VIII. Conclusions

In the period of the Second World War, for the Jews living in territories under Antonescu's Government, two different zones could be distinguished:

Zone 1: The Old Kingdom and Southern Transylvania, territory known under the name, "survival zone", where the Jews underwent particularly harsh and inhuman persecutions, but here the Antonescu Government didn't apply a generalized deportation and extermination plan.

It still has to be remembered that in this area took place the anti-Jewish pogrom from Bucharest, started by the legionaries in January 1941 (130 dead), the pogrom and the death trains in Iasi, summer 1941 (about 8,000 dead), the deportation of about 4,000 Jews to Transnistria, the enrolling of tens of thousands of Jews in forced labor detachments, and the enforcement of a big number of anti-Semitic laws and measures that brought the Jewish population to despair and uncertainty concerning their odds of survival.

The main danger of death, which threatened the Jews from this zone, was the possibility to be deported to the German extermination camps in Poland.

In their plans of liquidation of the Jews from Europe, the German authorities made great pressures on the Romanian government, even establishing the time-table, itinerary and destination station in Poland of the trains, as well as the number of Jews from Romania, who were to be transported on every second day, with these trains.

In order to avoid the danger of mass deportation, to attenuate the racial persecution, and to organize the action of aid for the deportees to Transnistria, a secret council was constituted in Bucharest, under the leadership of Dr. Alexandru Safran --Chief Rabbi of Romania; W. Filderman, M. Benvenisti, F. Froimescu, A. Schwefelberg and other Jewish leaders.

This council, met periodically, establishing the measures, which had to be taken to counteract, directly but especially through Romanian personalities, the actions which the government intended to take.¹)

The interventions at the Government or even personally at Marshal Antonescu, of some personalities, like the Queen-mother Elena, the Metropolitan of Sibiu, Nicolae Balan, Iuliu Maniu, Ion Mihalache, Dr Nicolae Lupu and Ghita Pop, leaders of the National Peasant Party, Constantin I. C. Bratianu, leader of the National Liberal Party, the Patriarch Nicodim, Andrea Cassulo, the Nuncio of the Pope in Bucharest, Traian Popovici, the Mayor of Cernowitz and others, contributed in great measure to stop the deportations and reduce the racial persecutions.

In saving the lives of the Romanian Jews, an important role had Dr. Filderman, who as former President of the Federation of the Union of the Jewish Communities in Romania, and as well known political character, fought with bravery and intelligence against the leaders of the Antonescu regime, obtaining some positive results.

In the summer of 1942, Filderman gave to Iuliu Maniu a detailed memorial including the main ideas against the deportation, from the Romanian national point of view, and not as a favor that should be done to the Jews.²)

Maniu and Antonescu met on 11th September 1942. On this occasion, Maniu presented to Antonescu the "arguments" for canceling the deportation plan, which, of course, influenced to a certain extent the marshal.

The failure of the "Blitz Krieg" contemplated by Hitler, and subsequently the defeat at Stalingrad, had certainly the decisive role which determined Marshal Antonescu, to refuse categorically Germany's request to deport, into the Nazi extermination camps, from Poland, the Jews from the Old Kingdom and Southern Transylvania.

After the defeat at Stalingrad, as a matter of fact, in the attitude of the Antonescu government against the Jews marked a change, in the sense that the intensity of the persecutions was reduced, contemplating even the bringing home of some categories of Jews deported to Transnistria.

Consequently in this zone over 300,000 Jews survived, extremely important facts, if we take into account, that with the exception of Bulgaria, in all neighboring states, the "final solution" contemplated by the Nazi government, was totally applied.

This zone was also the place, where some Jews fled from Northern Transylvania, saving their life. From here an important number of Jews could immigrate to Israel.

The extermination rate in this zone was only 3,5%.

Zone 2. Romania's North-East territories, respectively Dorohoi district, Bucovina (South and North), Basarabia and Transnistria.

In this zone, named by some authors, the "death zone", the Antonescu Government applied a deliberate and generalized plan of mass deportation and extermination of the Jews.

The Antonescu Government motivated that they want to punish the Jews from Basarabia, Northern Bucovina and Hertza, for the "inadequate behavior" of some Jews during the retreat of the Romanian troupes, as well as during the Soviet occupation.

In fact, the truth is that Antonescu applied a deliberate policy of extermination and collective punishment.

The deportation of the Jews to Transnistria was extended also to the Jews from Southern Bucovina and Dorohoi district, which had never been under Soviet occupation.

The real cause of the deportations and exterminations was the ethnic purification, namely the elimination of the Jewish element from these territories, and any other justification is a pure aberration.

Consequently, in this zone, the extermination rate of the Jews attained 63,2% for the Romanian Jews from Basarabia, Bucovina and Dorohoi district, and 85,2% for the native Ukrainian Jews from Transnistria.

Expressed in absolute figures, there is over a quarter of million of exterminated Jews.

In this area took place, with priority, the Holocaust of the Antonescu's Government.

Some commentators present nearly exclusively, the situation of the Jews from the "survival zone" and try deliberately to avoid and to forget, what happened in the "death zone". The Antonescu government and the Romanian authorities from those times are presented as saviors, and even the rehabilitation of some war criminals, for crimes and genocide, is requested.

There isn't any country, where the legislation makes provision for the prescription of crimes against humanity.

Therefore the fact that some researchers from Romania try to justify the crimes committed, especially in Basarabia, Bucovina and Transnistria, is very grave.

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¹⁾ See, Alexandru Safran (in Romanian): "Un taciune smuls flacarilor",
pp. 96-107, Hasefer Publishing House, 1996.

²⁾ See, Jean Ancel: "Contributions to the History of Romania"
Vol. 2, Part II, pp. 242-248, Hasefer Publishing House, 2003.