<P> The report commissioned and accepted by the Romanian government in 2004 on the Holocaust concluded: </P> <P> Of all the allies of Nazi Germany, Romania bears responsibility for the deaths of more Jews than any country other than Germany itself . The murders committed in Iasi, Odessa, Bogdanovka, Domanovka, and Peciora, for example, were among the most hideous murders committed against Jews anywhere during the Holocaust . Romania committed genocide against the Jews . The survival of Jews in some parts of the country does not alter this reality . </P> <P> On 23 August 1944, with the Red Army penetrating German defenses during the Jassy--Kishinev Offensive, King Michael I of Romania led a successful coup against the Axis with support from opposition politicians and most of the army . Michael I, who was initially considered to be not much more than a figurehead, was able to successfully depose the Antonescu dictatorship . The King then offered a non-confrontational retreat to German ambassador Manfred von Killinger . But the Germans considered the coup "reversible" and attempted to turn the situation around by military force . The Romanian First, Second (forming), and what little was left of the Third and the Fourth Armies (one corps) were under orders from the King to defend Romania against any German attacks . King Michael offered to put the Romanian Army, which at that point had a strength of nearly 1,000,000 men, on the side of the Allies . Surprisingly, with the Red Army occupying parts of Romania, Stalin immediately recognized the king and the restoration of the conservative Romanian monarchy . (Deutscher, Stalin. 1967, p. 519) </P> <P> This resulted in a split of the country between those that still supported Germany and its armies and those that supported the new government, the latter often forming partisan groups and gradually gaining the most support . To the Germans the situation was very precarious as Romanian units had been integrated in the Axis defensive lines: not knowing which units were still loyal to the Axis cause and which ones joined the Soviets or discontinued fighting altogether, defensive lines could suddenly collapse . </P>

When did romania join the allies in ww2