Choose one! (Update V: A Parade !)

The cars were there for a royal parade.

I'm not convinced what the label fixed to the windscreen is about, but it appears on many photos of that era, including on civilian cars. I wonder if it was an equivalent to the UK tax disc - but I suspect more research will be needed to give a clear answer.

Romania had 22,000 cars commandeered in the war, mainly American models. However 28,000 made their way back to the country after the war, most of them being of European origin. This explains why, although before the war about 80% of cars were of US origin, the US-European split of the 300-odd prewar survivors in Romania is about equal.

A

Romania had actually aligned itself with the Axis in September 1940 and the Germans had sent a "military mission" there shortly afterwards in response to a "request for assistance". At this point it was still officially neutral, but the country officially became part of the Axis in November 1940. The Romanian contingent sent to the Eastern Front during and after Operation Barbarossa exceeded the total of all Germany's other allies put together, but even though the Romanian army numbered nearly 700000 in June 1941 I doubt it was over-endowed with vehicles, so my interpretation of these pictures is that these cars have probably been commandeered for military use. Note how most of them have some sort of label affixed to the passenger side windscreen: movement orders for army drivers who were to pick them up?

Sorry, do not play with words. "Axis powers against SU" = Axispower for Nazi Germany !!!

The pictures depict a lot of the same cars in both. Note at the right bottom third the two cars in the side entrancs seemingly going the wrong way. Why are they all there ? In June 1941 Romania had joined the axis powers against the Soviet Union. Is this a queue outside the Motor works ? (so many of the cars are the same) Notice the Military uniform in the lower third of picture 1 and the two Military in Picture 2. Is this a protest, a queue for petrol, has rationing started ?
An interesting photo indeed !
SP

Not 100% my collection I hasten to add - the original negatives are in the Freiberg archives in Germany.

Would anyone know why these cars are asembled this way? Was Romania subject to petrol rationing at this time and perhaps they are queing for petrol?
Tim.