Gherman Pântea

Gherman Vasile Pântea (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡerman ˈpɨnte̯a]; surname also spelled Pîntea; Russian: Герман Васильевич Пынтя, romanized: German Vasilyevich Pyntya; Ukrainian: Герман Васильович Пинтя, romanized: Herman Vasylyovich Pyntia; May 13, 1894 – February 1, 1968) was a Bessarabian-born soldier, civil servant and political figure, active in the Russian Empire and Romania. As an officer of the Imperial Russian Army during most of World War I, he helped organize the committees of Bessarabian soldiers, oscillating between loyalty to the Russian Provisional Government and the cause of Bessarabian emancipation. Pântea was subsequently Military Director of the Moldavian Democratic Republic, answering to President Ion Inculeț. He personally created a Bessarabian defense force, tasked with combating Bolshevik subversion and Russian intimidation, but also braced for defeat after the October Revolution.

Gherman Pântea
Pântea in 1918
Mayor of Odesa
(Romanian-installed)
In office
1941–1944
Preceded byY. K. Chernytsa (Soviet)
Succeeded byV. P. Davydenko (Soviet)
19th Mayor of Chișinău
In office
1932–1932
Preceded byConstatin Ionescu
Succeeded byDimitrie Bogos
In office
1927–1928
Preceded bySebastian Teodorescu
Succeeded byIon Negrescu
In office
1923–1923
Preceded byVasile Bârcă
Succeeded byNicolae Bivol
Personal details
Born(1894-05-13)May 13, 1894
Zăicani, Russian Empire (now Moldova)
DiedFebruary 1, 1968(1968-02-01) (aged 73)
Bucharest, Socialist Republic of Romania
Resting placeBellu cemetery
AwardsOrder of St. George
Moldavian Order of St. Vladimir
Signature
Military service
Allegiance
Branch/service
Years of service
  • 1915–1917
  • 1917–1919
  • 1941
RankPodporuchik
Major
Battles/wars
  • World War II
    • Siege of Odessa (1941)

With some hesitance, Gherman Pântea endorsed the Republic's union with Romania, affiliating with the local Bessarabian Peasants' Party, then with Romania's National Liberals. Having parallel careers as teacher, lawyer and journalist, Pântea remained a presence in Romanian political life, as member of Parliament, negotiator of détente with the Soviet Union, and three times Mayor of Chișinău. He was however mistrusted for his defense of arrested Bolsheviks, his critique of centralized government, and his alleged corruption. During World War II, Pântea was Mayor of Odesa under a Romanian occupation. He intervened to save Jews from the 1941 Odessa massacre and the subsequent deportations to camps in Transnistria. He had a tumultuous relationship with Ion Antonescu, the Romanian dictator, and was kept in check by the occupation authority. His administration managed to set in motion a plan for Odesa, and helped the city overcome devastation through the adoption of free trade, but also created various controversies.

Pântea was long suspected of war crimes, and spent much of his post-war life as a fugitive. He was eventually apprehended, and became a political prisoner of the Romanian communist regime. In 1956, he managed to have the war crimes verdict overturned but, albeit rehabilitated in part, continued to be harassed by the communist apparatus until the 1960s.

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