Evening star., 1944-09-10

men. Then he spent fspo days
NTH younC King Michael and
| Queen Mother Helem.j
| by JOSEPH MORTON.
| tCopyrisht. 1914, by Associated PrssJ
BUCHAREST, Sept. I Delayed
"A handsome young king, the tifes
Of his automobile screaming q he
whipped out Of the palace driveway
and drove OF into the night, ex-
changing shots with the enemy.
The stately queen mother riding
through the blackness to keep .
rendezvous with her son. lingering .
small pistol in, her lap, vowing to
shoot first.
An iron-fisted dictator stripped Of
his power. apoplectic with rage,
then cooled on in fireproof vault
built to hold the royal stamp coll
lection.
This was Romania the evening Of
August 23-the historic hour when
a small group Of determined young
men transformed her from q dc
tatorship working for Hitler into q
professedly liberal monarchy seek
ing to range herself with the
United Nations.
The full story Of this adventurous
coup d'etat has been given the As
sociated Press.
Reporter Sees King.
Twenty-year-old King Michael
and his mother, Queen Helen, re-
ceived me at the country villa where
they are living temporarily and
provided many of the details.
Baron Ion Mocsonyi Styrcea,
youthful and dashing marshal Of
the court and mystery man behind
the scenes, reenacted in the palace
itself some of the events of that
fateful evening. Other officers of
the court and members Of the gov
eminent helped me put details to-
gether while they were still fresh Ia
their minds.
This is the story as they gave It
to me:
No less than seven times, they
said, the king and his young collab-
orators had planned similar coups,
the first early in l942. In most of
these coups the dictator, Marshal
Ion Antonescu, friend of the Axis,
was to have been overthrown. In
two or three 1t was planned that he
should be forced to break with Ger
many. For one reason or another,
all failed, but the circle Of palace
plotters remained intact In spite of
everything the marshal could do to
break 1t up.
Michael Is Central Figure.
The central figure during all this
intrigue. the young king, kept his
young advisers close around him,
meanwhile provoking the German
minister by speaking English to
them, by riding around in an Amer
ican teep, by openly befriending Al
he'd fighters shot down In bomber
raids over the country.
A secret radio set helped him
maintain contact with the United
N151dn. III a Unrest hidnnM "a
airplane was kept in readiness I'm
the event that complications forced
him to fee. ~sf4 y
( The Russian Army,s southwestern
sefeA farting sa1slguue - peA.
ctpitatsdr the eighth attempt. n
was first set for August rs. But
while preparations were in an early
stage, Baron Styrcea, visiting a doc
tors ONCE at the same time as anl
aide of Antonescu's, overheard aI
telephone call that changed the
plan.
He learned that the marshal was
planning to leave shortly for the
front-where he would be out of
reach. So the date was moved up.
On August % after q late lunch,
Michael sent for Antonescu. He
arrived an hour late, following to
the letter his practice of keeping the
king waiting. He left his bullet
proof automobile, with glass an inch
thick. gift from Hitler, in the
courtyard. Several other automobiles
loaded with bodyguards parked
behind it.
King Awaits Dictator.
The king waited In his comfortable
stucco residence behind the main
palace buildings. He stood in his
study, Gen. Constantin Sanatescu
beside him. Across the hall in an
other chamber sat Styrcea, Gregoire
Nicolescu Buzeti, young diplomat
destined to become foreign minister,
and 20-year-old Mirce Ionnitiu, the
kings secretary and constant COM
panion. In third room an officer
and three members of the kings
own palace battalion stood by.
Through window Michael
watched the hard-featured marshal
-the man who had kept him a vir-
tual prisoner for four years-walk
across the lawn from the palace
When Antonescu came in they shook
hands.
From room across the hall one
of the conspirators-chosen for the
task because his shoes didn't squeak
-tiptoed to a side door to listen.
With the stage thus set, one of
the most important events in Ro-
mania's history took place.
This is what happened Gas re-
ported by Michael HIMSELF:
Michael: 'I have a wire from
the front and the situation looks
disastrous. What are you going to
do about it7 Are you or are you
not going through with the ar
mistice?"
Conditions to Be Met.
Antonescu: YES. I am going
through with 1t, but there are some
conditions to be met. I want O.
guarantee from the Allies that they
will land in Romania and guaran-
tee it for us against the Russians"
Michael: THAT Is so absurd it
is not worth discussing. How do
you expect the Allies to guarantee
Us against their own allies?"
Antonescu: II will not move. II
necessary, I will retire to Transyl-
vania and fight there"
Michael: you will have to make
an armistice or resign. This time
you have gone too far"
At this point AntOnesc11'S y.isioc |