ABSTRACT
The authoritarian drift in Romanian politics after the last parliamentary elections of 1937 apparently facilitated the king's moves. Russia' had driven Romania into the arms of Germany. Romania's importance in British strategic considerations during the rest of the war owed much to her natural resources. In view of the first Hungarian peace feelers and Romanian stirrings', Cadogan suggested a more flexible attitude towards the two Axis satellites. The Romanian volte-face led to the complete collapse of the German southern sector. During the last year of peace, the projection of Britain in Romania was intensified by means of cultural diplomacy. In common with much of Europe, Romanian nationalism was a further complicating factor. Anti-Semitism, a rather distinct complement of Romanian nationalism, also perplexed British propagandists. Romanian conquests beyond the Dniester were portrayed as part of a German design to lure the nation away from the Transylvanian cause and turn it into a buffer between Russia and Germany.
