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Prior to the 19th
century, the principalities that would later become Romania were a safe haven from the anti-Semitism prevalent in
the rest of Eastern Europe. A rich diversity of Orthodox, Neolog, and Hasidic
traditions flourished under the tolerant Turkish Empire, which ruled Romania
from the 13th to the 17th centuries. After the Russian conquest in 1819,
Romanian Jewry felt the sting of anti-Semitism, with the institution of
anti-Jewish laws, a ban on employment in industry and government, revocations
of citizenship, expulsions, and even pogroms.
JDC Begins Working in Romania
As pogroms in Romania intensified during World War I, the newly founded
JDC responded by sending relief funds to Romania, beginning in 1915. At war’s
end, Romania’s Jews were granted full citizenship and civil rights, due in part
to their efforts as soldiers fighting on behalf of Romania. In 1919, JDC
allocated funding to provide food and clothing to thousands of Jewish veterans
and refugees, and it installed a resident country director in 1921 to help the
Jewish community meet its growing reconstruction needs. JDC opened loan and
work kassas (cooperatives) to offer credit and job opportunities to Jews
who were struggling as a result of the country’s economic depression. JDC also
helped build and fund orphanages, summer camps, and Jewish educational
institutions and continued to play an integral role in the economic and
cultural life of Romanian Jewry for decades to come.
The
Holocaust
In
1940, Prime Minister Ion Antonescu forged an alliance with Germany and
intensified anti-Jewish laws. Beginning in May 1942, Jews from the Bukovina,
Bessarabia, and Transylvanian provinces were deported en masse to the
Transnistria detention center, where JDC provided funds for whatever food and
medical aid the government would allow. At the same time, the Jewish community
of Bucharest was able to save the majority of its members from deportation, and
to feed and clothe them with unofficial funding from JDC.
In
1944, King Michael led a successful revolt against Antonescu, severing
Romania's alliance with Germany. Transnistria was liberated, and JDC was
officially allowed to reenter Romania. The prewar Romanian Jewish population of
800,000 had been reduced to 450,000, still the largest Jewish population
remaining in any postwar Eastern European country. JDC began its relief work by
providing food and clothing to survivors returning from concentration camps. To
expedite reconstruction and help restart businesses, JDC reestablished more
than thirty loan kassas, and it opened 22 health care clinics to provide
survivors with critically needed medical attention. These activities continued
until 1949, when the by then Communist government forced JDC to leave.
JDC
During the Communist Regime
During
the Communist period, Romanian Jews were sustained and guided by the leadership
and faith of Chief Rabbi Dr. Moses Rosen (z"l), who also served as President
of FEDROM until his death in 1994. Through Rabbi Rosen's support, more than
345,000 Romanian Jews were able to make aliyah, beginning in
1949.
With
the appointment of President Nicolae Ceausescu in 1965, Romania entered a new
political era. Ceausescu sought closer ties with the West and Most Favored
Nation trade status from the United States. This led to JDC’s return to
Romania in 1967. JDC initiated a full-scale relief operation, providing food,
clothing, and medical attention to the elderly and impoverished. This relief
program continues today to provide vital assistance to the needy, elderly Jews
of Romania, most of whom are lonely Holocaust survivors who have no families to
call on for help.
Today
JDC has been active in Romania for more than 35 years. Today, we continue
to work with FEDROM to help rebuild Jewish life in Romania by supporting Jewish
education, religious activities, and outreach and leadership training efforts.
The intensified level of Jewish communal activity in recent years offers new
hope for Romania’s Jewish future.
2005
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