Final Report of the International Commission on the - Minority Rights ...

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Religions and <strong>the</strong> many o<strong>the</strong>r problems that plagued <strong>the</strong> Jewish population during that period. He demonstrated that <strong>the</strong> adopted measures violated present laws and generated incertitude and mistrust among merchants and industrialists because all <strong>the</strong> country’s laws compelled <strong>the</strong>m not to stop production and supply. Through his requests, based on law and justice, Filderman tried to avoid social and economic movements on a national level. The Conducator wrote back, asking Filderman “to show understanding and to make <strong>the</strong> members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jewish community from all over <strong>the</strong> country understand that General Antonescu cannot perform miracles in one week….I assure Mr. Filderman that if his colleagues do not undermine <strong>the</strong> regime directly or indirectly, <strong>the</strong> Jewish population will not suffer politically, or economically. The word <strong>of</strong> General Antonescu is a pledge.” On September 19, a new decision <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ministry <strong>of</strong> National Education for Religions and Arts suspended <strong>the</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> September 9 resolution on places <strong>of</strong> worship (temples and synagogues) until <strong>the</strong>re was definitive regulation on <strong>the</strong> status <strong>of</strong> associations and religious communities in Romania. This did not mean that <strong>the</strong> Legionnaires gave up closing <strong>the</strong> synagogues in various places or stopped terrorizing <strong>the</strong> Jewish population. To <strong>the</strong> dismay <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> FUCE leadership, <strong>the</strong> promises <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Conducator were not fulfilled. It looked as though nei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> enforcement <strong>of</strong> antisemitic measures nor <strong>the</strong> Legionnaires’ terrorism could be stopped. Therefore, <strong>the</strong> FUCE leadership continued sending memoranda to <strong>the</strong> government, in which it presented data and facts on <strong>the</strong> Legionnaires’ violence and abuse <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jewish inhabitants. On December 9, 1940, after receiving one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> memoranda, <strong>the</strong> Conducator wrote <strong>the</strong> following resolution: “The Ministry <strong>of</strong> Internal Affairs toge<strong>the</strong>r with a Legionnaire from <strong>the</strong> Legionary forum designed by Mr. Sima will urgently investigate all <strong>the</strong>se cases [in <strong>the</strong> memorandum]. The findings will be written in a report and presented to me as soon as possible. If I find that <strong>the</strong> claims are accurate, I will take measures. I pledge that I will respect <strong>the</strong> promises made to <strong>the</strong> citizens <strong>of</strong> this country, and I think that <strong>the</strong> partnership with <strong>the</strong> Legionnaires is real, not just words.” During December 1940, some dozens <strong>of</strong> memoranda were sent. On January 2, 1941, Dr. Filderman sent a memorandum drawing a parallel between <strong>the</strong> situation <strong>of</strong> Jews in Germany, Italy and Hungary and <strong>the</strong>ir situation in Romania. Filderman concluded: In three months <strong>of</strong> government, Romania has issued laws that go fur<strong>the</strong>r not only than Italian and Hungarian laws, but also than German laws, before and after <strong>the</strong> issuance <strong>of</strong> Nuremberg laws….Then, ei<strong>the</strong>r Hitler and his Germans, Mussolini and Horthy were wrong, or Romania [will experience] a social and economic disaster, unprecedented and unique, with all <strong>the</strong> consequences that this disaster could engender….The multitude <strong>of</strong> laws and decisions adopted in <strong>the</strong>se three months took more rights from Romanian Jews than <strong>the</strong> National Socialists have taken in eight years from German Jews, including <strong>the</strong> laws adopted after 1938, aiming to punish <strong>the</strong>m; to Italian Jews in eighteen years; and to Hungarian Jews in three years. To this legislative over-performance we could add here instances <strong>of</strong> torture, confiscation <strong>of</strong> fortunes worth hundreds <strong>of</strong> millions… I sent a memorandum to you regarding <strong>the</strong>se issues. You ordered an investigation… But this order was not carried out by <strong>the</strong> Tribunal, but by <strong>the</strong> defendants… In different places, Jewish claimants—called in front <strong>of</strong> a table on which <strong>the</strong>re were revolvers—were obliged to sign that nobody had touched <strong>the</strong>m… That investigation is distorted because it was not made objectively and worse, not only did <strong>the</strong> terror not stop, but it grew. In conclusion, Filderman reviewed all <strong>the</strong> promises made by <strong>the</strong> Conducator in regard to solving <strong>the</strong> Jewish problems and showed that <strong>the</strong>se promises were not respected. He wrote, “through <strong>the</strong> Conducator promised that only <strong>the</strong> Jews who came to Romania after 1913 will be sent away, in reality this expulsion is made without any criteria; though <strong>the</strong> Marshal pledged himself that Jewish people will be replaced
gradually, in reality <strong>the</strong>y are replaced faster than <strong>the</strong>y have been in o<strong>the</strong>r countries. Also, Jews are prevented to benefit from Romania’s resources not only in <strong>the</strong> future—as <strong>the</strong> Conducator has declared— but also at present because <strong>the</strong>y are condemned to death bys hunger, just when <strong>the</strong>ir proportion to <strong>the</strong> Romanian population is reduced by half.” In his explanations, Filderman did not accuse Ion Antonescu, but he did accuse <strong>the</strong> Iron Guard. He stressed <strong>the</strong> difference between Ion Antonescu’s approach and <strong>the</strong> Legion’s as well as <strong>the</strong> fact that Legionnaires revolted against <strong>the</strong> policy <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Conducator by trying to solve <strong>the</strong> Jewish problem on <strong>the</strong>ir own. At <strong>the</strong> same time, Filderman believed that as a Romanian and as a Jewish leader he had to make known to Ion Antonescu <strong>the</strong> gravity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> situation in which <strong>the</strong> Legionnaires had placed Romania. The documents drafted by <strong>the</strong> FUCE regarding <strong>the</strong> Legionary terror are <strong>the</strong> most eloquent depictions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> drama <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jewish population’s everyday life at that time, and <strong>the</strong>y also reflect Filderman’ s beliefs that to protect Jewish interests was also to protect <strong>the</strong> Romanian national interest. FUCE’s memorandum on Legionary terror also contained an assessment <strong>of</strong> material damages: damage from <strong>the</strong> January 1941 pogrom alone amounted to 382,910,800 lei. FUCE’s Response to Romanianization (February 1–June 22, 1941) After <strong>the</strong> exclusion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Legionnaires from government and <strong>the</strong> reorganization <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Antonescu cabinet, <strong>the</strong> Jewish population was confronted with new forms <strong>of</strong> antisemitic policies. Under <strong>the</strong>se circumstances, <strong>the</strong> leadership <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Federation asked <strong>the</strong> government to do <strong>the</strong> following: restitute assets taken by Legionnaires; interrupt <strong>the</strong> illegal closure <strong>of</strong> Jewish firms; slow down Romanianization; modify laws on expropriation <strong>of</strong> urban assets; discontinue ghettoization; authorize Jews <strong>of</strong> Panciu to return to <strong>the</strong>ir homes; stop <strong>the</strong> evacuation <strong>of</strong> Sibiu Jews from <strong>the</strong>ir houses; remove <strong>of</strong>fensive language in <strong>of</strong>ficial documents and end <strong>the</strong> slandering <strong>of</strong> Jews as saboteurs; restore <strong>the</strong> right to work <strong>of</strong> Jewish craftsmen and apprentices; understand that <strong>the</strong> policy <strong>of</strong> firing <strong>of</strong> Jews from <strong>the</strong>ir jobs would hurt <strong>the</strong> economy. FUCE’s Response to Terror and Exceptional Measures Declared during <strong>the</strong> War against <strong>the</strong> Soviet Union (June 22–December 16, 1941) In <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> wartime regime <strong>of</strong> terror and at a time when <strong>the</strong> measures made Jews <strong>the</strong> object <strong>of</strong> extermination policies, <strong>the</strong> Federation focused all its forces and political wisdom on safeguarding Jewish lives. The pogroms <strong>of</strong> Iasi, Bessarabia, and Bukovina as well as <strong>the</strong> deportations to Transnistria were also serious developments that put <strong>the</strong> FUCE leadership to <strong>the</strong> test. “Those days,” wrote Curierul Israelit in February 1945, one needed prudence in efforts to safeguard <strong>the</strong> life <strong>of</strong> Jewish leaders <strong>the</strong>mselves and to eliminate <strong>the</strong> possible serious and painful consequences that government measures had for <strong>the</strong> Jewish population. For this reason, Jewish leaders could not protest against <strong>the</strong> crimes in Bessarabia and Bukovina, because it would have been considered an insult to <strong>the</strong> Army; also <strong>the</strong>y could not protest against <strong>the</strong> description <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Iasi pogrom in <strong>the</strong> Council <strong>of</strong> Ministers communiqué as to <strong>the</strong> execution <strong>of</strong> 500 Judeo-Communists. They could not protest and interfere, directly or in writing, against <strong>the</strong> extremely dangerous and suspicion-laden context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> first [Anglo-American] air raids on Bucharest, when Jews were blamed by police for signaling targets to <strong>the</strong> bomber pilots.” Still, <strong>the</strong> FUCE leaders carried on with <strong>the</strong> same intensity. But <strong>the</strong>y begin to employ ano<strong>the</strong>r type <strong>of</strong> discourse in <strong>the</strong>ir memoranda, one that focused on such aspects as <strong>the</strong> patriotic feelings <strong>of</strong> Jews in <strong>the</strong> Old Kingdom, Jewish participation in <strong>the</strong> Romanian wars for independence and territorial unification, <strong>the</strong> reenlisting <strong>of</strong> certain Jews in <strong>the</strong> army, <strong>the</strong> accusation <strong>of</strong> “Judeo-communism” (contesting it by showing
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Final Repo
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Germany’s war against the
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which includes reputed experts led
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BACKGROUND AND PRECURSORS TO THE HO
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against which antisemites in <stron
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declaring in the p
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them. Thus, he con
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We must organize ourselves for a wa
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ureaucracy of wart
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this direction by Nicolae C. Paules
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promising leader of</strong
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organized a tariff and tax strike.
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Legion of
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less so in Romanian society as a wh
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This ambiguous, self-contradictory
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The Gigurtu government began to con
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The Case of Român
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Cuza’s argument that it is possib
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Românesc,” Sociologie Româneasc
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ole in the early 1
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European states, notably Romania an
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Germany's immediate interests at <s
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eligious communities, the</
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counterpart, “when [he] first met
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de Istorie şi Arheologie, “A. D.
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Romania. Muler to Luthe</st
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demands on territorial revisions an
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military mission to come to Romania
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High Command, informing the
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The Jews and the R
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Romanian army. Thus, in Ciudei in <
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antisemitism in Romanian society an
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Ibid., fond Micro-films, roll I.II,
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manifestations of
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power, as this power colonized West
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attraction, many Jews resettled in
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to defend itself; hence its support
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about the Holocaus
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Nichifor Crainic, “Dupa douazeci
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Isaia Tolan, “Revizuirea incetate
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X. Y. Z., “Rezolvarea problemei e
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andom searches and arrests, robberi
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Bucharest Prefectura. Almost two th
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epression was not ordered by Antone
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from villages and small towns. On J
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accident; it was contrived by <stro
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The second train to leave Iasi for
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care of th
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"premilitary," were also placed at
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according to the o
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Tighina Agreement On August 30, Tra
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elieved Transnistria would be occup
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the 331,000 Ukrain
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those inside to take the</s
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Page 123 and 124: transport of 2,000
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Page 127 and 128: were at least 122,000 Jews. Bukovin
Page 129 and 130: Wilhelm Hoettl, The Secret Front: T
Page 131 and 132: Ancel, Documents, vol. 2: no. 136,
Page 133 and 134: Carp, Cartea neagra, vol. 3: pp. 30
Page 135 and 136: Gosudartsveni Archiv Odeskoi Oblast
Page 137 and 138: Cable from the Mil
Page 139 and 140: 1-1087, p. 114; list of</st
Page 141 and 142: Ibid. “Rezolvarea problemei evrei
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Page 145 and 146: Indeed, the system
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Page 149 and 150: The Cultural Ghettoization
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Page 155 and 156: Conclusions The anti-Jewish legisla
Page 157 and 158: L.A., no. 99, p. 344. Trei ani de g
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Page 181 and 182: Return of Roma Sur
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Page 185 and 186: in Romania. History and Contemporar
Page 187 and 188: THE ROLE OF ION ANTONESCU IN THE PL
Page 189 and 190: December 16, 1941, meeting
Page 191 and 192: me from carrying out the</s
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Page 197 and 198: THE HOLOCAUST IN NORTHERN TRANSYLVA
Page 199 and 200: Others 22 968 Magy
Page 201 and 202: ultimatum but also consented to <st
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Secuilor counties was carried out i
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the procedure foll
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deportation trains per day. While E
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Deportation Trains from Nor
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Câtcău Kackó Ciuc Csík Ciucea C
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Rona de Sus Felsöróna Rozavica Ro
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Bözödújfalu Bezidu Nou Budfalva
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Nagysajó Şieu (Bistrita-Nasaud Co
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(Indictment of Naz
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Randolph L. Braham, comp. and ed. (
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perceived by a significant part <st
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Romanian government not to adopt <s
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still alive in the
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the Jews who worke
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We have been informed that various
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church bells announce the</
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Mitropolit pleaded with Mihai Anton
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Pozdnyakova, Yefrosiniya Starostina
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Ibid., pp. 224-225. Ibid., pp. 46-4
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the examined cases
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escape with negligible punishment;
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immense scale, enslaved millions <s
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means. The “ethnic Christian stat
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it is evident that the</str
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face să pară evident că victimel
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viaţă, 100 milioane lei amendă
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Articolul 15 al Convenţiei de armi
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members accepted as authoritative s
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camp in January 1945, for several m
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Beginning in the 1
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such access was strictly supervised
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enefit from translation into Englis
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furthermore, he ha
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lucrative Jewish business ever,”
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deaths of thousand
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Treptow who was residing in Romania
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Finally, it must b
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A.) Integral Negationism Although <
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other genocides re
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mankind, such as wars; the<
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age of 44, only on
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After deploring the</strong
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Michael Shafir, “Ex Occidente Obs
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See, for example, Giurescu who make
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Randolph L. Braham, Romanian Nation
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Mediafax, March 18, 2002, Monitorul
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See Ibidem, pp. 3, 54-55. Ibidem, p
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Radu Theodoru, Mareşalul, Editura
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egained from the U
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was a record of an
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secondary school use. Those institu
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including erecting statues, mountin
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