Ponta: August 23, 1944 - reference point for Romania, due to King Mihai

August 23, 1944, was neither an act of treason nor the start of Romania's becoming a communist country, as it is attempted to be presented, it is our contribution to ending a devastating war, which took tens of millions of human lives, Prime Minister Victor Ponta says in a post on Facebook on Saturday.

"Today we celebrate 70 years since a historic act that served the national interest to the highest level and brought Romania to the Allies' camp, where the tradition of its alliances placed it in a natural manner. Confiscated and distorted by the communists, kept quiet in the post-revolution period, the day of August 23, 1944, is a major page of national history which we must know, understand and assume in all its complexity," Ponta underscores.

In the Prime Minister's opinion, when we speak of the act of August 23, 1944, "we cannot ignore the role played by Romania's sovereign at that time, King Mihai I."

"A major and decisive gesture of a 23-year-old young man who understood the danger his country and his people were in and acted bravely and with determination. The message His Majesty King Mihai I read on the radio on the evening of August 23 mentioned: "Romanians, in the harshest hour of our history, I have decided in complete understanding with My People that there is only one way for saving the Country from a total catastrophe: our leaving the alliance with the Axis powers and the immediate cessation of the war with the Allies...". The fact that history decided differently Romania's post-war fate it is a whole other thing and we must see the facts in all honesty and without any preconceived ideas. Beyond anything, let us honour the memory of all Romanians who died for their country, both on the eastern fronts and on the...