documented links

IV. Has something changed?

Support the archive