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

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and Walachia to Nazi camps in occupied Poland was strictly opportunistic. In all likelihood, various appeals—including those from Archbishop Balan, <strong>the</strong> Romanian royal family, and from <strong>the</strong> diplomatic corps—played a significant role. None<strong>the</strong>less, after Stalingrad, Antonescu did grow more concerned about Romania’s image abroad. <strong>Report</strong>s from <strong>the</strong> Romanian Ministry <strong>of</strong> Foreign Affairs, which asserted that Romanian Jews under Nazi occupation were treated worse than Hungarian Jews, annoyed Antonescu. His position <strong>of</strong> relative equality with Hitler had commanded <strong>the</strong> respect <strong>of</strong> Nazi dignitaries and <strong>the</strong> German Embassy. At a certain point even Himmler—having lost all hope <strong>of</strong> collaboration in <strong>the</strong> destruction <strong>of</strong> Romania’s Jews—gave up and intended in 1943 to order <strong>the</strong> withdrawal <strong>of</strong> his killerbureaucrats (such as Gustav Richter) from Romania. Even though he shared many ideas with <strong>the</strong> Legionnaires, Ion Antonescu was not an adventurer in <strong>the</strong> economic arena. Politically, he placed himself between Goga and Codreanu: he nurtured an obsession for a Romania purged <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> minorities that represented a “danger” to <strong>the</strong> state, especially in <strong>the</strong> territories reattached to Romania after <strong>the</strong> First World War. Antonescu’s antisemitism was economic, political, social, and sometimes religious, but it did not share <strong>the</strong> mystical aspects <strong>of</strong> Legionary antisemitism. His hatred was not that <strong>of</strong> a hoodlum armed with a truncheon, but that <strong>of</strong> a bureaucrat pretending to resolve a problem by law in a systematic manner. The fate <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jews might have been different had <strong>the</strong> Legionary government lasted longer, if for no o<strong>the</strong>r reason than that <strong>the</strong> Legionnaires would have certainly been more closely aligned with Germany. Ion Antonescu was responsible not only for <strong>the</strong> devastation <strong>of</strong> Romanian Jews and Roma, but also for many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tragic losses endured by <strong>the</strong> Romanian nation during World War II. As an Axis state and committed ally <strong>of</strong> Nazi Germany, Romania closely coordinated military matters with <strong>the</strong> Germans. For example, in June 1941 Hitler appointed General Eugen von Schobert <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> German Eleventh Army to command <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Flank on <strong>the</strong> Eastern Front. However, although von Schobert was in command, Hitler recognized Antonescu’s importance and mandated that <strong>the</strong> Conducator co-sign all <strong>of</strong> von Schobert’s orders. While Antonescu’s war in <strong>the</strong> East has frequently been construed merely as an attempt to regain Bessarabia and Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Bukovina or as leverage to persuade Hitler to return Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Transylvania to Romania, Antonescu had higher aspirations “in which—not feeling at all inferior to Hitler and Mussolini—he imagined a Dacian empire from <strong>the</strong> Balkans to <strong>the</strong> Dnieper. [Moreover], his collaboration with <strong>the</strong> military plans <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Axis was not limited to <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>fensive against Soviet Union.” Ion Antonescu declared war on <strong>the</strong> United States on December 16, 1941. He was also at war with Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Nicaragua and Haiti. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, he allowed German divisions to pass through Romania in <strong>the</strong>ir advance to attack Greece, and he permitted Germany to use Romanian territory as a launching pad for its attacks against Yugoslavia. As Antonescu himself declared in writing, he was at war with <strong>the</strong> Jews. By implementing <strong>the</strong> systematic deportation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jewish populations from within Romania and occupied Ukraine, Ion Antonescu and his lieutenants became <strong>the</strong> architects <strong>of</strong> untold suffering for hundreds <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> innocent victims, and <strong>the</strong> death <strong>of</strong> at least a quarter <strong>of</strong> a million <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m. Thus, in addition to waging war against a traditional, military enemy, from 1941 to 1944 Antonescu also targeted civilians—with <strong>the</strong> persecution ranging from plunder to murder. Ion Antonescu and his accomplices do not bear sole responsibility for this tragedy, however; in addition to <strong>the</strong> Nazi regime, “part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Romanian political class is [also] responsible for his rise to power, due to its weakness or selfishness.” In extreme nationalist circles today an attempt is underway to restore Antonescu to a place <strong>of</strong> honor in Romanian history as a great patriot. But whe<strong>the</strong>r he loved his country is irrelevant: Antonescu was a war criminal in <strong>the</strong> purest definition <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> phrase. His leadership involved <strong>the</strong> Romanian government in crimes against humanity unrivaled in Romania’s sometimes glorious, sometimes cruel history; perhaps
more ironically, this leader’s war against a defenseless and innocent civilian population was only part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> broader folly <strong>of</strong> involving <strong>the</strong> country in a conflict that promised only illusory gains, but actually wrought very definite, catastrophic consequences. A modern Romanian patriotism must not only reject <strong>the</strong> legacy <strong>of</strong> five decades <strong>of</strong> communist misrule, but years <strong>of</strong> fascist tyranny, too, if it is to be able to recount and take honest pride in Romania’s history. ---- Procesul marii tradari, (Bucharest: Editura Eminesscu, 1946), p. 71; “An antisemite to <strong>the</strong> core...[Ion Antonescu] did, however, nurture relationships with Jews….One day, in my absence, on <strong>the</strong> veranda <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> villa where I stayed in Prédéal, forgetting my wife’s presence, he launched into an antisemitic diatribe against a humble [town] <strong>of</strong>ficial who came to collect local taxes. At one point, realizing that my wife was present, he said, as if making an excuse: “not all Jews are alike.” Jean Ancel, ed., Documents Concerning <strong>the</strong> Fate <strong>of</strong> Romanian Jewry during <strong>the</strong> Holocaust (New York: Beate Klarsfeld Foundation, 1986), vol. 8: p. 608. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum/Romanian Information (Intelligence) Service [hereafter USHMM/SRI], RG 25.004M, roll 31, fond 40010, vol. 1; Problema evreiasca in stenogramele Consiliului de Ministrii, p.229. USHMM/SRI, RG 25.004M, roll 32, fond 40010, vol. 1; Carp,Cartea neagra. Suferintele evreilor din Romania. 1940-1944 (Bucharest: Atelierele grafice Socec, 1946-1948), vol. 2: p. 39. Ancel, Documents, vol. 2, pp. 414–15. USHMM/SRI, RG 25 004M, roll 48, fond 108233, vol. 29. USHMM/SRI, RG 25.004M, roll 32, fond 40010, vol. 1. Ancel, Documents, vol. 10: p. 79. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum/Romanian State Archives [hereafter USHMM/RSA], RG 25.002M, roll 18, fond Presedentia Consiliului de Ministrii, cabinet, Dosar 167/1941. USHMM/SRI, RG 25.004M, roll 35, fond 40010, vol. 89. Ibid., roll 35, fond 40010, vol. 5. Ibid., roll 31, fond 40010, vol. 1. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum/Romanian Ministry <strong>of</strong> Foreign Affairs Archives [hereafter USHMM/RFMA], RG 25.006M, roll 10, fond Presedentia Consiliului de Ministrii, vol. 20. Matatias Carp, Cartea neagra, vol. 3: p. 143. USHMM/SRI, RG 25. 004M, fond 40010, vol. 78. Ibid. USHMM/SRI, RG 25.004M, fond 40010, vol. 28; USHMM/SRI, roll 35, fond 40010, vol. 78. Ibid., p. 54. USHMM/MStM, RG 25.003M, roll 12(203) fond Armata a IVa, vol. 870. Ibid. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum/Serviciul de Stat de Arhiva al Republicii Moldavia [hereafter USHMM/SSARM], RG 54.001M, roll 3, fond CBBT Bir. 3. USHMM/SRI, RG 25.004M, roll 31, fond 40010, vol. 1. 23 August 1944, Documente (Bucharest: Editura Stiintifica si Enciclopedica, 1984), vol. 1: p. 429. Ibid., p. 437. Ibid., p. 433. Ibid., p. 436. Ibid., p. 422. Ibid., p. 424. Ibid., p. 442.
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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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[longer] move.” After several wee
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eappear a few seconds later and sig
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operation and that “some
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Bukovina and Bessarabia. Einsatzkom
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other things, <str
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Berezovka district and burn <strong
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them in exchange f
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transport of 2,000
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Bulgarian, Turkish, Italian, or Swi
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were at least 122,000 Jews. Bukovin
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Wilhelm Hoettl, The Secret Front: T
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Ancel, Documents, vol. 2: no. 136,
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Carp, Cartea neagra, vol. 3: pp. 30
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Gosudartsveni Archiv Odeskoi Oblast
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Cable from the Mil
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1-1087, p. 114; list of</st
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Ibid. “Rezolvarea problemei evrei
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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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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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