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The Holocaust of Memories. by Csaba-István Székely

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The Holocaust of Memories. by Csaba-István Székely Csaba-István Székely THE HOLOCAUST OF MEMORIES Csaba-István Székely THE HOLOCAUST OF MEMORIES Alutus - 2011 - © Csaba István Székely, 2011 Translated from Romanian by: Andrei Proca Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României SZÉKELY, CSABA-ISTVÁN The holocaust of memories/ Csaba-István Székely. - Miercurea-Ciuc : Alutus, 2011 Bibliogr. ISBN 978-973-7875-59-4 94(=411.16) 323.1(=411.16) © All rights reserved for the author. Printed by S.C. Alutus S.A., Miercurea Ciuc. I dedicate this book to those fighting tirelessly for the acknowledgement of human merits. CONTENTS PREFACE TO AN EXCITING DEBATE Thoughts of academician Răzvan Theodorescu ..................................................... 9 Professor Dr. Shlomo Leibovici Laish’s commentaries .......................................... 10 Professor Dr. Carol Iancu’s reflections .................................................................. 11 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 13 CHAPTER I A family in the whirlpool of history ..................................................................... 15 CHAPTER II George Russu ....................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER III Tit Simedrea ........................................................................................................ 51 CHAPTER IV The Yad Vashem bureaucracy ................................................................................ 67 CHAPTER V Instead of conclusions ......................................................................................... 77 SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................ 91 ANNEXES (1 – 65) ............................................................................................ 93 PREFACE TO AN EXCITING DEBATE Thoughts of academician Răzvan Theodorescu Sometime, somewhere, Italo Calvino noted that it is man’s supreme duty to “seek and to know who and what, in this Hell, is not hell and to make it last.” Anytime I stumble upon parts of mankind’s most horrendous crime – the Nazi extermination of the Jews -, I keep in mind the words of this Italian writer who made his debut after the war with writings about Resistance fighters. The Israeli acknowledgement of those who have done acts of kindness “in the mi- ddle of Hell” has always seemed to me as an honorable act of collective homage paid to individual deeds. Romania, as we all know, has had his own “Righteous Among Men” who have proven their own love of fellow humans – not just Jews, but any hu- man beings! – and the fact that some are connected to the city of Czernowitz (such as mayor Traian Popovici or painter George Russu), brings me to the subject matter discussed here by publicist Székely Csaba-István. It is, in fact, a case of Magyar telling the incredible story of his Israeli friend who is fighting against the “candor of forget- fulness”, for the acknowledgement of the merits of a Romanian who deserves not to be forgotten: Metropolitan Bishop Tit Simedrea. As a young man, I met this great patriarch and scholar and, in my testimony in the “Simedrea case”, I said what I had to say. I will just add this: seeing all these testimonies from our contemporaries, both Jewish and not, and having a living proof in the person of Meir Shai – whom I have not personally met but before whom I bow with respect for his noble obstinacy – makes me understand that the Yad Vashem is not only a de- eply respectable institution but also deeply Jewish in its spirit. Because, along with its noble activity of acknowledging past heroism, it can also reach – on its own terms – a surrealism in which the absurd neighbors the unbelievable. All of which, by the way, were invented by the Jews, with genius and humor… To me (which is, probably, less important…), bishop Tit Simedrea was a “Righteous” who deserves not to be forgotten. Acad. Răzvan THEODORESCU Bucharest, September 23rd, 2010. 9 Székely Csaba-István – The Holocaust of Memories Professor Dr. Shlomo Leibovici Laish’s commentaries A French historian – not really known for his love of Jews – called the Jewish people ISTORICISIMUS, not only for their antiquity – he said – but also for the fact that they are the people that do not forget. The issue of the “Righteous Among Men”, meaning the deep gratitude towards those (too few, unfortunately) who saved Jewish lives during the Fascist / Nazi oppression, only comes to support the idea. The institutionalization of this gratitude offers, on one hand, an official acknowledgement of their noble deeds, but, on the other hand, it becomes a Sodomic bed, fencing in that which belongs to the soul with rigorous bureaucratic regulations. One of the most sensitive aspects of this issue is the attitude towards those who, even though they were known – for good reason or not – as anti-Semites, took stand against the ongoing cruelties and saved Jews. If their courageous acts endangered their social positions and their lives or not is an issue of appreciation (which is in itself relative). It is a subjective issue and cannot be otherwise. The Talmud says: “He who saves a life saves the whole world”. And who can appreciate salvation better than the one who was saved? Marcel Shai has been struggling for years to obtain the “Righteous Among Men” distinction for the now deceased bishop Tit Simedrea, head of the Bucovina Metropolitan Church during the Holocaust. Marcel and his family lived in hiding in the Metropolitan Residence’s basement and were saved. Bureaucratic issues invoked by the Yad Vashem – the institution that grants the title – do not deter Marcel Shai from his efforts to obtain acknowledgement for Tit Simedrea. I have not had the pleasure to meet Dr. Székely Csaba-István. His book on the Dead Sea scrolls brought him closer to me as someone who has affinities with us and our country. His toil to present Marcel Shai’s restless struggles to obtain acknowled- gement for Tit Simedrea’s saving acts honors him and brings him even closer to me. Who knows? Maybe this presentation will strike a chord with the bureaucrats in char- ge of the institutionalization, because Marcel’s and his family’s gratitude is certain. Prof. Dr. Shlomo Leibovici LAISH President of the World Cultural Association of Romanian Jews Tel Aviv, September 21st, 2010. 10 Preface to an exciting debate Professor Dr. Carol Iancu’s reflections Meir Shai’s battle Mr. Meir Shai, an Israeli citizen living in Haifa, was born in Iasi as Marcel Slacman and was saved, during the Second World War, along with his family, by “humane men in inhumane times”. Refugees from Czernowitz, the Slacmans escaped deportation after George Russu, under Tit Simedrea’s direction, took them out of the ghetto and hid them in the Metropolitan Residence’s basement during 1941 and 1942 and looked after them. Grateful to those who saved him, Meir Shai succeeded – after tenacious actions – to obta- in the “Righteous Among Men” distinction for George Russu from Yad Vashem. In keeping with the Hebrew saying, “Ha-mathil ba-mitsva omrim lo gmor” (“To him who started a good deed, one must say: finish it!”), he continues his “battle”, going to great lengths to convince those in charge to remit the same (posthumous) distinction for bishop Tit Simedrea. His struggles must be successful: Tit Simedrea, who, together with George Russu, saved the Slacmans, also opposed the deportation of the Czernowitz Jews. This intervention was pointed out to me by the late Romanian Chief Rabbi Dr. Alexandru Şafran in our conver- sations during my work on the book Alexandru Şafran. A life of Struggle, a Ray of Light.1 Mr. Meir Shai sent me a note of the Special Information Service found in the C.N.S.A.S. archives, in which Tit Simedrea’s intervention in favor of the Jews is con- firmed, along with the promise of his “full support” made to Chief Rabbi Alexandru Şafran during an audience. Given the importance of this document, I have reproduced it, in facsimile, in my recent book Alexandru Şafran and the Unfinished Romanian Shoah. A collection of documents (1940-1944)2. The “Righteous Among Men” distinction can be awarded even to those who, al- though anti-Semite, have saved Jewish lives, endangering their position or even their life. Such is the case of Tit Simedrea, who was integral in the salvation of the Slacmans, despite his reputation of someone who did not particularly loved Jews, a fact that was pointed out to me by Chief Rabbi Alexandru Şafran. There are two historiographic currents regarding theShoah – the recommended Hebrew term for the extermination of Jews during the Second World War (I plead for its use in Romanian as well, where, unfortunately, the term Holocaust has become the preferred term). One of these viewpoints exposes the „final solution”, the infernal machine used by the Nazis and their collaborators. The other is the story from the victims’ point of view. This book – belonging to the latter category – brings to light an illustrating case of human solidarity by means of a Romanian Shoah survivor’s testimony. The story of 1 Hasefer publ. house, Bucharest, 2008, 384 pp., translated by Ticu Goldstein. Originally published as Alexandre Sa- fran. Une vie de combat, un faisceau de lumière, Montpellier, Editions de l’Université Paul Valéry, 2007, 318 pp. ; 2 Hasefer publ. house, Bucharest, 2010, pag. 576 , pag. 539, pag. 569 for the French edition – Alexandre Safran et la Shoah inachevée en Roumanie. Recueil de documents (1940-1944),
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