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

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placed on <strong>the</strong> war itself, epidemics, and (again) on <strong>the</strong> Hitlerite troops. One thing was clear for Covaci: <strong>the</strong> Romanian army had “perpetrated no massacres or pogroms.” The pogrom’s anniversary was a good opportunity for Aurel Kareţki (joint author with Covaci <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> controversial Bloody Days in Iaşi) to sing <strong>the</strong> praise <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> solidarity with Jews said to have been displayed by <strong>the</strong> entire Romanian people. In a volume published in 1992, Mircea Muşat dubbed <strong>the</strong> Iaşi massacre a “Hitlerite-Legionary pogrom.” Attempts to deflect <strong>the</strong> guilt for <strong>the</strong> Holocaust on <strong>the</strong> Jews are not missing from Romanian negationism. Before his “conversion” to philosemitism, Corneliu Vadim Tudor was unhesitatingly employing deicidal arguments. In 1996, he was convinced that he was chosen to fulfill a messianic task: “Gracious God has a plan with me, namely, to remind <strong>the</strong>m [<strong>the</strong> Jews] that <strong>the</strong>y cannot infinitely crucify Jesus.” One year later, Tudor was confessing to “love Jesus Christ so dearly as to be unable not to think every day <strong>of</strong> who had mocked Him, who spat on Him, who stoned Him, who placed Him on <strong>the</strong> cross and who nailed Him. The Jews did it. The Jews <strong>of</strong> 2000 years ago and <strong>the</strong> Jews <strong>of</strong> all times.” Conspiracy <strong>the</strong>ories, which are widespread in Romania, apply to <strong>the</strong> treatment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Holocaust too. In <strong>the</strong> eyes <strong>of</strong> Theodoru, Hitler was nothing but a puppet in Jewish hands to scare Jews into running to Palestine, while in <strong>the</strong> respectable Writers’ Union weekly România literară, writer Ion Buduca was claiming in April 1998 that antisemitism was a Zionist ploy to advance <strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> Jewish emigration. In a tract published one year later, Buduca switched to <strong>the</strong> defensive argument, insinuating that <strong>the</strong> Jews had forced Hitler into self-defense. They were not only “historically guilty” for Germany’s defeat in WWI, but also <strong>of</strong> having started a war on Hitler in 1934, by declaring a boycott <strong>of</strong> Nazi German goods. The same defensive argument abounds in negationist literature. As early as 1993, “Europa” editor-inchief Ilie Neacşu (who would eventually become a PRM parliamentarian), was writing: “Hitler did not butcher Jews from <strong>the</strong> Valley <strong>of</strong> Jordan, but from his own courtyard in Berlin, where after World War I Judas’s descendants had become masters over German economy, culture, and politics.” To this category also belongs <strong>the</strong> argument developed by journalist Vladimir Alexe. In a 2002 article published (by coincidence or not) on Hitler’s birthday—April 20—in <strong>the</strong> “Ultra-secret Files” supplement <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> daily Ziua, Alexe purports to not only bring “evidence” that international Jewry had declared war on Hitler, but also that <strong>the</strong> famous Kristallnacht was nothing but a provocation engineered by world Jewry. Its purposes are alleged to have been tw<strong>of</strong>old: to provoke mass emigration from Germany to Palestine and to obstruct British plans for dividing Palestine between Jews and Arabs. While some negationists are ready to admit that repressive measures were applied against Jews “<strong>of</strong> necessity,” <strong>the</strong>y go out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> way to emphasize that <strong>the</strong>se were little o<strong>the</strong>r than punitive reactions to <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> loyally displayed by Jews towards Romania. The main argument rests on <strong>the</strong> large-scale support allegedly rendered by Jews to <strong>the</strong> Soviet occupation forces in Bessarabia and Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Bukovina in 1940 and on <strong>the</strong> alleged Jewish participation not only in humiliating or torturing <strong>the</strong> retreating Romanian army, but in <strong>the</strong> physical liquidation <strong>of</strong> Romanian military personnel. Viewed from this perspective, <strong>the</strong> June 1940 Dorohoi and Galaţi pogroms, <strong>the</strong> pogrom in Iaşi, <strong>the</strong> atrocities committed in Transnistria (whenever <strong>the</strong>y are acknowledged, even in minimalist terms) can all be explained in terms <strong>of</strong> self-defense and/or spontaneous revenge on <strong>the</strong> Jews for <strong>the</strong>ir deeds in 1940. This reactive argument has several versions. In some, Jewish guilt is total; in o<strong>the</strong>rs it is only partial, yet amplified by what <strong>the</strong> argument’s proponents call <strong>the</strong> “complex” and “tense” circumstances specific to <strong>the</strong> war. This second scenario would have <strong>the</strong> responsibility for atrocities remain indeterminate by switching <strong>the</strong> focus from <strong>the</strong> regime’s own criminal project to <strong>the</strong> unfortunate general context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> war. Typical <strong>of</strong> this scenario is <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> Alex Mihai Stoenescu, an employee <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Defense Ministry’s public relations department. In his book Armata, mareşalul şi evreii (The Army, <strong>the</strong> Marshal and <strong>the</strong> Jews) despite minimizing <strong>the</strong> scope <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Iaşi massacre, Stoenescu unequivocally deplores <strong>the</strong> fact that people lost <strong>the</strong>ir lives. But instead <strong>of</strong> pointing out <strong>the</strong> planned nature <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> atrocities, he argues that <strong>the</strong>
deaths <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> civilians in <strong>the</strong> death trains were <strong>the</strong> outcome <strong>of</strong> negligence ra<strong>the</strong>r than a consequence <strong>of</strong> deliberate action. He claims that <strong>the</strong> Jews crammed into cattle cars were suspected <strong>of</strong> being communists and <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> selection occurred in a “tense” atmosphere that led to <strong>the</strong> death <strong>of</strong> so many innocent people. He concludes that this was not <strong>the</strong> first time in history that “hundreds or even thousands <strong>of</strong> innocents” had paid for <strong>the</strong> deeds <strong>of</strong> “a handful <strong>of</strong> [Jewish communist] culprits.” A similar argument was propounded by Adrian Păunescu, one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> authors <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> cult <strong>of</strong> Ceauşescu turned post-communist politician (Păunescu was a senator for <strong>the</strong> Romanian Labor Party and <strong>the</strong>n for <strong>the</strong> Romanian Social-Democratic Party). In an article published in 1994, he argued that “None <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Romanians who fought for <strong>the</strong> restoration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Nation’s unity (starting from Marshal Antonescu down to <strong>the</strong> last soldier) has acted in <strong>the</strong> blood-stained manner in which wars force people to act against enemies because <strong>the</strong>y were acting against Jews. The only—and fearsome—rationale for <strong>the</strong> terrible crimes in Bessarabia was to administer punishment to <strong>the</strong> Bolsheviks…Romania did not kill Jews [just] because <strong>the</strong>y were Jews.” Jewish guilt for <strong>the</strong> war and its outcome is prominent in <strong>the</strong> works <strong>of</strong> historian Gheorghe Buzatu. His views on <strong>the</strong> Holocaust and his admiration <strong>of</strong> Antonescu were on record long before 1995, when Buzatu published a booklet at <strong>the</strong> Iron Guardist Majadahonda publishing house. In a noticeable performance, Buzatu’s booklet reverses <strong>the</strong> perspective: Ra<strong>the</strong>r than being a perpetrator <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Holocaust, Romania had been its victim. This time around, <strong>the</strong> discourse is no longer on Romania as a victim <strong>of</strong> Nazi Germany, as used to be <strong>the</strong> case in communist historiography. Romania underwent a Holocaust at <strong>the</strong> hand <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jews, and <strong>the</strong> year 1940 marked its beginning. The booklet would eventually make it as a separate chapter in a 1996 volume based on research Buzatu conducted in Soviet archives. Although this tome purports to deal with Romanians in <strong>the</strong> Kremlin’s Archives, most <strong>of</strong> its “heroes” were ei<strong>the</strong>r Jews or had Jewish spouses, and all served Soviet power, becoming prominent leaders in post-World War II Romania. In its book version <strong>the</strong> brochure underwent significant changes. For example, it is no longer stated that <strong>the</strong> Jewish attacks on <strong>the</strong> Romanian army in summer 1940 “undoubtedly influenced” Antonescu’s “ulterior behavior vis-à-vis <strong>the</strong> Jewish problem.” Implicitly, in 1995 Buzatu was acknowledging that Antonescu had ordered in 1941 that Jews be deported from Bessarabia and Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Bukovina to Transnistria. This is now vanishing. But Buzatu keeps in <strong>the</strong> quotation that shows Antonescu as stating on October 19, 1941, that <strong>the</strong> crimes perpetrated in Bessarabia and Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Bukovina in 1940 against <strong>the</strong> Romanian army had been “essentially <strong>of</strong> Jewish inspiration and execution.” Buzatu himself referred to those events as “a [Jewish] crime against <strong>the</strong> Romanian people.” More important, in both versions one finds <strong>the</strong> assertion that July 1940 is <strong>the</strong> date marking “<strong>the</strong> Holocaust [directed] against <strong>the</strong> Romanian people during <strong>the</strong> 1939-1945 World War II and later on.” The last form <strong>of</strong> deflective negation—and by far <strong>the</strong> most insulting to <strong>the</strong> memory—casts <strong>the</strong> Jews in <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> perpetrators <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Holocaust. Ion Coja, a Bucharest University philology pr<strong>of</strong>essor whose sinuous political career took him from one political party to ano<strong>the</strong>r, was a candidate for <strong>the</strong> position <strong>of</strong> Bucharest mayor in <strong>the</strong> local elections <strong>of</strong> 2004. The main point on his electoral platform was <strong>the</strong> rehabilitation <strong>of</strong> Marshal Antonescu. In 1996 he was close to being designated a candidate for Romania’s presidency. In an “open letter” addressed to <strong>the</strong> late president <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> FCER, <strong>the</strong> late pr<strong>of</strong>essor Nicolae Cajal, Coja wrote in February 1997 that <strong>the</strong> January 1941 Bucharest pogrom had never taken place. Its 121 victims, some <strong>of</strong> whom were hanged on hooks at <strong>the</strong> slaughter house with <strong>the</strong> inscription “Kosher meat” on <strong>the</strong>m were all an invention—<strong>the</strong> best pro<strong>of</strong> being that when <strong>the</strong> Communists took over power nobody had been put on trial, although so many Jews were in <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>n party leadership. Jews may have died during <strong>the</strong> January uprising against Antonescu, Coja claimed in ano<strong>the</strong>r letter to Cajal, but nobody has ever proved that <strong>the</strong> Iron Guard committed <strong>the</strong> crimes. The Iron Guard did not commit <strong>the</strong>
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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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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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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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Page 229 and 230: Randolph L. Braham, comp. and ed. (
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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
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Page 247 and 248: Ibid., pp. 224-225. Ibid., pp. 46-4
Page 249 and 250: the examined cases
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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 and 268: camp in January 1945, for several m
Page 269 and 270: Beginning in the 1
Page 271 and 272: such access was strictly supervised
Page 273 and 274: enefit from translation into Englis
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Page 277: lucrative Jewish business ever,”
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<
Page 291 and 292: age of 44, only on
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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