Holocaust in Romania - Corvinus Library - Hungarian History

Community organizations, religious communities and their unionsremained the only institutions burdened with the difficult task of easingthe suffering, whilst unable to avert it.Realizing the danger in advance, in May 1940 an attempt was made tocreate a strong central organization capable of conducting politicalactivity, and at the same time able to provide social aid. The Union ofJewish Religious Communities operated for about one year on theinitiative and energy of one individual, and was the only line of defenseJews had against the hatred mounted against them from all sides.Naturally, during the Iron Guard reign of terror, when the executive andjudicial authorities vanished completely, little could be expected from theactivities of the Jewish leadership. It is true that they quickly established arelationship with the Leader of the State, and achieved certain concessionshere and there, which—sporadically and fleetingly—alleviated Jewishsuffering in certain places. However modest these concessions might havebeen, they were worth striving for incessantly. With a decreased staff and apoor budget challenging the indifference among Jews, which was just asdangerous as the hatred and rage on the opposing side, the Jewishleadership took up the fight against the Iron Guard system. This battle wasunequal, on one side there was power, the club and the gun, on the otherJewish self-esteem and pride. Yet (at the expense of horrifying Jewish bloodand property sacrifices), the latter triumphed during the first phase of Nazipersecution. The Iron Guard system drowned in blood and ashes, and theactivity of the Jewish leadership was a contributory factor. /... /The hundreds of reports describing the grievances and suffering affectingJews in every corner of the land, and outlining the terror and horrorintroduced everywhere by the murderous and destructive Iron Guardregime, were not intended to cause a change of heart in the Leader of theState, but sufficed to give this overzealous man a clear picture of how thefoundations of the state were crumbling and thus endangering hisposition. One such report—on December 9, 1940—catalogued fourhundred crimes in thirty-five locations, prompting General Antonescu toissue the following directive: “It is the responsibility of the Ministry of theInterior, together with a member of the Iron Guard Forum, appointed byMr. Sima , to immediately examine these cases. They should summarizetheir findings in a report, and deliver it to me without delay. Should the72