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

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egime in whose name <strong>the</strong>y acted. According to Pătrăşcanu, while Germany did indeed exert an influence on Romania “Antisemitism none<strong>the</strong>less remains a Romanian phenomenon that must be investigated not only in what it emulates, but also in what is intrinsic to it.” His approach was never heeded. The study sold well (it was printed in three editions), yet it was reviewed unfavorably by Stalinist ideologues. After a power struggle at <strong>the</strong> top <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> RCP, Pătrăşcanu was arrested in 1948 and executed in 1954. Although he would be <strong>of</strong>ficially rehabilitated in 1968, Fundamental Problems <strong>of</strong> Romania would never be reprinted. It was <strong>the</strong> alternative approach <strong>of</strong> coping with <strong>the</strong> country’s recent past that would be canonized. Its normative model was provided by <strong>the</strong> famous History <strong>of</strong> Romania (soon to be called History <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Romanian People’s Republic), an obligatory textbook whose editor-in-chief was Mihai Roller. Roller’s textbook embraces Dimitrov’s definition <strong>of</strong> fascism, presenting autochthonous Romanian fascism as little else than embodying “monopoly capital”—a movement allegedly lacking popular support, strictly controlled by Nazi Germany, and intent on plundering Romanian economy and terrorizing political adversaries. The textbook only rarely mentions <strong>the</strong> regime’s antisemitic policies, and <strong>the</strong> few references to <strong>the</strong>m are ambiguous and lack any explanation. The most blatant distortion emerges whenever reference is made to <strong>the</strong> victims <strong>of</strong> fascism, among whom Jews are never mentioned. Instead, for Roller <strong>the</strong> “advent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Legionary-Antonescu dictatorship signified <strong>the</strong> aggravation <strong>of</strong> terror measures directed against popular masses and <strong>the</strong>ir leaders. Concentration camps were set up, in which thousands <strong>of</strong> democratic citizens were locked.” The textbook does mention <strong>the</strong> camps in Transnistria, but nowhere <strong>the</strong> ethnic identity <strong>of</strong> its Jewish or Romany inmates. Students can only conclude that <strong>the</strong> “organized” evacuation to, and assassination in, <strong>the</strong> camps targeted <strong>the</strong> regime’s political adversaries, especially communists. Roller concludes, “[by] <strong>the</strong>se cruel acts, <strong>the</strong> Legionary-Antonescu dictatorship proved its affinity with <strong>the</strong> crimes committed by <strong>the</strong> German Hitlerites in <strong>the</strong> death camps <strong>of</strong> Auschwitz, Treblinka, Mauthausen, etc.” Elsewhere, <strong>the</strong> textbook mentions “racial injustices,” “racial repressions,” and “measures intended to bring about <strong>the</strong> enslavement <strong>of</strong> co-inhabiting nationalities.” In contrast to Pătrăşcanu, <strong>the</strong>n, Roller’s History <strong>of</strong> Romania replaced Jews and Roma with communists and Romanians, in general, as <strong>the</strong> main victims <strong>of</strong> fascism and ignored antisemitism as a defining trait <strong>of</strong> Antonescu’s dictatorship. This approach came to prevail in all subsequent history textbooks, even after Roller fell into disgrace in <strong>the</strong> late 1950s, as well as in <strong>of</strong>ficial communist histories on <strong>the</strong> interwar period and on <strong>the</strong> Second World War. The distortion was in no way hindered by <strong>the</strong> Jewish ethnic origin <strong>of</strong> many prominent historians in <strong>the</strong> first two decades <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> postwar years. These Jewish historians were first and foremost disciplined party soldiers devoted to communism, and viewed <strong>the</strong>ir Jewishness as secondary at best. In <strong>the</strong> immediate aftermath <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> war, a revitalization <strong>of</strong> socio-political antisemitism occurred. Soviet “anti-Zionism” and “anticosmopolitanism”—two catchphrases that concealed an antisemitic campaign serving <strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> political and institutional purges—spread throughout <strong>the</strong> Eastern Bloc during <strong>the</strong> late 1940s and 1950s and were used in power struggles at <strong>the</strong> top <strong>of</strong> Communist parties. Massive Jewish migration also triggered political problems. In this context, (to which one should add <strong>the</strong> tension <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Cold War and <strong>the</strong> problems posed by postwar reconstruction) <strong>the</strong> issue <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Holocaust was systematically avoided in both academia and politics. Historiography underwent a process <strong>of</strong> enforced Marxization. Issues such as nationalism and <strong>the</strong> situation <strong>of</strong> ethnic minorities were not priorities under Stalinist research guidelines. The marginalization <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Holocaust was also <strong>the</strong> result <strong>of</strong> strict censorship, limited access to WWII documents, purges in <strong>the</strong> community <strong>of</strong> historians and <strong>the</strong> simultaneous promotion <strong>of</strong> “militant historians” educated at <strong>the</strong> RCP’s Institute <strong>of</strong> History, established in 1951.
Beginning in <strong>the</strong> 1960s, <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial discourse and historiography signaled a renewed focus on nationalist <strong>the</strong>mes. This was made possible by <strong>the</strong> efforts <strong>of</strong> RCP leaders to distance Romania from <strong>the</strong> USSR and to mobilize elite and popular support for <strong>the</strong> party. In general, as in <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> all East-Central European countries, <strong>the</strong>re was a return to <strong>the</strong> prewar focus on national history in Romania, with a bias for <strong>the</strong> ethnic majority. This ethnocentrism dismissed scholarly interest in <strong>the</strong> history <strong>of</strong> ethnic minorities as irrelevant, even in extreme cases, such as mass deportations and massacres. It also resulted in continual avoidance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> topic <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Holocaust. While Rollerism was denounced in <strong>the</strong> late 1950s and while <strong>the</strong> historical discourse was renationalized in <strong>the</strong> 1960s, <strong>the</strong> approach to <strong>the</strong> Holocaust remained <strong>the</strong> same, although fascism was reinterpreted. Roller’s textbook was criticized for, among o<strong>the</strong>r complaints, proclaiming too radical a break with pre-communist historiography. Ideological guidelines issued in <strong>the</strong> late 1960s required <strong>the</strong> integration <strong>of</strong> communism into <strong>the</strong> national history in order to illustrate that communism was <strong>the</strong> outcome <strong>of</strong> an organic evolution. As a consequence, <strong>the</strong> problematic past was no longer entirely dismissed, but was selectively retrieved through discursive strategies that constituted a genuine “grammar <strong>of</strong> exculpation.” These transformations are seen best during <strong>the</strong> reign <strong>of</strong> Ceauşescu (1965-1989), when <strong>the</strong> communist regime fell back on a local version <strong>of</strong> national-communism, which combined extreme nationalism and neostalinism. In order to examine <strong>the</strong> main traits <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> communist discourse on <strong>the</strong> recent past, a content analysis on a representative sample <strong>of</strong> authoritative information in <strong>the</strong>1970s and 1980s has been carried out: two syn<strong>the</strong>tical volumes on Romanian history; <strong>the</strong> only books published during <strong>the</strong> Communist regime on <strong>the</strong> Legion, <strong>the</strong> Antonescu dictatorship and <strong>the</strong> Iaşi pogrom; and several military histories on Romania’s participation to <strong>the</strong> Second World War. This analysis shows: a) Fascism is presented as being primarily an imported product (“alien to <strong>the</strong> Romanian people” and “organically rejected” by it), as devoid <strong>of</strong> popular support (fascism was not “<strong>the</strong> expression <strong>of</strong> a mass trend”). It is argued that fascism was “imposed from abroad” in spite <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> “ever growing opposition <strong>of</strong> popular masses” to it, in an “unfavorable” international context, that it was “transplanted” into Romania by foreign imperialist circles and transformed at <strong>the</strong>ir pressure into an “out-post” supported by a local “retrograde minority.” b) Romania is presented as a victim and found innocent <strong>of</strong> any wrongdoing or crimes. While highlighting <strong>the</strong> topic <strong>of</strong> “Western treason,” which “left Romania alone,” and “pushed Romania into <strong>the</strong> arms <strong>of</strong> Germany,” <strong>the</strong> authors blame Nazi Germany exclusively or predominantly for Romanian political developments (e.g., Germany brought <strong>the</strong> Iron Guard and Antonescu to power and strictly controlled political, social, and economic life in Romania), for Romanian decisions (e.g., Germany made Romania enter “<strong>the</strong> adventure <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> War” and forced it into implementing “terrorist policies”) as well as for atrocities committed by Romanians. c) The Romanian population is absolved <strong>of</strong> any guilt. The authors argue that <strong>the</strong> establishment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> dictatorship, its decisions, and <strong>the</strong> Romanian atrocities were not <strong>the</strong> outcome <strong>of</strong> “mass will,” as <strong>the</strong>y stood in “blatant and irreconcilable opposition to <strong>the</strong> overwhelming majority <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Romanian people.” The Romanian population could not formulate its opposition at <strong>the</strong> beginning, yet it gradually expressed its “unmitigated hatred” and “active opposition” to <strong>the</strong> dictatorship and its indignation in regard to “excesses” by building an “insurmountable wall <strong>of</strong> humanitarianism.” Even when <strong>the</strong>se positions are difficult to uphold, as in <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Iaşi pogrom, where <strong>the</strong> Romanian army, police and local population participated in <strong>the</strong> atrocity, <strong>the</strong> authors find a means <strong>of</strong> evasion: <strong>the</strong> blame is ei<strong>the</strong>r deflected on <strong>the</strong> German troops and thus externalized and extra-territorialized; or, alternatively, <strong>the</strong> blame is diverted to <strong>the</strong> “periphery”: Romanian participation is said to have been limited to “a few isolated
Page 1 and 2:
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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child’s birth, would be considere
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Indeed, the system
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Romanianization instead of<
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The Cultural Ghettoization
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The Status of Jewi
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give up any radios able to send and
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Conclusions The anti-Jewish legisla
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L.A., no. 99, p. 344. Trei ani de g
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moral, social, and intellectual nee
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gradually, in reality the</
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except being defined as a Jew. I be
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egulate and authorize, under <stron
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y Lecca: Jews were privileged, and
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through the activi
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oth as a cry of re
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After coming to power, the<
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and then to send <
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their non-evacuate
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villages of <stron
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Return of Roma Sur
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(in many cases, the</strong
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in Romania. History and Contemporar
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THE ROLE OF ION ANTONESCU IN THE PL
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December 16, 1941, meeting
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me from carrying out the</s
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did not do it because…the
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more ironically, this leader’s wa
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THE HOLOCAUST IN NORTHERN TRANSYLVA
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Others 22 968 Magy
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ultimatum but also consented to <st
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military, political, and psychologi
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command over the g
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Huedin. The Jews of</strong
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authorities set up two ghettos in <
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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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Page 219 and 220: Câtcău Kackó Ciuc Csík Ciucea C
Page 221 and 222: Rona de Sus Felsöróna Rozavica Ro
Page 223 and 224: Bözödújfalu Bezidu Nou Budfalva
Page 225 and 226: Nagysajó Şieu (Bistrita-Nasaud Co
Page 227 and 228: (Indictment of Naz
Page 229 and 230: Randolph L. Braham, comp. and ed. (
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Page 233 and 234: Romanian government not to adopt <s
Page 235 and 236: still alive in the
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Page 239 and 240: We have been informed that various
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Page 243 and 244: Mitropolit pleaded with Mihai Anton
Page 245 and 246: Pozdnyakova, Yefrosiniya Starostina
Page 247 and 248: Ibid., pp. 224-225. Ibid., pp. 46-4
Page 249 and 250: the examined cases
Page 251 and 252: escape with negligible punishment;
Page 253 and 254: immense scale, enslaved millions <s
Page 255 and 256: means. The “ethnic Christian stat
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Page 259 and 260: face să pară evident că victimel
Page 261 and 262: viaţă, 100 milioane lei amendă
Page 263 and 264: Articolul 15 al Convenţiei de armi
Page 265 and 266: members accepted as authoritative s
Page 267: camp in January 1945, for several m
Page 271 and 272: such access was strictly supervised
Page 273 and 274: enefit from translation into Englis
Page 275 and 276: furthermore, he ha
Page 277 and 278: lucrative Jewish business ever,”
Page 279 and 280: deaths of thousand
Page 281 and 282: Treptow who was residing in Romania
Page 283 and 284: Finally, it must b
Page 285 and 286: A.) Integral Negationism Although <
Page 287 and 288: other genocides re
Page 289 and 290: mankind, such as wars; the<
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Page 293 and 294: After deploring the</strong
Page 295 and 296: Michael Shafir, “Ex Occidente Obs
Page 297 and 298: See, for example, Giurescu who make
Page 299 and 300: Randolph L. Braham, Romanian Nation
Page 301 and 302: Mediafax, March 18, 2002, Monitorul
Page 303 and 304: See Ibidem, pp. 3, 54-55. Ibidem, p
Page 305 and 306: Radu Theodoru, Mareşalul, Editura
Page 307 and 308: egained from the U
Page 309 and 310: was a record of an
Page 311 and 312: secondary school use. Those institu
Page 313: including erecting statues, mountin
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