http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/894492.html
Friday, August 17, 2007 Romania as part of the new Europe By Laurence Weinbaum Haaretz.com More than a half a year has elapsed since Romania joined the European Union. Throughout the country, from the shabbiest village in Oltenia, to the lovingly restored streets of medieval towns in Tranyslvania, the EU flag proudly flutters. Other changes are plain to see as Romanians embrace the idea that they are now "a part of Europe." All around are the trappings of a burgeoning consumer society. Hordes of foreign tourists and investors (including not a few Israelis) are everywhere, having discovered one of Europe's best kept secrets: Romania's breathtaking natural beauty and seemingly limitless, and very lucrative business opportunities. All this stands in stark contrast to the nightmarish misery that was Ceaucescu's Romania. But, in at least one area of Romania's development, there is cause for dismay. The brilliant Romanian-born scholar Michael Shafir once characterized the long-standing Romanian approach to the Holocaust as "selective negationism" - something far more pernicious than mere Holocaust denial. The Romanian argument ran something like this: There was no Holocaust in Romania; if Jews were killed, then it was very few and Romanians were certainly not to blame; and if Romanians had taken Jewish lives, then it was only in reaction to Jewish misdeeds. Four years ago, largely a result of international outcry in the wake of certain intemperate remarks by then president Ion Iliescu (words to the effect that no Holocaust had been perpetrated in Romania; that Jews exaggerated their losses; and that by seeking the restitution of their property, they were trying to "skin" poor Romanians) a commission was established to study the extent of Romania's culpability in the Holocaust. The findings of the committee's inquiry were published in a report that demonstrated unequivocally that the pro-German Antonescu regime was directly responsible for the deaths of between 280,000-380,000 Jews in Romania and in Romanian-occupied parts of Soviet Ukraine. In other words, Romania had more Jewish deaths on its ledger than any country save Germany-Austria. After the release of those findings, the Romanians pledged to right past wrongs, and to teach about the Holocaust in schools. To be sure, progress has been made. Some schools do teach about the fate of Romanian Jews; there are university programs in Jewish studies; Romanian educators participate in courses at Yad Vashem; Elie Wiesel's family house is preserved, and a Holocaust museum has been established in a small town synagogue in northern Transylvania. That institution recently hosted a "Holocaust Remembrance Olympiad." However, to see any real change one has to look very hard. This suggests that much still needs to be done: - In the National Military Museum in Bucharest considerable attention is devoted to battles fought by Romania in World War II. Behind glass cases, and staring out at legions of school children who come to visit, are uniforms, flags, firearms, medals, maps and photographs. Outside the building are tanks and artillery pieces, airplanes and armored cars. But nowhere is there even a hint that units of the Romanian armed forces were responsible for acts of genocide against Jews. - In an important city in northern Transylvania, the regional history museum reveals not a single reference to the fact that in 1944, while under Hungarian rule, the entire Jewish population was deported to Auschwitz. In fact, there is no mention of Jews at all. Nor is there any visible monument to remind locals that nearly a fifth of the townspeople were gassed and burned. This omission is especially curious in light of the fact that Hungarians were responsible for this crime, not Romanians. A forlorn synagogue and cemetery do bear silent witness to the Jewish presence, but it is doubtful if most people are even aware of their existence. - On sale in bookshops is a slim volume used by Romanian high school students to "cram" for matriculation exams in history. There is nothing about the Jews in the book's treatment of the war years. A few days ago, Yad Vashem announced that Theodor Criveanu had been posthumously recognized as a "righteous among the nations." As a reserve officer in the Romanian army stationed in Czernowitz, Criveanu was assigned the task of compiling lists of work permits for Jews in the ghetto. According to the testimony of survivors, he distributed many extra permits, thus saving Jewish lives. Eventually, he married the daughter of one of the Jews he saved. "My father's life was based on justness" said his son, "He was a gift from God for my mother's family and to so many more." Criveanu was the 53rd Romanian recognized for rescuing Jews. More than 15 years ago the exiled Romanian king, Mihai I, himself the son of a "righteous gentile" in her own right, implored his countrymen not to forget the Jews of Romania who perished in the Holocaust. "They will be forever our countrymen, our brothers and sisters - I urge you: Remember them." Romanians would do well to take those words to heart; and also to cherish the memory of individuals such as Criveanu and Queen Mother Elena, as "gifts from God to the Romanian people" - even as they remember the deeds of their less honorable, and even sinister, brethren, who left an indelible stain on their nation's history. In so doing, Romanians would set a courageous example for other Europeans, still afflicted by amnesia. Dr. Laurence Weinbaum is a lecturer in history at the Ariel University Center of Samaria and chief editor of the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs. C Copyright 2007 Haaretz ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." (Carlo Goldoni) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix) Aboneaza-te la <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ngo_list> ngo_list: o alternativa moderata (un pic) la [ngolist] Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?
