President of Romania Declares Annual Commemoration of Holocaust Day

Among other efforts, this monumental change in stance from by the Romanian government was prompted by the request of several organizations of Holocaust survivors, as well as The Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania (FEDROM), through which JDC executes all of its welfare and renewal activity in the country.

President Iliescu acknowledged that anti-Semitic state policies had taken hold in Romania even before the war, and escalated over the next number of years.

Romania, which declared its neutrality at the outset of the war, was soon caught in the throes of it. Forced in 1940 by the USSR to cede two of its regions – Bessarabia and Northern Bucovina – and two months later by Germany to cede Northern Transylvania to Hungary, the country underwent what Iliescu called "a radical regime change," the rise of Ion Antonescu in September 1940. By November of that year Romania had joined the Axis of countries dominated by Nazi-Germany.

During this period characterized by the power of the Legionnaire Movement - "an extremist, anti-Semitic, xenophobic, anti-democratic and pro-Nazi party" – anti-Semitic policies became harsher and more crystallized. "Legislation was adopted through which the Jews were excluded from schools and universities, bars, theaters, army and liberal professions; the committees in charge of the absorption of foreigners were confiscating the Jewish properties; and forced labor was imposed on the males from the Jewish community," declared President Iliescu. Following the Legionary rebellion of 1941, during which 120 Jews were massacred, and the breakup of the Movement, "the anti-Semitic policy continued at even higher rates." The president mentioned specifically the June 1941 pogrom in Iasi, which resulted in the death of thousands of Jews.

President Iliescu acknowledged the year of massive deportations of Jews in Romania to death camps, beginning on October 9, 1941. "Citizens of Romania, our co-nationals, about 120,000 persons, were taken from their homes and embarked in so called death trains or sent on foot through rain and snow tens and hundreds of kilometers on the other side of the Dnestre River," stated the president. "On their way, as well as in Transnistria [territory between the Dnestre and Bug Rivers which remained under Romanian administration], several thousand Jews died following the inhumane treatment, cold weather, diseases, and even being shot."

"During the Holocaust, more than 250,000 people were killed in the territories under Romanian administration, having as the only guilt their Jewish origin," said President Iliescu. He added to this figure some 12,000 Gypsies who also died in Transnistria and similar circumstances.

In his speech, the president contrasted these cruelties with the efforts of many Romanians who opposed the anti-Semitic legislation, risking their own freedom and lives to save their Jewish co-nationals. Such individuals are recognized by the State of Israel as "Righteous Among the Nations". President Iliescu described these acts of courage as "enriching the human spirit and the community to which it belongs."

Emphasizing that self-evaluation is proof of democratic consciousness, President Iliescu added that "the Romanian state's leadership…did not manage to reach the edge of its essential mission, namely to ensure the security of its citizens no matter their ethnic origin." He stated that "such a tragedy must not repeat itself, and for that we must not veil anything for the generations to come to know and understand the whole truth."

As part of the efforts to inform the public about the country's history, a deeper study of the Holocaust in Romania is being conducted by an international committee under Professor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, a Romanian-born Jew who survived the Holocaust as a young child. The Ministry of Research and Education in Romania has also introduced in the school curriculum an optional course about the Romanian Holocaust. This broader program includes adopting legislation "in order to forbid the fascist, racial, xenophobic and anti-Semitic symbols and organizations and the cult of personalities who bear the responsibility for crimes against humanity."

In commemoration of "Holocaust Day", President Iliescu and other government officials, including the Romanian Prime Minister and Minister of Culture, placed flowers at a monument in front of The Choral Synagogue in Bucharest.

Today, JDC is still active in helping Romania's Jewish population of 14,000 to move towards greater self-sufficiency. Through FEDROM, JDC continues to ensure the quality of physical and spiritual life for elderly Holocaust survivors and needy children; to promote and develop Jewish educational, cultural, and religious activities; and to help secure the community's future by training local leadership and maximizing its financial resources.