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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

instituted <strong>the</strong> ‘Romanianization <strong>of</strong> personnel’ across <strong>the</strong> entire country, based on law, to let go tens <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> Jewish and Hungarian workers and clerks and to replace <strong>the</strong>m with <strong>the</strong>ir subordinates, especially with those originating from <strong>the</strong> ranks <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> refugees...In <strong>the</strong> Jewish and Hungarian businesses and foreign capital (except <strong>the</strong> German) a few thousand highly-paid Romanianization commissars were nominated...Under <strong>the</strong> slogan “Romanianization <strong>of</strong> industry and commerce,” <strong>the</strong> Iron Guard and <strong>the</strong>ir armed followers started <strong>the</strong> expropriation <strong>of</strong> small and large Jewish stores through death threats all over <strong>the</strong> country. The Legionary regime led by General Antonescu and Horia Sima not only instigated partition but partitioned through <strong>the</strong> law or without <strong>the</strong> law <strong>the</strong> belongings <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jewish population.” The PCR also harshly criticized <strong>the</strong> violent antisemitism <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> extreme right. In January 1938, following antisemitic actions in Transylvania, <strong>the</strong> PCR felt obliged “to explain to <strong>the</strong> masses, using <strong>the</strong> Marxist repertoire, <strong>the</strong> meaning <strong>of</strong> periodical pogroms: <strong>the</strong>y are not accidents, but a product <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> policies wished by <strong>the</strong> dictatorship <strong>of</strong> finance capital….By informing <strong>the</strong> masses about <strong>the</strong> attitude <strong>of</strong> revolutionary workers, communists will raise sympathies for revolutionary workers’ organizations within minorities.” The filtering <strong>of</strong> antisemitism through <strong>the</strong> lens <strong>of</strong> class struggle led <strong>the</strong> PCR to criticize <strong>the</strong> political positions <strong>of</strong> Jewish community leaders: “At <strong>the</strong> same time <strong>the</strong> Communist Party must show, through <strong>the</strong> facts (<strong>the</strong> speeches <strong>of</strong> Ely Bercovici, Filderman in <strong>the</strong> Parliament, <strong>the</strong> complete absence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Hungarian Party), all <strong>the</strong> cowardice and humiliations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> minorities’ bourgeoisies and to unmask those who are <strong>the</strong> allies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> liberals: <strong>the</strong> Union <strong>of</strong> Romanian Jews, <strong>the</strong> Hungarian Party that made alliances with <strong>the</strong> executioners <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir own people. The PCR supported <strong>the</strong> struggle for equal rights for minorities. Communist archives reveal many antifascist and anti-dictatorship programmatic documents, which express <strong>the</strong> militancy <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> PCR on minority rights. Titles included: “Defending Nationalities’ Rights and Exposing <strong>the</strong> Demagoguery <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Government on This Issue” and “Against <strong>the</strong> National Policy <strong>of</strong> Persecution, <strong>the</strong> Cancellation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Citizenship Revising Decrees, and <strong>the</strong> Cancellation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Law for <strong>the</strong> Protection <strong>of</strong> National Labor. For Equal Rights to All People in Romania.” The Jewish issue was also present in <strong>the</strong> correspondence between <strong>the</strong> Romanian Communists and <strong>the</strong>ir relations within <strong>the</strong> Third <strong>International</strong>. Typical is a letter written after <strong>the</strong> Legionary rebellion: [T]he Iron Guard lost much <strong>of</strong> its influence and this rebellion opened <strong>the</strong> eyes <strong>of</strong> many people. The murders, pillaging, and arsons that were committed have been underreported in <strong>the</strong> press. On January 21- 22, 1941, before <strong>the</strong> Iron Guard initiated serious attacks upon <strong>the</strong> Board <strong>of</strong> Ministers, Antonescu did not interfere. Legionnaires sacked at will <strong>the</strong> Bucharest districts <strong>of</strong> Vacaresti, Otesti, and o<strong>the</strong>rs. On Domnitei Street, Legionnaires organized genuine orgies. A group <strong>of</strong> Jewish men and women were beaten to death with iron bars in <strong>the</strong> middle <strong>of</strong> a circle <strong>of</strong> dancing Legionnaires. At <strong>the</strong> city slaughterhouse, <strong>the</strong> Jews were hooked up on slaughterer’s hooks for cows and we have photographs <strong>of</strong> those atrocities. The PCR, through <strong>the</strong> civic association it controlled, allowed <strong>the</strong> Jews to militate for specific objectives; for example, in <strong>the</strong> Union <strong>of</strong> Patriots, <strong>the</strong> PCR stated that “The Jewish group must have its own commission to allow <strong>the</strong> Jews to take care <strong>of</strong> purely Jewish issues.” The PCR also organized networks <strong>of</strong> aid to <strong>the</strong> Jews from <strong>the</strong> Vapniarka camp in Transnistria, where <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> those detained were Jews and communists. It is worth mentioning that in 1942 when <strong>the</strong> Romanian communists remained interned in <strong>the</strong> Tirgu Jiu camp, over 400 Jewish communists were deported to Vapniarka. Because <strong>the</strong>y were fed with peas for cows, most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m returned to Romania paralyzed. Over forty Romanian communists <strong>of</strong> Jewish origin who had been sentenced to prison were moved from Vapniarka to <strong>the</strong> Ribnita prison. Only three <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m survived. At <strong>the</strong> same time, however, <strong>the</strong>re were instances in which <strong>the</strong> PCR did not adopt a direct position
about <strong>the</strong> Holocaust, instead talking indirectly about atrocities or putting Jewish victims under <strong>the</strong> more generic rubric <strong>of</strong> “cohabiting nationalities.” Although its indictment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Antonescu regime was made clear in a document issued in <strong>the</strong> aftermath <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Iasi pogrom, which acknowledged <strong>the</strong> “poverty, hunger, forced labor, serfdom, destructive war in <strong>the</strong> interest <strong>of</strong> German fascists, internments in concentration camps and mass executions <strong>of</strong> Jews and Romanian patriots,” <strong>the</strong> PCR confined itself to referring to <strong>the</strong> Jewish victims <strong>the</strong>re as “<strong>the</strong> 2,000 patriots from Iasi,” whose murder “may not deter <strong>the</strong> Romanian people.” Ano<strong>the</strong>r example <strong>of</strong> this s<strong>of</strong>ter line <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> PCR on <strong>the</strong> problems <strong>of</strong> Romanian Jews is <strong>the</strong> <strong>Report</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Central Committee Secretariat <strong>of</strong> PCR <strong>of</strong> May 20, 1938. This report described <strong>the</strong> difficult situation <strong>of</strong> Jews following <strong>the</strong> Citizenship Revision Law, without naming <strong>the</strong> Jews at all, although <strong>the</strong> law was directed at <strong>the</strong>m: The royal dictatorship wages savage terror on cohabiting nationalities through its “citizenship revision” bill, which stripped citizenship <strong>of</strong> tens and thousands <strong>of</strong> people. By barbarously applying “<strong>the</strong> law <strong>of</strong> national labor protection,” thousands more men and women lost <strong>the</strong>ir jobs. The royal dictatorship runs a chauvinist policy <strong>of</strong> stirring Romanian people against cohabiting people and <strong>the</strong>reby endangers <strong>the</strong> security <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> country in <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> aggression <strong>of</strong> fascist countries against Romania. A document <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> PCR Central Committee following <strong>the</strong> Legionary rebellion defined <strong>the</strong> Legionary movement as “stirring and feeding wild chauvinism in <strong>the</strong> Romanian people, by stirring hate among nationalities, by forcing workers to work between twelve and sixteen hours per day for miserable wages, by fomenting pogroms against <strong>the</strong> revolutionary working class and <strong>the</strong> oppressed nations.” As sociologist Andrei Roth has shown, Jews were over-represented in <strong>the</strong> Romanian Communist Party. This means that <strong>the</strong>ir proportion was higher than <strong>the</strong> proportion represented by <strong>the</strong> Jewish minority as a demographic group versus <strong>the</strong> entire population. “In spite <strong>of</strong> this,” writes Roth, “this overrepresentation <strong>of</strong> Jews in <strong>the</strong> Communist movement does not mean that <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jews were Communists, nor that <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Communists were Jews.” For example, in 1933, <strong>the</strong> Jews represented 4 percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> population and at <strong>the</strong> same time in <strong>the</strong> Communist Party, which had 1,665 members, <strong>the</strong>y represented 18.22 percent (303 Communists in a community <strong>of</strong> over 750,000 Jews). The Jews represented <strong>the</strong> third ethnic group after <strong>the</strong> Hungarians (26.8 percent) and Romanians (22.65). Between 1933 and August 23, 1944, <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> party members changed. According to a CC/PCR document, in 1940 <strong>the</strong> party allegedly had between 3,000 and 4,000 members; by August 23, 1944, <strong>the</strong>y numbered only 1,000. Judeo-communism was propaganda meant to divide people. It was not based on PCR membership statistics or on its political strength. PCR membership between 1938 and 1944 was very small (on August 23, 1944, <strong>the</strong>re were roughly 1,000 members). Toge<strong>the</strong>r with its sympathizers, <strong>the</strong> communists could not count on more than 4,000 people. Moreover, between 1924 and August 23, 1944, <strong>the</strong> PCR was outlawed and had extremely limited resources for influencing <strong>the</strong> political actions taken by those in power. Romanian Magyars and Jews joined <strong>the</strong> PCR because at that time <strong>the</strong> party was militantly antifascist, both ideologically and programmatically, and it made many pro-minority overtures. The PCR attitude concerning <strong>the</strong> minorities was in accordance with <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>sis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Thirteenth <strong>International</strong> and stated in general <strong>the</strong> principle <strong>of</strong> self-determination. The Jewish population suffered during <strong>the</strong> occupation Bessarabia and Bukovina by <strong>the</strong> Soviet army and administration during <strong>the</strong> summer <strong>of</strong> 1940. There are statistical data and nominal lists concerning <strong>the</strong> deportation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jewish citizens <strong>of</strong> Bessarabia and Bukovina. The deportations were made on <strong>the</strong> basis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ideological criteria <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> “class struggle.” Under <strong>the</strong>se circumstances, Jews in <strong>the</strong> Zionist
Page 1 and 2:
Final Repo
Page 3 and 4:
Germany’s war against the
Page 5 and 6:
which includes reputed experts led
Page 7 and 8:
BACKGROUND AND PRECURSORS TO THE HO
Page 9 and 10:
against which antisemites in <stron
Page 11 and 12:
declaring in the p
Page 13 and 14:
them. Thus, he con
Page 15 and 16:
We must organize ourselves for a wa
Page 17 and 18:
ureaucracy of wart
Page 19 and 20:
this direction by Nicolae C. Paules
Page 21 and 22:
promising leader of</strong
Page 23 and 24: organized a tariff and tax strike.
Page 25 and 26: Legion of
Page 27 and 28: less so in Romanian society as a wh
Page 29 and 30: This ambiguous, self-contradictory
Page 31 and 32: The Gigurtu government began to con
Page 33 and 34: The Case of Român
Page 35 and 36: Cuza’s argument that it is possib
Page 37 and 38: Românesc,” Sociologie Româneasc
Page 39 and 40: ole in the early 1
Page 41 and 42: European states, notably Romania an
Page 43 and 44: Germany's immediate interests at <s
Page 45 and 46: eligious communities, the</
Page 47 and 48: counterpart, “when [he] first met
Page 49 and 50: de Istorie şi Arheologie, “A. D.
Page 51 and 52: Romania. Muler to Luthe</st
Page 53 and 54: demands on territorial revisions an
Page 55 and 56: military mission to come to Romania
Page 57 and 58: High Command, informing the
Page 59 and 60: The Jews and the R
Page 61 and 62: Romanian army. Thus, in Ciudei in <
Page 63 and 64: antisemitism in Romanian society an
Page 65 and 66: Ibid., fond Micro-films, roll I.II,
Page 67 and 68: manifestations of
Page 69 and 70: power, as this power colonized West
Page 71 and 72: attraction, many Jews resettled in
Page 73: to defend itself; hence its support
Page 77 and 78: Nichifor Crainic, “Dupa douazeci
Page 79 and 80: Isaia Tolan, “Revizuirea incetate
Page 81 and 82: X. Y. Z., “Rezolvarea problemei e
Page 83 and 84: andom searches and arrests, robberi
Page 85 and 86: Bucharest Prefectura. Almost two th
Page 87 and 88: epression was not ordered by Antone
Page 89 and 90: from villages and small towns. On J
Page 91 and 92: accident; it was contrived by <stro
Page 93 and 94: The second train to leave Iasi for
Page 95 and 96: care of th
Page 97 and 98: "premilitary," were also placed at
Page 99 and 100: according to the o
Page 101 and 102: Tighina Agreement On August 30, Tra
Page 103 and 104: elieved Transnistria would be occup
Page 105 and 106: the 331,000 Ukrain
Page 107 and 108: those inside to take the</s
Page 109 and 110: [longer] move.” After several wee
Page 111 and 112: eappear a few seconds later and sig
Page 113 and 114: operation and that “some
Page 115 and 116: Bukovina and Bessarabia. Einsatzkom
Page 117 and 118: other things, <str
Page 119 and 120: Berezovka district and burn <strong
Page 121 and 122: them in exchange f
Page 123 and 124: transport of 2,000
Page 125 and 126:
Bulgarian, Turkish, Italian, or Swi
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
Page 143 and 144:
child’s birth, would be considere
Page 145 and 146:
Indeed, the system
Page 147 and 148:
Romanianization instead of<
Page 149 and 150:
The Cultural Ghettoization
Page 151 and 152:
The Status of Jewi
Page 153 and 154:
give up any radios able to send and
Page 155 and 156:
Conclusions The anti-Jewish legisla
Page 157 and 158:
L.A., no. 99, p. 344. Trei ani de g
Page 159 and 160:
moral, social, and intellectual nee
Page 161 and 162:
gradually, in reality the</
Page 163 and 164:
except being defined as a Jew. I be
Page 165 and 166:
egulate and authorize, under <stron
Page 167 and 168:
y Lecca: Jews were privileged, and
Page 169 and 170:
through the activi
Page 171 and 172:
oth as a cry of re
Page 173 and 174:
After coming to power, the<
Page 175 and 176:
and then to send <
Page 177 and 178:
their non-evacuate
Page 179 and 180:
villages of <stron
Page 181 and 182:
Return of Roma Sur
Page 183 and 184:
(in many cases, the</strong
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
Page 193 and 194:
did not do it because…the
Page 195 and 196:
more ironically, this leader’s wa
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
Page 203 and 204:
military, political, and psychologi
Page 205 and 206:
command over the g
Page 207 and 208:
Huedin. The Jews of</strong
Page 209 and 210:
authorities set up two ghettos in <
Page 211 and 212:
Secuilor counties was carried out i
Page 213 and 214:
the procedure foll
Page 215 and 216:
deportation trains per day. While E
Page 217 and 218:
Deportation Trains from Nor
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. (
Page 231 and 232:
perceived by a significant part <st
Page 233 and 234:
Romanian government not to adopt <s
Page 235 and 236:
still alive in the
Page 237 and 238:
the Jews who worke
Page 239 and 240:
We have been informed that various
Page 241 and 242:
church bells announce the</
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
Page 257 and 258:
it is evident that the</str
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
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<
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
show all

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

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?