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

or doubt when it coldly announced, “five hundred communist Jews were executed in Iasi.” The <strong>of</strong>ficial
communiqué on <strong>the</strong> Iasi pogrom pointed to Iasi’s “Judeo-Bolshevik population,” which was supposedly
guilty <strong>of</strong> having shot at Romanian and German troops, and asked ethnic Romanians to inform on Jews
under threat <strong>of</strong> execution: “Whoever fails to reveal <strong>the</strong>se rioters against public safety and order on time
shall be executed toge<strong>the</strong>r with <strong>the</strong>ir entire families.” At <strong>the</strong> peak <strong>of</strong> this political and media “Judeocommunist
psychosis,” <strong>the</strong> Antonescu government’s announcement that “for every Romanian or German
soldier killed, fifty Judeo-communists will be executed,” was welcomed by <strong>the</strong> press as a firm move
against <strong>the</strong> “treason” <strong>of</strong> “Judeo-communists.”
The life <strong>of</strong> Bessarabian and Bukovinan Jewry became a nightmare in this media and policy
environment. “All Jews here,” wrote a war correspondent for Curentul, posted in Bessarabia, “are spies,
<strong>the</strong>y are all ready to sabotage any measure in <strong>the</strong> national interest and would give <strong>the</strong>ir lives to be able to
contribute anything to <strong>the</strong> success <strong>of</strong> Bolshevism.” This was why, <strong>the</strong> daily continued, “<strong>the</strong> safety
measures against <strong>the</strong>se are getting harsher day by day. All <strong>the</strong> boroughs and towns were evacuated <strong>of</strong>
Jews between <strong>the</strong> ages <strong>of</strong> 16 and 55, whom we will leave in camps from now on …” With unrestrained
satisfaction, <strong>the</strong> war correspondent <strong>the</strong>n described <strong>the</strong> tragedy <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jews as he saw it: “On <strong>the</strong> roads <strong>of</strong>
Moldova, I met numerous convoys <strong>of</strong> carriages and full trains <strong>of</strong> wandering Kikes... And <strong>the</strong> women and
elderly who remained in <strong>the</strong> boroughs and towns wore a distinctive patch sewn on yellow armband—<strong>the</strong>
Kike-ish yellow star. <strong>Final</strong>ly <strong>the</strong>ir time had come... Let us carry on diligently this sainted war, because it
will bring us two definitive victories: <strong>the</strong> defeat <strong>of</strong> Bolshevism and <strong>the</strong> destruction <strong>of</strong> Judaism.”
The situation was <strong>the</strong> same in Bukovina, and <strong>the</strong> press did not hesitate to advertise and sustain <strong>the</strong>
measures taken by <strong>the</strong> Romanian administration. Alexandru Riosanu, Ion Antonescu’s envoy to
Bukovina, gave several orders establishing <strong>the</strong> conditions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jews from that province—how <strong>the</strong>y
could circulate and buy food, and obliging <strong>the</strong>m to wear a “Jewish star.” One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se orders was
publicized through posters that read, “It was announced to <strong>the</strong> whole population that…50 Jewish leaders
from Cernauti were arrested and interned, and <strong>the</strong>y will guarantee with <strong>the</strong>ir lives and belongings <strong>the</strong>
complete silence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jewish population. If <strong>the</strong> Jews commit <strong>the</strong> slightest act <strong>of</strong> violence against <strong>the</strong>
Romanian or allied armies, <strong>the</strong> hostages will be executed immediately.” The antisemitic polities obtained
all <strong>the</strong> attributes <strong>of</strong> state terrorism in this way, and <strong>the</strong> newspapers and magazines found this justified. The
current and concrete acts <strong>of</strong> justice concerning <strong>the</strong> Jews became a true model <strong>of</strong> abuse or even crime,
which <strong>the</strong> press described in a positive way.
Solutions to <strong>the</strong> Problem <strong>of</strong> “Judeo – Bolshevism”
In <strong>the</strong> political and journalistic imagery outlined above, “Judeo-communism” appeared to be <strong>the</strong>
manifestation <strong>of</strong> absolute evil, syn<strong>the</strong>sized and amplified as a kind <strong>of</strong> ideological corollary to <strong>the</strong>
imagined defects <strong>of</strong> Jewishness as perceived in traditional antisemitism.
From this point <strong>of</strong> view, <strong>the</strong> ideas <strong>of</strong> Goebbels, Nazi minister <strong>of</strong> propaganda, were echoed generously
in <strong>the</strong> Romanian press at <strong>the</strong> time: “Jews are <strong>the</strong> cause <strong>of</strong> war. This is why our treatment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m does not
subject <strong>the</strong>m to any injustice. They deserve this treatment. It is <strong>the</strong> government’s task to finish <strong>the</strong>m <strong>of</strong>f
for good;” and, “This war was desired by <strong>the</strong> Jews…this could lead to very serious decisions, but this
does not matter considering <strong>the</strong> size <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> danger…By conceiving, a plan <strong>of</strong> total destruction against <strong>the</strong>
German people, <strong>the</strong>y [<strong>the</strong> Jews] signed <strong>the</strong>ir own death sentence.” Antonescu concurred when he told
Filderman: “<strong>the</strong> war initiated by Judah against Germany turns at this point against Judah himself.”
In its own articles, as well, <strong>the</strong> Romanian press contributed to sustaining this argument, writing about
“<strong>the</strong> war <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jews” and about <strong>the</strong> fact that “today’s war and all its misfortunes were prepared and
maintained by <strong>the</strong> forces <strong>of</strong> world Jewry.”
The press depicted <strong>the</strong> majority as feeling threatened by Judeo-communism and searching for a way