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

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Bukovina, Moldavia, and…in Transylvania.” Do not think that when I decided to disinfect <strong>the</strong> Romanian people <strong>of</strong> all Jews, I did not realize I would be provoking an economic crisis. But I told myself that this was <strong>the</strong> war I was leading. And as in any war, <strong>the</strong>re are damages to <strong>the</strong> nation. But if I win this war, <strong>the</strong> nation will receive its compensation. We are undergoing a crisis because we are removing <strong>the</strong> Jews….Should we miss this historical opportunity now, we’ll miss it forever. And if <strong>the</strong> Jews win <strong>the</strong> war, we’ll no longer exist” [emphasis added]. Implementation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Arrangements Although Mihai Antonescu had concluded <strong>the</strong> abmachungen (<strong>the</strong> understandings regarding field cooperation) with <strong>the</strong> SS (i.e., Einsatzgruppe D, which was active in <strong>the</strong> Romanian troops’ operation area) and with o<strong>the</strong>r German bodies, relations between <strong>the</strong> various units <strong>of</strong> Einsatzgruppe D and <strong>the</strong> Romanian army, gendarmerie, police, and Special Echelon were far from ideal. The Germans were content only when <strong>the</strong> Romanians acted according to <strong>the</strong>ir directives. Whenever <strong>the</strong>ir Romanian comrades deviated from <strong>the</strong> plan—whenever <strong>the</strong>y failed to remove all traces <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mass executions and instead left corpses unburied, whenever <strong>the</strong>y plundered, raped, or fired shots in <strong>the</strong> streets or received bribes from Jews—<strong>the</strong> Nazis fumed. Their letters, protests, and orders in this regard decried <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> organization and planning, not <strong>the</strong> crimes <strong>the</strong>mselves. On July 11, 1941, for example, <strong>the</strong> commander <strong>of</strong> Einsatzkommando 10b (a sub-unit <strong>of</strong> Einsatzgruppe D) reported <strong>the</strong> plunders at Falesti (where all <strong>the</strong> Jews were shot) and noted, “<strong>the</strong> measures taken against <strong>the</strong> Jews before <strong>the</strong> arrival <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Einsatzkommando lacked any planning.” Each time such actions were taken, not only against <strong>the</strong> Jews but also against <strong>the</strong> Ukrainians <strong>of</strong> Bukovina and Bessarabia, <strong>the</strong> Germans hastened to object. The RSHA went so far as to claim that <strong>the</strong> solution to <strong>the</strong> Jewish problem between <strong>the</strong> Dniester and <strong>the</strong> Dnieper had been placed in <strong>the</strong> wrong hands. The Hasty Deportations In late July and early August, on <strong>the</strong> heels <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Wehrmacht, German extermination units were advancing rapidly in Ukraine, rounding up and gunning down tens <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> Ukrainian Jews. Under <strong>the</strong>se circumstances, lacking coordination with <strong>the</strong> German army, and based only on <strong>the</strong> talks between Hitler and Antonescu in Munich on June 12, <strong>the</strong> Romanian army began to deport tens <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> Jews, who had been arrested in boroughs and on <strong>the</strong> roads, across <strong>the</strong> Dniester to that area that would soon become Transnistria. This action commenced <strong>the</strong> moment <strong>the</strong> troops reached <strong>the</strong> Dniester. Toward <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> July, <strong>the</strong> Romanian army concentrated about 25,000 Jews near <strong>the</strong> village <strong>of</strong> Coslav, on <strong>the</strong> Dniester. Some had been marched from Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Bukovina and o<strong>the</strong>rs were caught in nor<strong>the</strong>rn Bessarabia, particularly in and around Briceni. On July 24, shortly after <strong>the</strong> German-Romanian forces had entered Ukraine, <strong>the</strong>se Jews were sent across <strong>the</strong> River. The Romanian soldiers did not provide <strong>the</strong> convoys with food or drinking water and imprisoned <strong>the</strong> Jews in an improvised camp surrounded by barbed wire in <strong>the</strong> middle <strong>of</strong> a plowed field. Whoever attempted to escape was shot. The weak died <strong>of</strong> hunger. At this stage, <strong>the</strong> German <strong>of</strong>ficers ordered <strong>the</strong> convoys to head for Moghilev. Romanian gendarmes also pushed thousands <strong>of</strong> Jews through Rezina and Iampol and across <strong>the</strong> Dniester, although Transnistria was still under German military occupation. The German military authorities started forcing <strong>the</strong> Jewish columns back to Bessarabia. In response, “General Antonescu ordered that any penetration into our territory be strictly forbidden. The Jews who have crossed and will fur<strong>the</strong>r attempt to cross <strong>the</strong> border should be considered spies and executed.” The Conducator’s representative in Bukovina, Alexandru Riosanu, reported on July 19 that, “in accordance with <strong>the</strong> telegraphic order received,” <strong>the</strong> Jews recrossing <strong>the</strong> Dniester were “executed
according to <strong>the</strong> order I gave upon my arrival.” The commander <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Romanian Fourth Army instructed his units and <strong>the</strong> gendarmerie to force back all Jews identified as returning from Ukraine. The Romanian soldiers continued to drive convoys <strong>of</strong> Jews from nor<strong>the</strong>rn Bessarabia to <strong>the</strong> Dniester, ordering nightly stopovers being used for plunder and rape, and <strong>the</strong>n shooting hundreds to convince <strong>the</strong> rest to cross makeshift bridges. Hundreds <strong>of</strong> Jews were pushed into <strong>the</strong> Dniester; whoever attempted to climb out was shot. Hundreds more were gunned down on <strong>the</strong> riverbanks and cast into <strong>the</strong> dark waters, which had started to overflow after <strong>the</strong> heavy rains. The transfer <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> convoys from one place to ano<strong>the</strong>r created an additional problem, which <strong>the</strong> Romanian General Staff had not foreseen and which angered <strong>the</strong> Germans, i.e. thousands <strong>of</strong> Jewish bodies were strewn everywhere, signaling <strong>the</strong> routes and attracted Bessarabian peasants who eagerly stripped <strong>the</strong> corpses and yanked out gold teeth. On July 30, <strong>the</strong> German Eleventh Army command requested that <strong>the</strong> Romanian General Staff stop pushing Jews across <strong>the</strong> Dniester. “At Iampol <strong>the</strong>re are several thousand Jews—including women, children, and old men—whom <strong>the</strong> Romanian authorities have sent across <strong>the</strong> Dniester. These masses are not being guarded, and <strong>the</strong>ir food supplies have not been ensured. Many have started to die <strong>of</strong> hunger…<strong>the</strong> danger <strong>of</strong> disease is increasing. Accordingly, <strong>the</strong> German army command has taken measures to prevent [more] Jews from being [sent] across <strong>the</strong> Dniester.” In practical terms, <strong>the</strong>se measures meant shooting thousands <strong>of</strong> Jews on <strong>the</strong> riverbanks. As stated, Antonescu protested to Ambassador Killinger <strong>the</strong> German army’s return <strong>of</strong> Jews to Romanian territory, claiming it contravened Hitler’s statements in Munich. Foreign Ministry <strong>of</strong>ficials in Berlin dared not ask Hitler what he had told Antonescu, instead insisting that “<strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial transcript <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> talks…contains nothing in this regard.” Never<strong>the</strong>less, Ambassador Karl Ritter, a member <strong>of</strong> Ribbentrop’s <strong>of</strong>fice admitted <strong>the</strong> possibility that “<strong>the</strong> problem <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Eastern Jews had also been also discussed,” and <strong>the</strong>refore recommended that “General Antonescu’s request that <strong>the</strong> Jews not be pushed back into Bessarabia should be taken into account.” On August 4, most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> huge column <strong>of</strong> Jews pushed by <strong>the</strong> gendarmes across <strong>the</strong> Dniester was concentrated in Moghilev. For three days, <strong>the</strong> Germans conducted “selections” and shot <strong>the</strong> old and sick, while <strong>the</strong> young were forced to dig graves. German and Romanian soldiers murdered some 4,500 Jews. The convoy was driven fur<strong>the</strong>r along <strong>the</strong> Ukrainian bank <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Dniester. With each stop, <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> Jews grew smaller from executions, exhaustion, illness, and infant starvation. On August 17 <strong>the</strong> convoy returned to Bessarabia at Iampol, by crossing a narrow pontoon bridge made by <strong>the</strong> Romanian army. Of a convoy <strong>of</strong> up to 32,000 Jews, somewhere between 8,000 and 20,000 were killed on <strong>the</strong> Ukrainian side <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Dniester, and most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> survivers were imprisoned in <strong>the</strong> Vertujeni camp. Transit Camps and Ghettos War Headquarters concluded that until <strong>the</strong> status <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ukrainian territory to be given to Romania had been established, <strong>the</strong> deportations had to stop. Consequently, temporary camps and ghettos were set up in Bessarabia. The special order for this project, given on August 8, regulated <strong>the</strong> imprisonment regime, delegated responsibilities, and stressed that <strong>the</strong> Jews would not be maintained at <strong>the</strong> state’s expense. Before leaving for Chişinău, Bessarabia’s governor, General Constantin Voiculescu, was summoned by <strong>the</strong> Conducator, who outlined his policy in <strong>the</strong> two provinces and issued several unwritten orders. The first problem <strong>the</strong> governor had to solve was <strong>the</strong> Jewish matter. Voiculescu subsequently reported to Antonescu: “In this order <strong>of</strong> ideas, upon seeing <strong>the</strong> Jews swarming all over Bessarabia, particularly in Chisinau, within no more than five days since <strong>the</strong> arrival <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> undersigned in Chisinau, I ordered <strong>the</strong> setting up <strong>of</strong> camps and ghettos.” Ghettos were new for Romania. Therefore, Presidency advisor Stanescu traveled to Warsaw “to study <strong>the</strong> concentration structure in <strong>the</strong> German quarters and use <strong>the</strong>ir experience.” Warsaw was an excellent
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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</
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
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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 <
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Page 65 and 66: Ibid., fond Micro-films, roll I.II,
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Page 69 and 70: power, as this power colonized West
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Page 73 and 74: to defend itself; hence its support
Page 75 and 76: about the Holocaus
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
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Page 85 and 86: Bucharest Prefectura. Almost two th
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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
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Page 101 and 102: Tighina Agreement On August 30, Tra
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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
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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
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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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(Indictment of Naz
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Randolph L. Braham, comp. and ed. (
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perceived by a significant part <st
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Romanian government not to adopt <s
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still alive in the
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the Jews who worke
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We have been informed that various
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church bells announce the</
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Mitropolit pleaded with Mihai Anton
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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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