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www.polirom.ro editura polirom ia[i b-dul carol i nr 4 p.o box 266 700506 bucure[ti b-dul i.c br tianu nr 6 et 7 ap 33 o.p 37 p.o box 1-728 030174 descrierea cip a bibliotecii na]ionale a româniei international commission on the holocaust in romania bucure[ti final report international commission on the holocaust in romania president of the commission elie wiesel ed tuvia friling radu ioanid mihail e ionescu ia[i polirom 2004 isbn 973-681-989-2 i wiesel elie pre[ed ii friling tuvia ed iii ioanid radu ed iv ionescu mihail e ed 323.1 411.16 4981939/1945 94 411.16 4981939/1945 printed in romania[close]
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president of the commission elie wiesel editors tuvia friling radu ioanid mihail e ionescu polirom 2004[close]
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the members of the international commission on the holocaust in romania chairman elie wiesel vice-chairmen tuvia friling state archivist of israel radu ioanid united states holocaust memorial museum and mihail e ionescu institute for political defense and military history bucharest members ioan scurtu commission secretary nicolae iorga institute of history bucharest viorel achim nicolae iorga institute of history bucharest jean ancel yad vashem jerusalem colette avital member of the israeli parliament andrew baker american jewish committee lya benjamin center for the study of jewish history bucharest liviu beris association of the survivors of the holocaust in romania randolph braham city university of new york irina cajal marin federation of jewish communities of romania adrian cioflânca a.d xenopol institute of history iasi ioan ciuperca al.i cuza university iasi alexandru elias federation of jewish communities of romania alexandru florian dimitrie cantemir university bucharest mihai dinu gheorghiu centre de sociologie européenne paris hildrun glass ludwig-maximilians universitaet munich menachem hacohen chief rabbi of romania vasile ionescu aven amentza roma center corneliu mihai lungu national archives of romania daniel s mariaschin bnai brith international victor opaschi presidential counselor andrei pippidi university of bucharest ambassador meir rosenne israel liviu rotman university of tel aviv michael shafir radio free europe/radio liberty paul shapiro united states holocaust memorial museum william totok arbeitskreis fuer geschichte germany raphael vago university of tel aviv george voicu national school for political and administrative studies bucharest leon volovici hebrew university of jerusalem government decision no 672/may 5 2004 published in monitorul oficial al rom^niei no 436 may 17 2004[close]
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contents foreword 7 speech given by mr ion iliescu president of romania at the meeting dedicated to the holocaust remembrance day in romania october 12 2004 9 message from elie wiesel chairman of the international commission on the holocaust in romania 15 message of president traian bãsescu at the ceremony for the commemoration of the martyr jews killed on january 21-22 1941 17 background and precursors to the holocaust roots of romanian anti-semitism the league of national christian defense and iron guard anti-semitism the anti-semitic policies of the goga government and of the royal dictatorship 19 romanian-german relations before and during the holocaust 57 the june-july 1940 romanian withdrawal from bessarabia and northern bukovina and its consequences on interethnic relations in romania 71 anti-semitic propaganda and official rhetoric concerning the judeo-bolshevik danger romanian jews and communism between 1938-1944 89 the holocaust in romania 109 the exclusion of jews from romanian society during the antonescu governments with and without the iron guard anti-semitic legislation romanianization and expropriation 181 the life of jewish community under ion antonescu and the jewish communitys response to the holocaust in romania 205 the deportation of the roma and their treatment in transnistria 223 the role of ion antonescu in the planning and implementation of anti-semitic and anti-roma policies of the romanian state 243 the holocaust in northern transylvania 255 solidarity and rescue romanian righteous among the nations 283 trials of the war criminals 313 distortion negationism and minimalization of the holocaust in postwar romania 333 findings and recommendations 381 afterword 391 index 395[close]
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foreword on the initiative of mr ion iliescu president of romania the international commission on the holocaust in romania was established on october 22 2003 the commission was conceived from the very beginning as an independent research body free of any influence and political consideration the commissions budget and composition were approved under government decisions no 227 of february 20 2004 and no 672 of may 5 2004 respectively at the invitation of the president of romania mr elie wiesel nobel peace prize laureate and honorary member of the romanian academy accepted the chairmanship of the commission the commissions aim was to research the facts and determine the truth about the holocaust in romania during world war ii and the events preceding this tragedy the results of the research by the commission are presented in this report based exclusively on scientific standards the commission met three times in washington from may 16 to may 22 2004 in jerusalem from september 6 to september 9 2004 and in bucharest from november 8 to november 13 2004 to evaluate the state of research and draft the final report on november 11 2004 the final report of the international commission on the holocaust in romania was presented to the president of romania we hope that the commissions conclusions and recommendations will promote the education on and understanding of the holocaust among all citizens and particularly the youth of romania as well as contribute to further research on the subject besides mr elie wiesel the commission included respected experts in history the humanities and the social sciences from romania and abroad survivors of the holocaust representatives of national and international jewish and roma organizations and representatives of the romanian presidency tuvia friling state archivist of israel radu ioanid united states holocaust memorial museum and mihail e ionescu institute for political defense and military history bucharest vice-chairmen ioan scurtu commission secretary nicolae iorga institute of history bucharest viorel achim nicolae iorga institute of history bucharest jean ancel yad vashem jerusalem colette avital member of the israeli parliament andrew baker american jewish committee lya benjamin center for the study of jewish history bucharest liviu beris association of the survivors of the holocaust in romania randolph braham city university of new york irina cajal marin federation of jewish communities of romania adrian cioflâncã a.d xenopol institute of history iaºi ioan ciupercã al.i cuza university iaºi alexandru elias federation of jewish communities of romania alexandru florian dimitrie cantemir university bucharest mihai dinu gheorghiu centre de sociologie européenne paris hildrun glass ludwig-maximilians universitaet munich menachem hacohen chief rabbi of romania vasile ionescu aven amentza roma center corneliu mihai lungu national archives of romania daniel s mariaschin bnai brith international victor opaschi presidential counselor andrei pippidi university of bucharest ambassador meir rosenne israel liviu rotman university of tel aviv michael shafir radio free europe radio liberty paul shapiro united states holocaust memorial museum william totok arbeitskreis fuer geschichte germany raphael vago university of tel aviv george voicu national school for political and administrative studies bucharest leon volovici hebrew university of jerusalem members.[close]
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speech given by mr ion iliescu president of romania at the meeting dedicated to the holocaust remembrance day in romania october 12 2004 messrs presidents of the legislative bodies your holiness father patriarch your eminence chief rabbi honorable religious leaders ladies and gentlemen ambassadors dear guests having emerged from the darkness of totalitarianism romania has embarked on a long and not so easy road to the recovery of memory and the assumption of responsibility in keeping with the moral and political values grounding its new status as a democratic country a dignified member of the euro-atlantic community upon deciding to establish a holocaust remembrance day we intended to bring pious homage to all those who suffered as a result of the discriminatory anti-semitic and racist policies promoted by the romanian state in a troubled moment of our national history this dark chapter in our recent past when the romanian jews became victims of the tragedy of the holocaust must not be forgotten or minimized while paying homage to the dead or deported to those forced to leave the country to those deprived of their belongings of their rights and liberties guaranteed by the constitution and treated like inferior beings we search our conscience and try to understand the causes and consequences of our abdication of the values and traditions of our people of the obligations assumed affer the great union of 1918 a critical evaluation of the past is always necessary so as not to forget it but also to set with clarity the landmarks of our effort to build ourselves as part of constructing the future of our nation such remembrance is all the more appropriate when it refers to tragic events befallen for so long by an unmotivated silence ladies and gentlemen the outbreak of world war ii found romania unprepared to face its multiple challenges under the shield of neutrality proclaimed almost immediately the romanian leadership of the time hoped to be able to prevent the countrys involvement in a conflict that was foreign to us and could result in many losses and no gains however the evolution of events brought romania into the whirl of the war much sooner than expected in june 1940 under an agreement with germany based on the[close]
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10 international commission on the holocaust in romania ribbentrop-molotov pact the ussr gave romania an ultimatum whereby it forced our country under the threat of hostilities to surrender bessarabia and northern bukovina then on august 30 1940 under the vienna dictate germany and italy forced romania to surrender northern transylvania to hungary against this background of profound national tragedy following a coup a radical change of political regime took place in romania general ion antonescu came to power and in a first stage from september 1940 to january 1941 he relied on the political force of the legionary movement an extremist anti-semitic xenophobic antidemocratic and pro-nazi party in november 1940 romania joined the axis rallying to the group of states dominated by hitlers germany anti-semitism and the crusade against bolshevism gradually became the main topics of the official propaganda which attempted to manipulate public opinion germanys war against the ussr launched in june 1941 which ion antonescu joined from the very beginning based on the need to recover the territories abducted by the soviet union a year before enforced this obedience to the political aims and ideological orientations of hitlers germany pressure from the pro-fascist organizations in the country as well as from hitlers germany and fascist italy led to the promotion of anti-semitism as a state policy as early as the time of the goga-cuza government december 1937 february 1938 but it was on august 8 1940 under the royal dictatorship of carol ii that a systematic policy of excluding jews from the life of romanian society began after the instauration of the antonescu-legionary dictatorship in september 1940 the anti-semitic policy became extremely harsh laws were adopted that excluded jews from schools and universities bars and theatres the army and the liberal professions commissions for romanianization took over jewish properties forced labor was imposed on the males of the jewish population during the legionary rebellion of january 1941 a genuine pogrom took place in which 120 jews were killed after the legionnaires removal from power the anti-semitic policy continued at even higher levels of the most serious events we mention the pogrom of iaºi in june 1941 when thousands of jews perished a significant aspect practically the most important chapter of the holocaust in romania refers to deportations initially the regime led by ion antonescu planned the deportation of all citizens of jewish origin from bessarabia and bukovina following that later on the citizens of jewish origin from other areas of the country would be subjected to the same policy the place chosen for deportation was transnistria the territory between the dniester and the bug that came under romanian administration massive deportations started on october 9 1941 and continued for a year romanian citizens our fellow men about 120,000 of them were taken from their homes and embarked on true death trains or marched through rain and snow tens and hundreds of miles across the dniester on the way as well as in transnistria many thousands jews died as a result of the inhuman treatment freezing illness or even shooting in memory of these people at the proposal of several organizations of holocaust survivors and the federation of the jewish communities in romania as well as from the consciousness of our moral duty to the memory of the romanian jews who had to suffer during those terrible years the government has decided to make october 9 the annual holocaust remembrance day in romania.[close]
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final report 11 deportations were not the only component of the holocaust i will only mention the retaliations of october 1941 in odessa following the explosion of the citys romanian military command in august 1942 the romanian side was presented with a plan prepared by the german authorities that aimed to send all the romanian jews to the belzec death camp however this plan was never put into practice and antonescu decided in october 1942 to put a stop to the deportations to transnistria it must be said here that the evolution of the attitude of ion antonescus regime in this regard was determined by the evolution of the war in the phase of the german victories on the eastern front the repression against the jewish population reached its height and the regimes leaders often stated that the so-called jewish problem was almost solved as the tides of war changed the attitude of ion antonescus regime became more nuanced and measures were taken that limited the number of victims this resulted in romania being one of germanys allies where a significant part of the jewish population on their territory managed to survive moreover many jews from northern transylvania under horthyst occupation at the time succeeded in saving themselves by fleeing to romania with the help of romanian citizens and the tacit agreement of some officials the terrible tragedy of the holocaust was possible due to the complicity of top state institutions secret services army police etc as well as of those who executed often overzealously marshal antonescus orders on this holocaust remembrance day it is also natural to mention the fact that many personalities politicians high priests military officers writers journalists actors other public figures intervened with the state authorities to cancel or at least to ease certain frustrating and repressive measures many romanians known or unknown risked their freedom and even their lives to save their jewish fellow men from death those who are known are acknowledged today by the state of israel as righteous among the nations and we are certain that many others are going to be found from now on recently a romanian priest was awarded at a venerable age this high distinction for his courage to help his jewish fellow men in transnistria such deeds ennoble a human being and the community to which he or she belongs mention must be also made of other similar acts of human solidarity in support of jewish compatriots made by many simple romanians such as the transylvanian romanians who as we have reminded here helped many jews in occupied transylvania illegally cross the border to romania we bring homage today to the resistance of the jewish community which knew how to organize itself so as to oppose the tragedy and ensure its existence and continuity from the organization of its own educational system under circumstances in which young jews were forbidden access to state schools to continuing its specific cultural life including the functioning of the barasheum theater from the repeated interventions by the authorities to acts of revolt from the support granted to the deportees by those who had remained in the country to actions designed to help organize the emigration of thousands of jews to palestine ladies and gentlemen commemorating for the first time the holocaust remembrance day in romania i take the opportunity of this solemn reunion to propose that we all bow down before the memory of the victims of this tragic event which is part of our past just as the representatives of the religions living together in romania have done under our administration.[close]
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12 international commission on the holocaust in romania according to the latest research over 250,000 people were killed during the holocaust in the territories under romanian administration for the sole guilt of having been born jews destroying people for their origin to these we must also add the over 12,000 citizens of roma descent who died in transnistria in similar circumstances the holocaust was one of those serious historical issues whose approach was avoided both during the communist regime and after 1990 there were attempts to hide the facts or even distortions of the truth in not a few cases there was also a transfer of responsibility the ion antonescu regime was credited for instance with having saved the approximately 400,000 jews who were still alive at the end of the war while the liquidation of the over 250,000 jews of romania and the occupied soviet territories was turned into the responsibility of the german troops in the country and berlins orders undoubtedly germanys nazi regime bears the main responsibility for the european holocaust but it is ion antonescus regime that is responsible for the initiation and the organization of the repressive actions and the extermination measures directed against the jews of romania and the territories under romanian administration reality cannot and must not be concealed assumption of ones own past with its goods and evils is not just an exercise in honesty but also the proof of a democratic conscience of the responsibility of the romanian states leadership which at a turning point in its history did not manage to rise up to its essential mission namely to ensure the security of all its citizens regardless of their ethnic origins the holocaust tragedy has today a special significance such a tragedy must never be repeated and for that no effort is too small for the younger generations to know and understand the entire truth this is the best way to prevent future repetition of the pasts tragedies an international commission was established for the in-depth study of the holocaust in romania which includes renowned experts led by professor elie wiesel a native of romania and winner of the nobel prize for peace the commissions report will be presented in a few weeks at a meeting to be held in bucharest the document shall provide the basis for a complete activity of future investigation into this tragic phenomenon and informing public opinion particularly the young generation in its turn the ministry of education and research has decided to include in the school curricula an optional course dedicated to the holocaust in romania we also see with satisfaction that the press radio and television stations have lately devoted increasing space to this phenomenon approaching it from objective positions these actions are part of a wider program that aims at knowledge of the past and the events related to the holocaust this program includes the adoption of legislative measures banning fascist racist xenophobic and anti-semitic organizations and symbols as well as the cult of persons guilty of crimes against humanity and peace the first such measure was taken by the government in march 2002 and was met with satisfaction by the jewish organizations and the overwhelming majority of public opinion also as of 2002 the national defense college has been organizing a course in the history of the holocaust all these represent the implementation of the commitments made by romania when joining the final declaration of the international forum on the holocaust in stockholm a group established in 1998 at the initiative of prime minister goran persson with the aim of promoting education meant to remember the tragedy of the holocaust and stimulate the historical research of this phenomenon.[close]
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final report 13 we sincerely wish to understand why in a country like romania which in 1918 had managed to fulfill its destiny through the great union of december 1 which had taken an ascendant course of economic and social development which had political structures and institutions compatible with the great western democracies and which had successfully integrated the values of the western culture and civilization the development of such a virulent anti-semitic trend which degenerated into the monstrosities of the holocaust was possible the interwar romanian anti-semitism was the result of a democratic failure and of the refusal of the political elite and a large part of the intellectual elite to assume this failure it also was a serious moral perversion when a nation suffers from a trauma of the kind suffered by romania in the 1940s it can lose its way in the absence of a civic spirit and a consciousness of values and moral duty there is however no excuse for those who cynically and cold-bloodedly sent their fellow citizens to death who discriminated humiliated and excluded them from society the recent past obligates us to create mechanisms and institutions designed to serve as the societys antibodies against these illnesses of the spirit that are racism anti-semitism xenophobia this time romanians and jews are on the same side of the barricade a sign that we have learned the lesson of solidarity and mutual respect ladies and gentlemen in my opinion the holocaust remembrance day should lead first and foremost to a deeper knowledge of this collective tragedy beyond the concrete historical facts very important are the educational aspects the change in the perception of an event of such tragic dimensions this first commemoration of october 9 should mark the conscious and sincere assumption of a painful episode of our national history which the public conscience and our collective memory must neither conceal nor hide nor relativize in significance looking forward to the future tenaciously pursuing the objectives that await us as members of the north-atlantic alliance and future members of the european union we have the duty to understand and assume all the moments and lessons of the past holocaust remembrance day should be a moment of reflection for all of us an occasion to meditate on totalitarianism and its tragic consequences on community relations and values of human solidarity on the perenniality of democracy legality and the respect for the fundamental rights and liberties of citizens.[close]
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message from elie wiesel chairman of the international commission on the holocaust in romania what is true about individual human beings is also true of communities repressed memories are dangerous for in surfacing they may destroy what is healthy cheapen what is noble undermine what is lofty a nation or a person may find various ways to confront their past but none to ignore it it is this principle that has motivated you mr president to repair years of forgetfulness and face the demands of history by creating this body of scholars and witnesses teachers and social activists it is in their name that i have the honor to speak and present to you the romanian people and the entire civilized world the report the international presidential commission has prepared on romanias ambivalent but not monolithic role in the implacable and tragic events during the holocaust years for my part i am indebted to its members all eminent scholars teachers and social activists from various countries and backgrounds for their extraordinary efforts in analyzing that singular era with skill talent sensitivity sincerity and fairness their endeavor president iliescu will constitute an invaluable contribution to and perhaps the understanding of the history of that era its evil aberrations as well as its heroic martyrs why have so many citizens betrayed humanity theirs and ours in choosing to persecute torment and murder defenseless and innocent men women and children granted jews were not the only ones to be singled out there were others particularly the roma but remember though not all victims were jews all jews were victims why there were good and brave romanians who risked their own lives and saved the honor of their nation by opposing the oppression and death of their fellow citizens and they deserve our deepest gratitude but why were they so few and also why has romania waited so long to come to terms with its past all these questions and many related others all pertinent and related to the painful subject have been studied and explored in depth without any particular reservation or complacency all the relevant documents were examined all the available testimonies investigated when questions were ambiguous or not sufficiently clear we said so as we did when a difference of opinion regarding the interpretation of certain events or figures for us this was our sacred mission to honor truth by remembering the dead for them it is too late but not for their children and ours november 11 2004[close]
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