On this day in 1944 the fascist government of Romania was overthrown in a coup led by King Michael I (shown), backed by the National Democratic Bloc, a coalition of anti-fascists including communists, social democrats, and liberals.

In June of 1943, members of the Romanian Communist Party reached out to King Michael I to plan a coup that would oust the Nazi collaborator Ion Antonescu from power. Michael I was chosen to lead the coup due to his high-profile position as monarch, and he was planned on being used as a figurehead rather than being given substantive power.

On August 23rd, Michael I summoned Antonescu to the royal palace in Bucharest, where he was promptly arrested. The Romanian military subsequently arrested other fascist government officials and joined in the Soviet Army's advance into Germany.

Antonescu was tried and executed in 1946. The same year, general elections were held and the communist-led Bloc of Democratic Parties (BPD), primarily made up of organizers of the coup, won overwhelmingly, subsequently abolishing the monarchy and establishing the Romanian People's Republic.