Before the Cold War purges or the Ceaușescu era, Romania held a different kind of power: its oil. This episode explores the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Ploiești became one of the world’s most critical energy hubs. We follow the rise of the Rockefeller Standard Oil connection, the engineering marvels that drilled deep into the Carpathian foothills, and the complex identity of the Romanian bourgeoisie who built their wealth on black gold. But this prosperity came with a heavy price—the city was also the target of the infamous 1944 bombing raid by the US Eighth Air Force, which devastated the local Jewish population and industrial infrastructure. We examine how these wells shaped modern Romania’s geopolitical fate, turning a quiet principality into a strategic prize for both Hitler and Stalin.
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