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INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE HOLOCAUST IN ROMANIA FINAL REPORT www.polirom.ro Editura POLIROM Ia[i, B-dul Carol I nr. 4, P.O. BOX 266, 700506 Bucure[ti, B-dul I.C. Br\tianu nr. 6, et. 7, ap. 33, O.P. 37, P.O. BOX 1-728, 030174 Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Na]ionale a României: INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE HOLOCAUST IN ROMANIA (Bucure[ti) Final Report / International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania; president of the commission: Elie Wiesel; ed. Tuvia Friling, Radu Ioanid, Mihail E. Ionescu. Ia[i: Polirom, 2004 ISBN: 973-681-989-2 I. Wiesel, Elie (pre[ed.) II. Friling, Tuvia (ed.) III. Ioanid, Radu (ed.) IV. Ionescu, Mihail E. (ed.) 323.1(=411.16)(498)1939/1945 94(=411.16)(498)1939/1945 Printed in ROMANIA President of the Commission: Elie Wiesel Editors: Tuvia Friling, Radu Ioanid, Mihail E. Ionescu POLIROM 2004 The members of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania: Chairman: Elie Wiesel Vice-chairmen: Tuvia Friling (State Archivist of Israel), Radu Ioanid (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) and Mihail E. Ionescu (Institute for Political Defense and Military History, Bucharest) Members: Ioan Scurtu (Commission secretary Nicolae Iorga Institute of History, Bucharest), Viorel Achim (Nicolae Iorga Institute of History, Bucharest), Jean Ancel (Yad Vashem, Jerusa- lem), Colette Avital (member of the Israeli Parliament), Andrew Baker (American Jewish Commit- tee), Lya Benjamin (Center for the Study of Jewish History, Bucharest), Liviu Beris (Association of the Survivors of the Holocaust in Romania), Randolph Braham (City University of New York), Irina Cajal Marin (Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania), Adrian Cioflânca (A.D. Xenopol Institute of History, Iasi), Ioan Ciuperca (Al.I. Cuza University, Iasi), Alexandru Elias (Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania), Alexandru Florian (Dimitrie Cantemir University, Bucharest), Mihai Dinu Gheorghiu (Centre de Sociologie Européenne, Paris), Hildrun Glass (Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet, Munich), Menachem Hacohen (Chief Rabbi of Ro- mania), Vasile Ionescu (Aven Amentza Roma Center), Corneliu Mihai Lungu (National Archives of Romania), Daniel S. Mariaschin (Bnai Brith International), Victor Opaschi (Presidential Counselor), Andrei Pippidi (University of Bucharest), Ambassador Meir Rosenne (Israel), Liviu Rotman (University of Tel Aviv), Michael Shafir (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), Paul Shapiro (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum), William Totok (Arbeitskreis fuer Geschichte, Ger- many), Raphael Vago (University of Tel Aviv), George Voicu (National School for Political and Administrative Studies, Bucharest), Leon Volovici (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) (Government Decision no. 672/May 5, 2004, published in Monitorul Oficial al Rom^niei, no. 436/ May 17, 2004) Contents Foreword ............................................................................................................. 7 Speech Given by Mr. Ion Iliescu, President of Romania, at the Meeting Dedicated to the Holocaust Remembrance Day in Romania October 12, 2004 ................................. 9 Message from Elie Wiesel, Chairman of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania ................................................................................. 15 Message of President Traian Bãsescu at the Ceremony for the Commemoration of the Martyr Jews Killed on January 21-22, 1941 ....................... 17 Background and Precursors to the Holocaust. Roots of Romanian Anti-Semitism. The League of National Christian Defense and Iron Guard Anti-Semitism. The Anti-Semitic Policies of the Goga Government and of the Royal Dictatorship ................................................................................. 19 Romanian-German Relations before and during the Holocaust ........................................ 57 The June-July 1940 Romanian Withdrawal from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina and Its Consequences on Interethnic Relations in Romania ............. 71 Anti-Semitic Propaganda and Official Rhetoric concerning the Judeo-Bolshevik Danger: Romanian Jews and Communism between 1938-1944 ............ 89 The Holocaust in Romania ................................................................................... 109 The Exclusion of Jews from Romanian Society during the Antonescu Governments with and without the Iron Guard: Anti-Semitic Legislation, Romanianization and Expropriation ........................................................................ 181 The Life of Jewish Community under Ion Antonescu and the Jewish Communitys Response to the Holocaust in Romania ............................. 205 The Deportation of the Roma and Their Treatment in Transnistria ................................ 223 The Role of Ion Antonescu in the Planning and Implementation of Anti-Semitic and Anti-Roma policies of the Romanian State..................................... 243 The Holocaust in Northern Transylvania ................................................................. 255 Solidarity and Rescue. Romanian Righteous among the Nations ................................ 283 Trials of the War Criminals .................................................................................. 313 Distortion, Negationism, and Minimalization of the Holocaust in Postwar Romania .......... 333 Findings and Recommendations ............................................................................. 381 Afterword ......................................................................................................... 391 Index ............................................................................................................. 395 Foreword On the initiative of Mr. Ion Iliescu, President of Romania, the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania was established on October 22, 2003. The Commission was conceived from the very beginning as an independent research body, free of any influence and political considera- tion. The Commissions budget and composition were approved under Government Decisions no. 227 of February 20, 2004, and no. 672 of May 5, 2004, respectively. At the invitation of the President of Romania, Mr. Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and honorary member of the Romanian Academy, accepted the chairmanship of the Commission. The Commissions aim was to research the facts and determine the truth about the Holocaust in Romania during World War II and the events preceding this tragedy. The results of the research by the Commission are presented in this Report, based exclusively on scientific standards. The Commission met three times in Washington from May 16 to May 22, 2004, in Jerusalem from September 6 to September 9, 2004, and in Bucharest from November 8 to November 13, 2004 to evaluate the state of research and draft the Final Report. On November 11, 2004, the Final Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania was presented to the President of Romania. We hope that the Commissions conclusions and recommendations will promote the education on and understanding of the Holocaust among all citizens, and particularly the youth of Romania, as well as contribute to further research on the subject. Besides Mr. Elie Wiesel, the Commission included respected experts in history, the humani- ties, and the social sciences from Romania and abroad, survivors of the Holocaust, representatives of national and international Jewish and Roma organizations and representatives of the Romanian Presidency: Tuvia Friling (State Archivist of Israel), Radu Ioanid (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) and Mihail E. Ionescu (Institute for Political Defense and Military History, Bucharest) vice-chairmen; Ioan Scurtu (Commission secretary Nicolae Iorga Institute of History, Bucharest), Viorel Achim (Nicolae Iorga Institute of History, Bucharest), Jean Ancel (Yad Vashem, Jerusalem), Colette Avital (member of the Israeli Parliament), Andrew Baker (American Jewish Committee), Lya Benjamin (Center for the Study of Jewish History, Bucharest), Liviu Beris (Association of the Survivors of the Holocaust in Romania), Randolph Braham (City University of New York), Irina Cajal Marin (Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania), Adrian Cioflâncã (A.D. Xenopol Institute of History, Iaºi), Ioan Ciupercã (Al.I. Cuza Univer- sity, Iaºi), Alexandru Elias (Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania), Alexandru Florian (Dimitrie Cantemir University, Bucharest), Mihai Dinu Gheorghiu (Centre de Sociologie Européenne, Paris), Hildrun Glass (Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet, Munich), Menachem Hacohen (Chief Rabbi of Romania), Vasile Ionescu (Aven Amentza Roma Center), Corneliu Mihai Lungu (National Archives of Romania), Daniel S. Mariaschin (Bnai Brith International), Victor Opaschi (Presidential Counselor), Andrei Pippidi (University of Bucharest), Ambassador Meir Rosenne (Israel), Liviu Rotman (University of Tel Aviv), Michael Shafir (Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty), Paul Shapiro (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum), William Totok (Arbeitskreis fuer Geschichte, Germany), Raphael Vago (University of Tel Aviv), George Voicu (National School for Political and Administrative Studies, Bucharest), Leon Volovici (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) members. Speech Given by Mr. Ion Iliescu, President of Romania, at the Meeting Dedicated to the Holo- caust Remembrance Day in Romania October 12, 2004 Messrs. Presidents of the Legislative Bodies, Your Holiness, Father Patriarch, Your Eminence, Chief Rabbi, Honorable religious leaders, Ladies and gentlemen, Ambassadors,