Vin Americanii!
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("The Americans are coming!") was a slogan used in
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
in the 1940s and 1950s, encapsulating the hope that an American-led invasion of
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
would topple the
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
-backed,
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
-dominated
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
installed in early 1945. This notion helped sustain an anti-communist resistance movement and emboldened the civilians who aided it.


Resistance groups

The expectation of the resistance groups that had withdrawn into the mountains was that World War III would break out between the British and the Americans on one side and the Soviets on the other. Under that scenario, the Soviet troops then occupying Romania would be driven out by the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
with help from the local resistance. Groups in
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
were prepared to eliminate communist officials as soon as war began, and take control of their particular region. They built supply lines with the local population, gathered armaments, munitions and money, and developed plans to attack institutions and communications networks. They were a prime target of the Securitate, which viewed them as agents of the American imperialists seeking to destabilise the regime. There were smaller groups who fled to the mountains simply to avoid persecution without plans to topple the government, but they too hoped their efforts would be rewarded by America. For instance, the Arnota group hid in the mountains of northern
Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...
in winter 1949, planning to resist until a US invasion, which they expected that summer. After their capture in April, one of their members told Securitate investigators, "the goal of setting up in the mountains was to remain until around June, when we were told... an armed intervention by the Americans would take place, which would overthrow the regime, the only ones who would do it, because a domestic intervention has no chance of succeeding..." Resistance groups uniformly saw American aid as vital to their success. One of the accusations put forth at the trial of the ''Sumanele Negre'' group was that its members had developed contacts with American intelligence officers, together studying the possibility of collaborating and coming up with a plan to overthrow the regime. This accusation was repeated for most groups captured later on.Barbu, p.49 American sources confirm the fact that the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
tried to develop links with Romanian partisans at the end of the 1940s. The Office of Policy Coordination recruited Romanian refugees in
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
starting in 1949. The latter were ready to establish contacts with resistance groups, whom they intended to supply with light arms, munitions, radio transmitters and medicines. To this end, the OPC created training camps in
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,
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, and
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, where recruits learned how to use radio transmitters and make parachute jumps. The ''Graiul Sângelui'' organisation, led by professor Ion Vulcănescu and retired general
Nicolae Ciupercă Nicolae Ciupercă (20 April 1882 – 25 May 1950) was a Romanian general, born in Râmnicu Sărat. He served during World War I and World War II under the command of Alexandru Averescu and then Ion Antonescu, but would retire from a military ...
sought to facilitate the actions of American airborne troops which they hoped were to land in Romania. In the autumn of 1948, the organisation was disbanded by the Securitate and its leaders were arrested, tried, and condemned to long prison terms. Exiled former
Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...
members, working with American and French officers, developed a plan of their own, involving the parachuting of 50 men into Romania who would then contact mountain resistance groups. Preparations took place in the French Occupation Zone of Germany, around
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and in the south of France, with a focus on parachute jumping, night-time orientation, and shooting. Parachute jumps happened especially in Transylvania between 1950 and 1953, but many of those who dropped in were caught by the Securitate. 10 or 13 of them were executed in 1953, and recruitment ceased the following year. The mountain groups placed great hope on the parachutes, awaiting money, arms, and munitions, but especially the signal that America was about to go to war. For instance, in the early 1950s, the Ion Gavrilă group in the
Făgăraș Mountains The Făgăraș Mountains ( ; ) are the highest mountains of the Southern Carpathians, in Romania. Geography The mountain range is situated in the heart of Romania, at . The range is bordered in the north by the Făgăraș Depression, through wh ...
tried contacting the Romanian National Committee in the United States, sending them a letter with the geographic coordinates where food and arms should be dropped. The group also tried sending a letter to the American legation in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
in 1955, describing its harsh living conditions.Barbu, p.50 American planes were also eagerly awaited by peasants and shepherds who helped the partisans, not only for political reasons, but also because the latter took food from them, promising to pay using money found in parachuted parcels. In 1953, for instance, the Gavrilă and Gheorghe ArsenescuToma Arnăuțoiu groups promised local shepherds they would pay the considerable sum of 100 lei per kilogram of cheese if a package containing 250,000 lei were found. This shows that as late as 1953, resistance groups and those who helped them were still motivated by the hope that the United States had not forgotten them. The Securitate was aware of this: in 1953, a report on the Gavrilă group claimed it was aided by "enemy elements, with a philo-American mentality".Barbu, p.51 The activity of the resistance groups was directly linked to the hope that "the Americans are coming". Many Romanians believed these groups had close links to representatives from Washington and that an action leading to the regime's fall was only a matter of time. Western radio stations, first
Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...
, the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, and later
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long maintained hope in an American intervention to free Eastern Europe. For resistance members, this conviction helped them continue their fight in dire conditions. For instance, historian Radu Ciuceanu, who was with a resistance group in the mountains at the time, says that if the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
had attacked Western Europe, as he expected then, the Romanian anti-communists could have freed the country from the influence of Moscow, with the victory of the West. In June 1949, during the trial of the partisans from Banat, a student from Făgăraș, Andrei Hașu, asked his colleagues: "People die in Banat and we sit and wait! What are we waiting? For the Americans to come?"


General population

A January 1946 article in the popular magazine ''Viața Românească'' suggested that Romanians had been awaiting Americans' arrival since
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and hyperbolically presented the "benefits" of the bombing of Bucharest: "We waited for a long time and most of us thought we had waited in vain... But behold, something did come. These planes. Apparently destructive, they in fact brought salvation. Each American bomb was dropped in the service of high ideals of humanity, freedom, respect for human dignity and security". The Soviet occupation, ''de facto'' begun in late August 1944, launched the "vin americanii" hope in earnest, but this was accentuated after November 1946, when the Communists won an election through intimidation and probable fraud, liquidated the opposition
National Peasants' Party The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; , or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an Agrarianism, agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It was formed in 1926 throu ...
in July 1947, and forced
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
to abdicate that December. These events made Romanians realise that Communism could only be defeated through outside intervention. As American envoy Rudolf E. Schoenfeld reported in August 1948, "The most frequently heard question addressed by a Romanian to an American, when he dares speak to one, is: Why don't you do anything?" According to archives of the
Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...
, which took the possibility of intervention seriously, anti-communist and anti-Soviet statements by people were common in 1946–47, and truly widespread in 1948. Quite often, these statements expressed hope that the King and the historic political parties would come back to rule after an American intervention. In 1946, rumour that war would begin was persistent, and would be continually recorded until 1950. Some believed the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty in February 1947 meant war; in May that year, it was thought Americans had bombed Soviet troops near
Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...
; while that summer, rumours of an imminent war were prevalent in the northwest of the country. In advance of the farcical 1948 election, numerous pro-American leaflets and graffiti were discovered, which continued into the next year. Among the messages found were "long live the republicans until the arrival of the Americans" and, written in Hungarian in Miercurea-Ciuc, "long live the American and British armies that will free the people from communist dictatorship". Invasion rumours were often very precise, specifying the date and manner armed intervention would take. One scenario involved troops disembarking ''en masse'' at
Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...
on the
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, brought over from
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or
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. Another saw as many as 60,000 airplanes bombing strategic targets and driving out the Communists. Voice of America reports were amplified or distorted: for instance, when news of King Michael's meeting with
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
was broadcast in April 1948, it was said in
Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...
that the latter had assured him he would soon regain his throne, and in Bucharest, that he would be back home before
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
. In 1949, the communist authorities started the collectivization of agriculture. In the village of Cufoaia, in
Maramureș County Maramureș County () is a county (județ) in Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian as Мараморо́щ ...
, Alecsa Bel, a wealthy peasant and the mayor of the locality from 1940 to 1946, refused to join the collective farm. He had an unwavering conviction that the Americans had to come, to get rid of the Russians, and he manifested this conviction in public, telling everyone that "the Americans are coming", that he had heard that on the crystal radio, where he listened to Western stations. For his stances, Bel paid with his life; apprehended at home, he was shot by the Securitate on Christmas Day, 1949. At the 4th World Festival of Youth and Students in 1953, a number of young Romanians approached Western journalists, given a rare opportunity to make their opinions known to the outside world. They tended to be discouraged but still awaited American help, a hope boosted by the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. One of them gave a written message to a US journalist: "Romanians put all their hopes in the American people. Everyone has understood that 1953 is the year of liberation. The Romanian people remains silent, with an open wound. But at the first chance we get, we will erupt. You have already seen the misery in which Romanian peasants live. They are ready to destroy communism at the first opportunity. Please transmit to the American people the greetings of Romanians subjugated by the red beasts".


Disillusionment

Anticipation gradually gave way to resignation and disappointment as the 1950s wore on. For instance, ex-
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Constantin Argetoianu exclaimed in April 1950 (a month before being arrested and sent to Sighet Prison): "Even if they came with a wheelbarrow, they would have arrived by now." But it was only after the failure of the United States to intervene during the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...
that hope for similar action in Romania was swept away. As historian Florin Constantinescu notes, "A strange phenomenon of collective psychology was the strong and enduring belief that the West and above all the US would pull Romania from beneath the Soviet boot. 'Vin americanii' was an expression that summarized a political attitude but also a state of mind. These resisted all proof of disinterest in Western capitals toward the countries left behind the '
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...
' and only after the crushing of the Hungarian revolution by the Red Army in 1956, beneath the passive gaze of the West, did Eastern Europeans, among them Romanians, begin to abandon their hopes and face reality". People turned to different ways of coping: flight, or the hope of flight; mental escape (Western music, yoga, bridge); and adopting Western lifestyles, to the extent this was possible. In 2005, the Americans announced that an accord was reached allowing them a permanent base at Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport ( RoAF 57th Air Base) near Constanța. The Communist regime had long since been overthrown, however, and the expression "" was used in a more jocular or ironic fashion this time around. A similar pattern took place in 2011 when the United States announced plans to set up a
NATO missile defence system The NATO missile defense system is a missile defense system being constructed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in several member states and around the Mediterranean Sea. Plans for this system have changed several times since fir ...
in Deveselu Commune ( Deveselu Military Base). The 2007 film '' California Dreamin''' also plays on the theme: one of its protagonists suffered as a boy during the bombing of Bucharest and his parents, who eagerly awaited the Americans, were instead arrested by the Soviets, so he is quite resentful toward the American troops who finally arrive in his village in 1999 to take part in operations for the
Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
. Additionally, the phrase was associated with
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
's wildly popular Bucharest concerts, with emblematic products such as
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
and
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and with popular culture offerings such as soap operas and
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. The expression is also used jocularly to refer to the vain hope that somebody else will magically solve an entire country's problems; the sentiment is captured by the pop-rock band
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in the lyrics of their song, "Criogenia salvează România" ("Cryogenics saves Romania") The 2016 documentary (directed by Dragoș Zămosteanu) presents the story of , who stood out through her guerrilla activity in
Maramureș ( ; ; ; ) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, along parts of the upper Tisza River drainage basin; it covers the Maramureș Depression and the ...
, and led the anti-communist partisans in the Țibleș Mountains. In February 2022,
Vasile Dîncu Vasile Sebastian Dîncu (; born 25 November 1961) is a Romanian politician, sociologist, professor and writer who served as Deputy Prime Minister in the Cioloș Cabinet and was Minister of National Defence in the Ciucă Cabinet. Biography Va ...
, the Romanian
Defense Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...
, announced that "The Americans have arrived," in reference to over 100 US soldiers arriving in Romania to bolster
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
allies in Eastern Europe amid the prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; this was interpreted by some in the local media as a reference to .


See also

* Western betrayal, for similar feelings in other European countries. *
Romania–United States relations Relations between Romania and the United States were formally established in 1880, with the appointment of Eugene Schuyler, a renowned and talented diplomat and historian, as the first American diplomatic representative to Romania. After Romania ...
* The Russians are coming


Notes


References

*


External links

* * {{cite journal, first=Gheorghe, last=Onișoru, title="Vin americanii" – de la speranță la deziluzie în România postbelică, trans-title="The Americans are coming" – from hope to disillusionment in post-war Romania, lang=ro, journal=Anuarul Institutului de Istorie A. D. Xenopol, volume=31, year=1994, pages=133–146 Romanian political catchphrases Romania–United States relations Romanian anti-communist resistance movement Socialist Republic of Romania