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172-753: For the November 1946 elections , the CDE ran a Jewish Representation list, closely allied with the PCR. It took one of two Jewish seats in the Assembly of Deputies , and joined the parliamentary coalition backing Petru Groza 's cabinet. Such support hinged on Groza's promises to restore Jewish property that had been confiscated in the Holocaust . At the time, the CDE was also involved in relief efforts for homeless returnees, as well as singling out alleged Holocaust perpetrators. Part of its mission

344-406: A national day of mourning , and state funerals were held on 12 November for seven of the victims, hailed as fighters for democracy and independence, "assassinated by bands of fascist killers". Nevertheless, Victor Frunză  [ ro ] claims that, depicting the event as a coup d'état attempt, authorities had fired on the crowd. In January 1946, the "Royal strike" itself ended following

516-501: A " Cominternist section" around Emil Bodnăraș represented the other; according to Berry, Groza and Gheorghiu-Dej were satisfied with a less intrusive fraud and, thus, a more realistic result (60%), while Bodnăraș aimed for 90%. W. Averell Harriman , recording his conversation with Vyshinsky, alleged that the latter backed the 70% estimate. Nevertheless, the Soviet Ambassador Sergey Kavtaradze stated that, while

688-472: A "combat of the entire Romanian people for democracy, restoration, and prosperity." In practice, it circulated PCR propaganda, some of which was penned by Sașa Pană , formerly an avant-garde author. The chief editor was Anton Celaru, a distinguished translator from Yiddish . From 1947, the CDE also put out a Yiddish literary review, Yikuf Bletter , and, for a while in 1948, printed a Hungarian–Romanian bulletin. The Cluj newspaper Egység , later known as Új Út ,

860-565: A "paroxysm of anti-Zionist action". Within weeks, CDE leaders in Constanța , Galați and Timișoara had been replaced, accused of having failed to respond in kind to the Zionist threat. Jewish community leader Aurel Vainer , who was at the time a young Zionist, recalls that a late transport of "extremely pro-communist Jews" left Constanța during those weeks. According to Vainer, the ships had come for him and other non-communists, but were commandeered by

1032-666: A 99% result and not 92.06, as it came to be in Cluj." Immediately after the elections, pro-Communist General Victor Precup  [ ro ] , commander of the Fourth Army Corps, ordered the arrest of General Gheorghe Drăgănescu of the Second Division of Vânători de munte in Dej , alleging that, during the voting, he exaggerated the extent of unrest among local peasant population in Dej, which

1204-573: A Jewish State, implying that this was a result of Soviet intercession. According to Ringler, the Soviet Union was defended "the rights of peoples big and small, who has rescued the world and among them [ sic ] the Jewish people from complete annihilation under fascist domination". At this stage, the PCR was viewing immigration as a potential asset, since an indoctrinated Romanian Jewish colony could bring Palestine, and subsequently Israel , into

1376-541: A burial ceremony for soap bars assumed to be made from human fat . However, Kohn's CPED, integrated as a CDE section in 1946, also championed reconciliation with the Hungarian community . At a MADOSZ rally in 1946, Kohn spoke of the special cultural connection between the two communities—as noted by historian Attila Gidó, his speech featured a relativisation of the Holocaust in Hungary . Other activists gave their own replies on

1548-516: A dominant position, forcing all other Jewish organisations to relate to it. As noted by Crăciun, the PCR had in practice a plurality of the 40 seats on the CDE leadership board, with 15 in all: 9 were PCR envoys or close allies, and 6 more came by way of Zelțer-Sărățeanu's movement. This phenomenon was noted in the provincial sections: CDE leaders in Fălciu County included 9 PCR men, 7 Zionists, and 6 with other or no affiliation; at Sighetu Marmației ,

1720-566: A final order to liquidate all remnants of Jewish nationalism. The resolution codifying this was drafted in December by a collective of authors, including Feldman, Ladislau Bányai, Alexandru Moghioroș , Leonte Răutu , and Miron Constantinescu . It remained largely silent on whether Jews were still to be considered a distinct ethnic community, but explicitly included a mandate for the CDE to stamp out Zionism. The authors condemned "certain Party members within

1892-402: A great loss". In such reports, settlers appeared as destitute and promiscuous gamblers. This stance was contradicted by a CDE communique of 25 March 1950. It decried the "very loose criteria" for emigration, complaining that Jewish workers were allowed to flee a people's democracy for a "capitalist country, with its unemployment and misery." In April 1950, as FCER secretary, Leibovici-Șerban issued

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2064-454: A list of Zionist and Bundistn writers whose work could no longer be read by Romanian Jews. Examples included Isaac Mayer Dick , H. Leivick , and David Pinski ; Romanian Yiddishists Iacob Ashel Groper and Wolf Tambur were castigated for not popularising communist tenets in their Holocaust-themed writings. David Bergelson proved a more contentious case: while the Barașeum dropped his plays,

2236-515: A massive recruitment campaign. By 1947, it grew to 600,000-700,000 members from an initial 1,000 in 1944 (the constant growth in membership was by far the highest of all Eastern Bloc countries). Similarly, the Ploughmen's Front , which Groza presided, was estimated to have 1,000,000–1,500,000 members or just 800,000. In early November 1946, Communist sources show that the BPD counted an important part of

2408-467: A memorandum on the matter. In response to such calls, Groza insisted that "the Jews cannot ask for privileges just because they are Jews", disseminating rumors that most Jews were speculators, and asking for left-wingers among them to concentrate on combating their "outrageous lifestyle". The CDE was successful in obtaining other concessions, such as the exemption of former concentration camp inmates from service in

2580-432: A minority for the PCR itself). Historian Adrian Cioroianu assessed that the dissemination of optimistic rumors contributed to accustoming the public to the idea that the government could obtain the majority of the votes, and made the ultimate result less questionable in the eyes of observers. Other Soviet documents, dated November 6 and 12, summarize a conversation with Bodnăraș, who went on record indicating that fraud

2752-462: A party conference in March 1950. The conference also designated 1950 as a year of combat against Zionism, announcing that it would investigate Jewish fiction writers for their toleration of nationalist themes. At that stage, the CDE was directly implicated in communist censorship , purging its own libraries of literature deemed unsuitable. At Huși , 400 books had been "purged" by July 1949. It also published

2924-430: A result of its campaigning, "war-mongers who happen to be the bosses of Zionist nationalists" refrained from attending a ceremony honoring victims of the 1941 pogrom. Its issues included facsimiles of letters by distraught emigrants, who wrote back to report that Israel was an insecure and imperialistic nation, as well as a communique by Borochovia , announcing that it had ceased supporting Zionist emigration. That message

3096-588: A royal decree was published abolishing the Senate , turning the Parliament into a unicameral legislature , the Assembly of Deputies ( Adunarea Deputaților ). The new legislation, revising the 1923 Constitution , was made possible by the fact that Groza was governing without a parliament (the last legislature to have functioned, that of the National Renaissance Front , had been dissolved in 1941). The Senate

3268-471: A rumour was that: Trucks filled with voters [of the BPD] traveled from one section to the other and voted in all sections, that is to say several times. After voting, blank forms of official reports [by observers] were sent to the central commission, and they were filled in by adding the number of votes desired by the government". According to Anton Rațiu and Nicolae Betea, two collaborators of Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu ,

3440-521: A staunch warning accusing would-be emigrants of parasitism , and advising them to seek employment in Romania. The CDE was at the time claiming that 18,000 Jews had been integrated professionally in 1949 alone, all as a result of its programs. An Israeli diplomat identified as Ghilade responded with an opinion piece in Maariv , asserting that CDE "traitors", which he estimated as 20,000 individuals, were no match for

3612-402: A truce. At least seven offices had been returned to Zionist ownership by 6 December. In the aftermath, PCR internal documents criticised the CDE for being "hamfisted". In January 1949, Feldman took over as CDE Chairman, presiding over the CDE's full communisation. By March, the CDE leadership bureaus had been restructured entirely, which, as noted by historian Hary Kuller , also meant it reached

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3784-558: A while after its creation, the CDE modeled its stances regarding Zionism on contextual policies of the Soviet Union and Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee . As summarised by Nastasă, it made no real effort to tackle Labour Zionism, and regarded the phenomenon as mostly utopian, "with little chance of ever creating an Israeli state ." Committee man Dinu Hervian declared in February 1946 that the group had an instrumental reason for not overtly discouraging Zionism: "[Romanian] reactionaries are opposed to

3956-549: Is disagreement over the exact results, it is contended that the BPD and its allies actually won no more than 48 percent of the total, with several authors assuming PNȚ–Maniu to be the overall winner. Journalist Victor Frunză  [ ro ] claims that the actual votes for the PNȚ–Maniu could have allowed it to form a government, either in its own right or as senior partner in a non-BPD coalition. Historian Marin Pop considers that this

4128-665: The Siguranța began keeping files on all Zionist leaders, while Romanian Police opened fire on Zionist protesters at Iași . Directing its own relief efforts for the returning deportees to Transnistria , the CDE also took charge of instilling in them left-wing ideals. In early 1946, the local section of Caraș reported on having marginalised "reactionary and subversive elements" who had attempted to win refugees over to their cause. CDE branches in Northern Transylvania gave direct support to Jews seeking to reach Palestine by fleeing to

4300-701: The Budapest Offensive . At Cluj , survivors of extermination camps set up the Jewish Democratic Group (GDE), an association backed by communist agents. A Jewish People's Democratic Community (CPED), originally called Jewish Anti-hitlerite Group, was co-opted on the Northern Transylvanian Democratic Committee, which functioned as a quasi-government of the region. It was led by a communist cadre and Holocaust survivor, Hillel Kohn , but failed to obey PCR commands by insisting for

4472-572: The Eastern bloc , ensuring that government was formed by the Hebrew Communists . The secret plan was picked up on by the general public, and universally ridiculed: "A widely circulated anecdote had the emigrating Jews throwing their party cards overboard once the ship left [its] Romanian port". A final meeting of CDE, PER and UER delegates had been convened in July, but failed to produce any results. By 1948,

4644-618: The Hebrew revival encouraged by Zionism, the CDE had as its central mouthpiece a Romanian-language weekly, Unirea , first published in November 1945. Its name ("unity" or "unification") was selected to contradict Luca's notions of class conflict. At an early stage, the newspaper's general line was that Zionism was only justified in Western countries, as a reaction to antisemitism. It viewed itself as heir to "Jewry's democratic traditions", while also endorsing

4816-585: The Hungarian minority was instrumental in securing Transylvanian votes for the government coalition, as admitted by the PCR itself. Nevertheless, the pro-communist commander of the 4th Army Corps saw the overwhelming vote for the UPM among the soldiers and PCR members of Hungarian origin as an indication of " chauvinism ". The BPD also won the endorsement of the Jewish Democratic Committee , which included members of Jewish-Romanian community favourable to

4988-449: The Iași pogrom of 1941, urging for a more thorough prosecution of culprits. Loyalty to the government program was again stated on 2 December 1946, codified into a joint statement by the CDE, MADOSZ, and left-wing organisations representing Armenians , Bulgarians , and Greeks . In the aftermath, CDE propaganda gave full endorsement to Groza's discretionary measures—including a stabilisation of

5160-631: The Moscow Conference , which made US and British recognition of the government dependent on the inclusion of two politicians from the main opposition parties. Consequently, the National Liberal Mihail Romniceanu  [ ro ] and the National Peasants' Emil Hațieganu joined the cabinet as Minister without Portfolio . In mid-December 1945, the representatives of the three major Allied Powers— Andrey Vyshinsky from

5332-480: The Potsdam Conference , the latter group initially refused to recognize Groza's administration, which had been imposed after Soviet pressure. Consequently, King Michael I refused to sign legislation advanced by the cabinet (this was the so-called Greva regală , "Royal strike "). On 8 November 1945, authorities repressed a gathering of Bucharesters organized by the two main opposition parties in front of

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5504-586: The Romanian Army or steps to release Jewish inmates from the Red Army 's captivity. While the despoliation question remained unresolved, CDE cadres were also involved in responding to antisemitic violence , as well as in denouncing alleged Holocaust perpetrators, including football coach Ferenc Rónai and teacher Sava Dumitru. They made efforts to collect data about specific pogroms, including one in Vișeu de Sus , and staged

5676-662: The Romanian Jewish colony . Following this, the CDE was given the go-ahead to publish criticism of Israeli society, hoping to persuade Jewish workers into renouncing Zionism. It opposed Hebrew revivalism and promoted instead a Yiddishist alternative , as manifested by its direct supervision of the Barașeum . The CDE could still join the People's Democratic Front for the elections of March 1948 , when it increased its representation to five deputies. However, its activities were restrained by

5848-528: The Romanian leu which, in reality, acted as a major depressor on Jewish economic life. By May 1947, the party was issuing new reprimands against Jews seeking to emigrate, instructing them to "integrate with the productive process and the effort to rebuild Romania". It also called on those who could not be persuaded to assimilate to only emigrate if and when they received permission from the Romanian state. A month after,

6020-837: The Royal Palace . Demonstrators, many of them young students, flocked to the plaza in front of the palace to express their solidarity with the monarch (on the Orthodox liturgics Saint Michael's Day ); however, armed groups attacked the Ministries of Interior and Propaganda, as well as the headquarters of pro-government organisations, including the General Confederation of Labour and the Patriotic Defense . Following clashes with government supporters and troops, some 10 or 11 people were left dead and many injured. The government declared

6192-673: The Soviet Union , W. Averell Harriman from the United States , and Archibald Clerk-Kerr from the United Kingdom —visited the capital Bucharest and agreed for elections to be convened in May 1946, on the basis of the Yalta Agreements . Nevertheless, the pro-Soviet Groza cabinet took the liberty to prolong the term, passing the required new electoral procedure on June 15. On the same day,

6364-513: The Western Allied requirements, and based on "the Russian interpretation of «free and unfettered»". One effect of new legislative measures was that the intervention of judicial authorities as observers was much reduced; the task fell instead on local authorities, which Communist supporters had infiltrated in the previous two years. From the start, state resources were employed in campaigning for

6536-734: The interwar period . Conversely, the opposition wanted to postpone the elections until after the Peace Treaty with the Allies had been signed, hoping that the withdrawal of Soviet troops would allow greater intervention of the Western Allies in Romanian internal matters. The summer of 1946 brought an exceptionally severe drought , which led to famine in some areas. In a discussion with Soviet embassy staff, PCR leader Ana Pauker claimed that this had been worsened by administrative incompetence, which had led to insufficient supplies of wheat and bread at

6708-409: The " conspiratorial character" it had decided to use. An expectation shared by Groza and the PCR in postponing the elections was that the outcome of harvests was to ensure the most favorable attitude from peasant voters ("[Groza] has declared that the government will only organize elections «when the barns are filled with wheat»"). This tactic was consistently applied by parties in government during

6880-469: The " rootless cosmopolitan " affair, which later engulfed and threatened some of the CDE's former leaders. July 1953 witnessed the first wave of show trials against the Zionist centres, extending, from 1954, to the PER leadership, and lasting to 1959. Arrested in the 1950 roundups, Ihud's Loewenstein-Lavi was sentenced to a 10-year term in jail, for sedition, but paroled in 1955. Prosecution was closely supervised by

7052-483: The "real results". In one report from Cluj County , General Precup Victor stated that: An electoral section for the military in Cluj […] almost declared the voting invalid, citing for reason that the election was declared over between 6 and 7 o'clock, instead of 8 o'clock, as was required by law. […] It is only due to the immediate and energetic intervention of the prefect, [with] Major Nicolae Haralambie, and yours truly that

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7224-564: The "revolutionary changes". Orthodox Judaism was identified as a specific target in Maramureș County , where rabbis clashed with CDE men over the distribution of aid obtained from The Joint . These congregations were most active in resisting anti-Zionist propaganda as pressed through the synagogues. In practice, CDE local branches were still open to Orthodox Jews: at least 3 out of 9 CDE leaders in Bihor County were members or benefactors of

7396-502: The "uncrowned king of his religious group." From 1946, CDE co-founder Șraier had held a government position, serving as Deputy Minister at Internal Affairs . Exposed as a spy for the old regime, he had clandestinely left Romania in 1952. The Interior Minister, Teohari Georgescu , was arrested for various crimes in 1954. As part of his interrogation, he confessed to having obtained sexual favors from several women—including Blanka Pecherman, who wanted his approval to leave for Israel. At around

7568-570: The 300,000 Zionists still active in Romania. By May 1949, the regime had arrested as many as 7,500 Zionists, including Benvenisti and some 50 other prominent militants. At that stage, the UER voted to dissolve itself, on the pretext that "racial hatred" no longer existed in communised Romania. In October, Mordechai Oren , a member of the Mapam leadership in Israel, visited Feldman and attempted to obtain his support for

7740-521: The BPD and by those of the opposition. In one instance, in Pitești , a local leader of the PNȚ was killed in the headquarters of the local prosecutor. Prior to the election, freedom of association had been severely curtailed through various laws; according to Burton Y. Berry , Groza had admitted to this, and had indicated that it was in answer to the need for order in the country. Expanding on this, he stated that

7912-523: The BPD and its allies won 379 seats, controlling over 91 percent of the chamber. The National Peasants' Party – Maniu (PNȚ–Maniu) won 32 seats and the National Liberal Party (PNL–Brătianu) only three. In general, commentators agree that the BPD carried the vote through widespread intimidation tactics and electoral fraud , to the detriment of both the PNȚ–Maniu and the PNL–Brătianu. While there

8084-478: The BPD. The numbers cited by Victor Frunză include, among other investments, over 4 million propaganda booklets, 28 million leaflets, 8.6 million printed caricatures, 2.7 million signs, and over 6.6 million posters. There is evidence that the Army was a main agent of both political campaigning and the eventual fraud. In order to counteract malcontent in military ranks caused by serious housing and supply issues, as well as

8256-473: The BPD. CDE propaganda argued that electing BPD candidates was a sure way to extinguish the "slavery of yesteryear". During October, the CDE and the UER convinced the PER to participate alongside them on a Jewish Representation list, which also offered backing to the Bloc. Of three seats reserved for it in the Assembly of Deputies , the alliance took two, held by Eduard Manolescu and Anghel Dascălu; Bernard Rohrlich of

8428-562: The CDE Female Section. The latter was strong at Arad and elsewhere in the Banat , where schoolgirl Hedi Schauer was also leader of the FTDE. The CDE had as its stated objective the suppression of religious and cultural Judaism; Yiddish culture was tolerated as a brand of Jewish secularism . Thus, Egység ' s agenda was "to eliminate cooperation between the Jewish population on the one hand, and

8600-553: The CDE and the authorities "took us back to our homes." De Luze similarly records rumors that a Panamanian-flagged ship was transporting 2,500 communist Jews as would-be voters in the Israeli legislative election . On 18 April, Feldman ceded the CDE chairmanship to Barbu Lăzăreanu , though retaining the post of General Secretary, with other positions on the board going to Bacalu, Iscovici, Leibovici-Șerban, Paul Davidovici, Betty Goldstein, Ștefan Solomon, and Iacob Wechsler. Also that month,

8772-409: The CDE as primarily destined for turning Jews into admirers of the Soviet Union and supporters of its " combat for peace ". As argued by Gidó, its mission had been "confined to the dissemination of communist propaganda and of the communist social regime." The PMR had by then shelved all plans of communising Israel, blaming their failure on Pauker, who was now sidelined and prosecuted. In February 1953, as

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8944-645: The CDE in Satu Mare asked for approval to run its own "reconstruction camp" in cooperation with the Zionists. During late 1947, the national CDE took over control over Jewish emigration, which included attempts to reeducate all applicants by presenting communist alternatives. As CDE leader in Hunedoara County , Béla Ringler saluted the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine , with its provisions for

9116-583: The CDE in 1950. Ludo, who was reputedly blackmailed by the PCR over his Zionist past, decried Israel as obeying American interests. Vago describes the clash of vision between the CDE and the PMR as an "impossible situation", also noting that Pauker switched to backing the former, and recommending breaks on emigration. For a while in early 1950, the Committee readjusted its propaganda themes, claiming that as many as 80% of emigrants, including most Bukovinian Jews, "will not be

9288-433: The CDE proxy was also highlighted by the rabbinical congress of July, during which Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities pledged themselves to supporting the Committee. However, the CDE stance had alienated Rabbi Rosen, who began working in secret against the regime; decades later, described the CDE as an Yevsektsiya engaged in "terroriz[ing] the Jewish communities". The CDE was still a proponent of anti-Zionism following

9460-550: The CDE" for still tolerating the "nationalist current", and promised to "reconstruct the CDE from progressive elements". Historian Ovidiu Bozgan notes that, upon the end of this meeting, the CDE emerged as the "privileged instrument" for dismantling the Zionist presence in Romania. A return to officially sanctioned anti-Zionist violence was made in November 1948, when Police raided the Jewish National Fund , detaining its leader Leon Itzcar on charges of contraband; this campaign

9632-423: The CDE's Chairman in 1946–1948. They served alongside writers Ury Benador and Emil Dorian , the latter leaving skeptical notes with insight into the CDE's role as an amorphous organisation serving PCR commands. Historian Lucian Lucian Zeev-Herșcovici notes that power in the party rested mainly with second-rank PCR cadres, namely Bercu Feldman , Herman Leibovici-Șerban, and Israel Bacalu. According to Iancu, Feldman

9804-553: The CDE's propaganda campaign against Zionism "misfired and it only contributed to convincing more Jews they should get out as soon as possible." The regime was much embarrassed when, in May 1950, the CDE's top echelons in Suceava County submitted requests for emigration, and again in September, when Zelțer-Sărățeanu was booed by Unirea Sfântă congregants for speaking out against emigration. Northern Transylvanian cities also experienced

9976-443: The CDE, with 9 representatives in leadership; through it, the Committee exercised authority over the Romanian chapters of Ihud, Poale Zion, and Mishmar. Theodor Loewenstein-Lavi of the Ihud joined the ranks of CDE activists. With this incorporation of Labour Zionism, the CDE effectively split the Romanian Zionist Executive, isolating the PER's right-wing. CDE influence eventually grew within the Executive, which came to be controlled by

10148-425: The CDE. They were taken by Feldman, Leibovici-Șerban, Manolescu, Popper, and Marcel Fischler. Manolescu was to die without carrying through his term, in mid-to-late 1949. Groza's regime believed that it could seal Jewish support when, in early 1948, it issued a decree transferring Jewish heirless properties, confiscated during the Holocaust, to the FCER. Some tension still subsisted between the CDE and its allies, over

10320-468: The Committee endorsed "re-stratification", a policy whereby Jewish workers and experts were reclaimed by the Romanian economy, usually by joining cooperatives . This process was directed by the PCR, which injected a producerist agenda into the platforms of subordinate Jewish organisations. Overall, it "took charge of orienting Jewish youth toward manual trades, and away from traditional liberal professions such as jurisprudence, medicine, or journalism." For

10492-441: The Committee, out of prudence. According to Terdiman, Jews generally viewed the CDE leadership as fully assimilated quasi- Gentiles . The CDE was directly involved in efforts to curb the illegal transit of Jews into Mandatory Palestine . In May 1946, it nearly convinced Romanian Communist potentate Ana Pauker to arrest in Constanța's harbor the ship Smirni , which was fitted to carry away Zionist emigrants. During those weeks,

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10664-435: The Communists, the socialist Zionist groups, and leftist political parties, as well as Yiddishist organizations . Its true, main purpose was to mobilize support for Groza's government within the Jewish community". Scholar Carol Iancu moreover argues that: "The Communists tried to control the communities by positioning their representatives in key positions, and finally by imposing their will. The Jewish Democratic Committee [...]

10836-432: The Communists. A report of November 1945 indicates that, of the 15,538 former Iron Guard members known to have joined political parties, 2,258 chose PCR, while 3,281 entered the PSD. Historians suggest that, at the time, government-backed Communists had infiltrated the vast majority of the media and cultural institutions. On one occasion, the Red Army general Ivan Susaykov warned Nicolae Carandino , editor-in-chief of

11008-416: The FTDE was disbanded, as the Workers' Party Youth was established, signaling that the Jewish community "[had been] given over completely to the dominance of the government alone". In June, CDE supervisors at the Barașeum began issuing criticism of the troupe, noting that only 4 of 110 staff members had bothered to obtain PMR membership, and that the ideological plays remained opaque. Communist control through

11180-465: The FTDE, made efforts to bring them back into the fold, referring to them as "our Mishmar friends". The Committee also showcased its contacts with the Israeli Communist Party , inviting its Secretary Eliyahu Gojansky on a tour of Romania in mid 1948. Also then, a Siguranța informant reported that Jews were widely dissatisfied with the CDE, with a "rather significant current" describing it as purely adverse to Jewish interests. Its agents were looking into

11352-452: The German forces in the region were destroyed, troops were rushed in from the Western Front and, in March, the Germans launched the ill-fated Operation Spring Awakening ( Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen ) in the Lake Balaton area. The expansive goals of this operation were to protect one of the last oil producing regions available to the Axis and to retake Budapest. Neither goal was achieved. In Soviet propaganda, this offensive (together with

11524-417: The Groza regime. Historian Lucian Nastasă identifies CDE maneuvering as directly responsible for the UER's weakening, as well as for directing, through Zelțer-Sărățeanu, a "firebrand campaign" against the PER leader, A. L. Zissu . Maxy was also an instigator of attacks on Zissu, whom he described as a proxy for reactionary politics. Nastasă additionally argues that, once created, the Committee was able to assume

11696-502: The Ihud. The CDE youth section, called Front of the Jewish Democratic Youth (FTDE), included Zionist factions within the BEIH, as well as all groups federated into the HeHalutz : Bnei Akiva , Borochovia , Dror , Gordonia , and several more. Other figures continued to be active with the Yidisher Kultur Farband (YIKUF) and with a breakaway faction of the UER—Rosenkranz was joined by leader Moise Zelțer-Sărățeanu and his followers. Such affiliates were described as " temporary allies " of

11868-475: The Israeli embassy in Bucharest, with the crowd "shout[ing] for emigration papers". Feldman decried the protest as a "provocation" by Israel. After self-analysis sessions organised by Constantinescu, the CDE concluded that Romanian Jews had misread the PMR's approval of selective emigration as an invitation; it promised to channel its efforts on depicting Israel as a capitalist country of "ever-increasing poverty and squalor". In July 1949, Unirea put out an appeal to

12040-521: The Jewish people's suffering at the hands of fascism , it seemed that PCR members could do no wrong, and that their moral-political investment would turn a profit." In September 1944, some days after the anti-fascist coup , the PCR contributed to the creation of a General Jewish Council. This initiative crumbled in October, when other Council representatives, rejecting the implication that " all Jews are communists ", refused to join Petru Groza 's National Democratic Front . From September 1944, Labour Zionism

12212-497: The Jews and to inherit their jobs, apartments and belongings." At the time, a PMR resolution initiated by Teohari Georgescu encouraged hostile Jews to leave. As Gheorghiu-Dej put it during the session, "we have no reason to keep in the bourgeoisie." While serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs , Pauker never explicitly endorsed emigration and repeatedly snubbed Reuven Rubin , the Israeli Ambassador. However, rumors and signals of support produced spontaneous rallies of Jews in front of

12384-474: The Orthodox community. Speaking for the UER's anti-communist mainstream, Wilhelm Filderman described the Committee as a "conveyor belt" of the PCR. By June 1946, the CDE itself was openly acknowledging having been created as a "PCR initiative", further explaining itself as a Jewish " united front " against antisemitism. Following negotiations headlined by Maxy, a CDE national congress on 30 June resolved to support

12556-528: The PCR attempt to dominate the Romanian Jewish community upon the end of World War II was part of an "aggressive and all-encompassing strategy" to extend control into all areas of society. In doing so, communists relied on political traditions (including the over-representation of Jews within its own ranks), as well on the monopolisation of anti-fascist discourse by the Soviet Union after the Holocaust: "Given

12728-485: The PCR on grounds that he was a " Hungarian nationalist "; he was allowed to maintain his CDE profile, but gradually withdrew from active politics. CDE figures other than the communist core had double affiliations, including, from April 1946, Jewish members of the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSDR), six of whom were co-opted on the CDE leadership board. BEIH was absorbed as an autonomous section of

12900-703: The PCR's Scînteia newspaper). As early as May, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Constantin Vișoianu complained to Adrian Holman , the British Ambassador to Romania , that the BPD had ensured the means to win the elections through fraud. Writing in January, Archibald Clerk-Kerr assessed the results of his visit to Romania, arguing that no person he had met actually trusted that elections were going to be free; furthermore, in an interview published after Vyshinsky's death, former US ambassador W. Averell Harriman claimed

13072-661: The PCR, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the Ploughmen's Front , the National Liberal Party–Tătărescu (PNL–Tătărescu), the National Peasants' Party–Alexandrescu (PNȚ–Alexandrescu) and the National Popular Party . According to official results, the BPD received 69.8% of the vote, enough for an overwhelming majority of 347 seats in the 414-seat unicameral Parliament . Between them,

13244-572: The PCR-dominated Bloc of Democratic Parties (BPD) for the November elections . The message to rally all Jews into the BPD was carried during a 6 July meeting at the Great Synagogue in Iași , through CDE delegates Zelțer-Sărățeanu and Marcel Dulbergher. CDE cadres, and in particular Barasch's Female Section, were involved in the effort to re-register Jewish voters, whom they also instructed to vote for

13416-425: The PCR. With their organization banned in accordance with the 1944 armistice agreement, members of the fascist Iron Guard adopted an entryist tactic, infiltrating all legally-existing parties. One of the most notable cases was that of underground leader Horațiu Comaniciu, who urged former guardists to join the opposition National Peasants' Party . In a bid to escape punishment for their crimes some even joined

13588-442: The PER was a losing candidate. Historian Petre Țurlea identifies both elected deputies as CDE candidates, rather than more generic Jewish representatives. In fact, Dascălu represented Mishmar. From December, he pressed government for a reparations bill in favour of Holocaust victims, while also expressing hopes that emigration to Palestine would carry on unhindered. His colleague Manolescu focused his parliamentary speeches on revisiting

13760-547: The PMR controlled the community. From 1956, its magazine, Revista Cultului Mozaic , partly fulfilled Viața Nouă ' s role. The project involved Rosen and Bacalu, and was noted for removing all mention of Zionism in their commemoration of the Holocaust. The Federation was only given authority on religious matters—although, from 1964, its leader was an ex-officio deputy in the Great National Assembly . Rumors about

13932-530: The PMR leadership, with Gheorghiu-Dej suggesting "two to three death sentences in each anti-Jewish trial". This radicalism was mitigated in practice by legal professionals, including the CDE's Dadu Rosenkranz, who obtained a reduction of penalties for the " Prisoners of Zion " (Asirei Zion). As reported by lawyer-memoirist Petre Pandrea , Leibovici-Șerban turned on Sandu Lieblich using "hooligan" methods. This resulted in Lieblich's arrest, with his adversary emerging as

14104-672: The PMR party line. In 1954, Bacalu and Rosen circulated a letter signed by 37 Romanian rabbis, responding to allegations in The Jewish Western Bulletin that freedom of worship had been curtailed by Gheorghiu-Dej. Feldman's 1955 interview in Kol HaAm featured claims that the " Marxist-Leninist spirit " had solved all of Romania's minority issues. Feldman rejected the need for a Yiddish press, since all Jews were supposedly literate in Romanian, while informing readers that education in Yiddish

14276-711: The PNL–Brătianu), had asked King Michael I not to approve the new framework. The two parties had not been allowed to take any part in drafting the new legal framework. Months before the election, Communist leaders expressed confidence in being able to carry the election by 70 or 80% (statement of the Minister of the Interior Teohari Georgescu during a party plenary, and Constantin Vișoianu 's report about an alleged declaration of Minister of Justice Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu ), or even 90% ( Miron Constantinescu , head of

14448-559: The PNȚ's Dreptatea , to tone down his criticism of the government, and reportedly argued that "the Groza government is Soviet Russia itself". New legislation provided for the end of universal male suffrage , proclaiming the right to vote for all citizens over the age of 21, while restricting it for all persons who had held important office during the wartime dictatorship of Conducător Ion Antonescu . The latter requirement facilitated abuse, as power to decide over who had been supporting

14620-503: The PSD continued to remain hostile to her party (she cited the example of an unnamed intellectual and low-ranking member of the PSD who, during a BPD meeting, shouted a slogan in support of the PNȚ's Iuliu Maniu ). As a representative of the middle class , the National Liberal Party–Tătărescu itself had an uneasy relation with the PCR, having declared its support for capitalism . The Hungarian People's Union (UPM or MNSZ), which represented

14792-511: The PSD's Minister of Mines and Petroleum, supported the initiative of American and British businessmen to withdraw their investments, but was opposed by the PCR, who argued that this was a move to undermine support for the government, by leaving thousands of people unemployed. Pauker also declared that a similar move was to be carried out by Ford 's Bucharest branch. Kavtaradze noted dissatisfaction among workers, civil servants, and Romanian Army personnel over their low incomes. In this context,

14964-660: The Red Army's forces drew German reserves away from the Warsaw - Berlin central axis, encircled and destroyed the 6th Army (for the second time) and forced Army Group South Ukraine ’s shattered 8th Army to withdraw west into Hungary. From October 1944, the 2nd , 3rd , and 4th Ukrainian Fronts advanced into Hungary. After isolating the Hungarian capital city in late December, the Soviets besieged and assaulted Budapest . On 13 February 1945,

15136-572: The Soviet Union announced that it was prosecuting a Jewish conspiracy—the so-called " Doctors' plot "—angry Zionists staged an attack on the Soviet embassy in Tel Aviv . Viața Nouă responded to these events by adhering to the Soviet narrative: "Honest Jews the world over are infuriated by these deeds of the Jewish bourgeois nationalists and imperialist aggressors, who seek to expand their range through Zionist organisations." The CDE voted to dissolve itself (but

15308-495: The Soviet diplomat believed in January 1946 that, on its own, the PCR was not capable of gathering more than 10% of the vote. According to the American diplomat Burton Y. Berry , Groza had admitted to this procedure during an alleged conversation with a third party, indicating that the fraudulent percentages were the goal of competition between two sides — him and the PCR's general secretary Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej formed one, while

15480-541: The UER's communisation had been effected by Zelțer-Sărățeanu, who presided over a takeover of the more traditional group, expelling Filderman. In late 1947, 800 CDE members in Severin County addressed an open letter to the Big Four , endorsing a ban on the National Peasants' Party and the National Liberal Party , claiming that both had perpetuated antisemitism. Political life was more heavily restricted from early 1948, with

15652-418: The UPM, one does not receive sugar". The women's suffrage was regarded with a level of hostility by the PNȚ–Maniu, and Dreptatea frequently ridiculed Pauker's visits to women in various villages. The period of campaigning and the election itself were witness to widespread irregularities, with historian and politician Dinu C. Giurescu claiming violence and intimidation were carried out both by squads of

15824-533: The United Workers' Front, Frontul Unic Muncitoresc ), had also seen a steady growth in numbers; the PSD was by then dominated by the pro-PCR wing of Ștefan Voitec and Lothar Rădăceanu , who purged the staunchly Reformist group of Constantin Titel Petrescu in March 1946 (leading the latter to establish his own independent group). The Communist Ana Pauker noted with dissatisfaction that certain members of

15996-488: The Victory of 19 November 1946" ( Învățămintele alegerilor și sarcinile PC după victoria din 19 Noiembrie 1946 , Arhiva MApN, fond Materiale documentare diverse, dosar 1.742, f.12–13). It was compared by historian Petre Țurlea  [ ro ] with the official version, and provides essentially different data on the results. Analyzing the report, Țurlea contended that, overall, the BPD actually won between 44.98% and 47% of

16168-538: The West, but also complained that such emigrations were chaotic and dangerous. From August 1946, the CDE ' s propaganda described Zionist camps for displaced persons as miserable, and journey to Palestine as not worth the risk. Instead, it gave positive reviews to life in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast . Some CDE chapters by then demanding the full restitution of assets confiscated in the Holocaust, addressing Groza

16340-765: The YIKUF still popularised his "progressive" works. Leon Bertiș had his verse published in Yikuf Bletter , but, as a staunch Zionist, could not be convinced to join the CDE. "Unmasking" sessions by provincial chapters led to the public humiliation of various Jewish notables, including industrialist Solomon Israel, retailer Ștefan Fekete, and Marc Ludovic, who was the CDE's own secretary in Târgu Mureș . A similar investigation of Barașeum actors found more ideological flaws, including Zionism, but failed to name any perpetrators. Historian Corina L. Petrescu suggests that such apparent protection

16512-524: The activities of a CDE secretary, Ernst Fischer, whom they had exposed as a proxy for Revisionist Zionism . In October, Luca and Chivu Stoica reiterated that Zionism had been purged from the CDE, which was now destined to "attracting the Jewish masses" into the Workers' Party (PMR, as the PCR had been renamed after absorbing the PSDR). Following their intervention, PMR General Secretary Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej issued

16684-567: The aftermath of World War II . The official results gave a victory to the Bloc of Democratic Parties ( Blocul Partidelor Democrate , BPD), together with its associates, the Hungarian People's Union (UPM or MNSZ) and the Democratic Peasants' Party–Lupu . The elections marked a decisive step towards the disestablishment of the Romanian monarchy and the proclamation of a Communist regime at

16856-428: The anti-Zionist campaign had been toned down. The advent of national communism during the late 1950s presented former CDE leaders with the option of rediscovering Zionism or complying with full assimilation. The former path was taken by Emil Dorian with essays he was working on at the time of his death. During the early 1960s, Revista Cultului Mozaic settled on a version of Jewish identitarianism which also promoted

17028-470: The beginning the land was divided, then taken away and kolkhozy were set up. We have no convincing arguments against such objections from the peasants"). The BPD took additional measures in regard to women voters in villages, most of them illiterate . According to Pauker, several agitprop campaigns were aimed at them, during which Communist activists stressed the positive aspects of the Groza government. Pauker stated: "a lot of things will depend on how

17200-550: The cabinet was attempting to prevent "provocations" from both the far right and far left , and that chaos during the elections would have resulted in his own sidelining and a dictatorship of the far left. In regard to the arrest of several Romanian employees of the American Embassy in Bucharest , Groza reportedly claimed that he had tried to set them free, but the "extremists in the government" had opposed this move. According to

17372-453: The central level, and to various irregularities in transport over the national railway system which she attributed to sabotage . Kavtaradze blamed the government itself for failing to prepare the economy for the elections. Pauker further mentioned that Communists were especially concerned about events related to the petroleum industry in Romania (centered on Prahova County ), which was by then becoming much less lucrative. Tudor Ionescu ,

17544-589: The city fell. According to the historical documents, the Budapest offensive can be divided into five periods: After the Budapest offensive, the main forces of Army Group South virtually collapsed. The road to Vienna , Czechoslovakia and the southern border of Germany was widely open for the Soviets and their allies. According to Soviet claims, the Germans and Hungarians in Budapest lost 49,000 dead soldiers, with 110,000 captured and 269 tanks destroyed. As most of

17716-449: The communist party especially", whereas capitalists, even those of Jewish extraction, endured as "great enemies of the Jewish people". Luca surmised that the Committee was best suited to engage in attacks on the Jewish bourgeoisie, since it was shielded from accusations of antisemitism. In his replies, Chiriță insisted that Jews turned to illegal trading because the CDE could still not provide them with meaningful employment. After that moment,

17888-429: The consolidation of an independent Israel. By mid 1949, Mapam and all other socialist Zionist groups decided to cease official activities. Feldman warned his followers that this was a ruse, since "the enemies of the working class never give up their positions of their own free will." Throughout that year, Unirea incited renewed campaigns against Zionist influence, and condemned any "slacking". It announced proudly that, as

18060-457: The elections in Arad County were organized by a group of 40 people (including Belu Zilber and Anton Golopenția ); the president of the county electoral commission collected the votes from local stations and was required to read them aloud—irrespective of the option expressed, he called out the names of BPD candidates (Pătrășcanu and Ion Vincze , together with others). Nicolae Betea stated that

18232-463: The emigration tendency as present among a large portion of our Jewish population. By attacking reactionaries and supporting the sentimental attachment that some Jews hold in respect to Zionism, we can also win over this mass of Zionists." A mirrored version of this approach was documented among nominal supporters. In 1946, Naty Terdiman, the CDE man in Fălciu, reported that Jews were only pretending to endorse

18404-422: The end of the following year. Breaking with the traditional universal male suffrage confirmed by the 1923 Constitution , it was the first national election to feature women's suffrage , and the first to allow active public officials and army personnel the right to vote. The BPD, representing the incumbent leftist government formed around Prime Minister Petru Groza , was an electoral alliance comprising

18576-495: The end of the month, the Committee acquiesced to the formal designation of Zionism as a variety of fascism or "reactionary nationalism", and proceeded to exclude from its ranks all remaining Zionists (in practice, all non-communists). Over the following months, Mishmar withdrew from the CDE and created an international alliance with a new socialist group, the Mapam ; Dascălu became head of the local Mapam chapter. The CDE, and in particular

18748-670: The ending of World War II in Europe. Having secured Romania in the summer Iasi–Kishinev offensive , the Soviet forces continued their push in the Balkans . The Red Army occupied Bucharest on 31 August, then swept westward across the Carpathian Mountains into Hungary and southward into Bulgaria , with parts joining the Yugoslav Partisans in the Belgrade offensive . In the process,

18920-719: The executive board had 10 PCR members, ahead of Aguda with 5; at Oravița , there were 40 CDE members in town, of whom 19 were communists. The CDE was expected to administer Jewish community affairs, which included direct control over the apolitical Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania (FCER). At the first CDE meetings, Luca already indicated that the CDE was fundamentally anti-Zionist , while also expressing his disapproval of Jews who voted for mainstream Romanian parties. In October 1945, Luca engaged in polemics with Chiriță, who stood accused of not endorsing class conflict . According to Luca, "the Jewish worker fits in with

19092-486: The facilities and in rural areas. PNȚ and PNL activists were barred entry to Army bases, while the ECP closely supervised soldiers who supported the opposition, and repeatedly complained about the "political backwardness" and "liberties in voting" of various Army institutions. While several Army officials guaranteed that their subordinates would vote for the BPD unanimously, low-ranking members occasionally expressed criticism over

19264-741: The fourth anniversary of Operation Uranus , the moment when Nazi Germany and Romania suffered a major defeat on the Eastern Front at the Battle of Stalingrad . According to his private notes, General Constantin Sănătescu , an adversary of the PCR and former Premier, presumed that this had been done on purpose ("in order to mock us"). Following Romania's exit from the war, left-wing parties had increased their membership several times. The PCR, which held its first open and legal conference in October 1945, had begun

19436-426: The frenzy of uncovering the 'internal enemy'." According to historian Stefano Bottoni, it marked "the first visible sign of a failed compromise, whose bases — namely, that party members were to drop their 'strong' Jewish identity, while the petty and middle bourgeoisie were to be economically ruined — had been proven as unacceptable for a majority of Jews in Romania." At the height of this realignment, Feldman redefined

19608-475: The gains in the rural areas to be obtained from the Front's electorate (the poor and middle peasant categories). By the time of the election, Groza's party had just been pressured into supporting Communist tenets, after it a brief conflict had erupted over the PCR's designs of collectivization . The Social Democratic Party (PSD), which had been drawn into close collaboration with the PCR as early as 1944 (as part of

19780-526: The government began handing out food supplies. Pauker attested that, in several places, the state was frustrated in its attempt to purchase grain from peasants, who argued that the price was too low, and that this led to the supplies being insufficient. The government eventually took the decision to import grain (and especially maize ) in large quantities, an action overseen by Gheorghiu-Dej. According to Kavtardze, such measures were partly ineffective. Pauker's testimony stressed that, while problems in applying

19952-466: The government's apparent failure to provide help, the peasants also distrusted the opposition's PNȚ–Maniu, whom they saw as representative of the landlords and opposed to the land reform. According to Pauker, they were falling for PNȚ–Maniu's propaganda, which claimed the Groza cabinet had carried out the land reform only as a preliminary step to collectivization ("Peasants answer that in Russia as well, in

20124-413: The high level of inflation, the Groza cabinet increased their revenues and supplies preferentially. In January, Army agitprop sections of the "Education, Culture and Propaganda" Directorate ( Direcția Superioară pentru Educație, Cultură și Propagandă a Armatei , or ECP), already employed in channeling political messages inside military ranks, were authorized to carry out "educational activities" outside of

20296-400: The impact of such practices on the Jewish psyche was "null", especially since emigration continued to be tolerated to 1952. Vago reports that "the dull evening courses teaching Jews the elements of 'class struggle' and of the need to change Jewish class structure [are] remembered [collectively] with a bitterness about losing the small businesses". Academic Zoltán Tibori Szabó similarly notes that

20468-587: The imposition of a Romanian communist state . In the March 1948 elections the CDE ran as part of the People's Democratic Front (FDP). The adherence to its platform was registered on 27 February, being signed by Paul Iscovici , then-chairman of the CDE. Ihud was a proxy ally, sending representatives on the CDE Electoral Commission. Within the new legislature, the FDP had 405 of a total 414 seats; five of these went to

20640-418: The issue of Hungarian responsibility for the Holocaust. László Erdős, leader of the CDE's Cluj section, refused to promise protection to Calvinist and Unitarian clergy, implying that both had been complicit in Holocaust crimes. CDE operative Otto Rappaport also spoke on the issue, but insisted that MADOSZ and other local Hungarians "openly and firmly judge the crimes of an era and generation." While advocating

20812-471: The land reform damaged the BPD's image in some counties in rural regions, its main support came from the formerly landless peasantry. She also attested that, in several counties in Moldavia , the absentee ballot was becoming an option among members of the latter social category ("Asked whom they would vote for, peasants answer: "We'll think about it some more" or "We shall not be voting""). While disheartened by

20984-543: The latter. Following its exit from the Axis in the wake of the coup d'état of 23 August 1944 , Romania became subject to Allied supervision ( see Romania during World War II , Allied Commission ). After the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Soviet authorities had increased their presence in Romania, as Western Allied governments resorted to expressing largely inconsequential criticism of new procedures in place. After

21156-460: The liquidation of Hungarian fascism , Rappaport contended: "Jewry does not identify and does not generalize the traitors of the Hungarian people with the Hungarian democrats. The Jewry equally hates the Hungarian and Romanian reaction". Despite Kohn's attempts at finding common ground, MADOSZ and the CDE were at odds over issues such as the return of Jewish property in Bistrița County . Shunning

21328-478: The mass emigration of CDE members, including all the party hierarchy in Năsăud . Communist supervisors noted their displeasure, indicating that the CDE's "instructional work" was still "not deep enough". Unirea was closed down in 1951 and Yikuf Bletter in 1952; a new publication, Viața Nouă was in print from 1951 to 1953. Between these dates, a full purge of the CDE had been carried out: "all energies were devoted to

21500-532: The means of communication. Soviet sources cited PCR officials giving assurances that the respective categories were to provide as much as 1 million votes for the BPD. A report of the Soviet Embassy in Bucharest, dated 15 August 1946, informed Andrey Vyshinsky of the legislative changes and made note of the fact that the two opposition leaders, Iuliu Maniu (leader of the PNȚ–Maniu) and Dinu Brătianu (leader of

21672-547: The new state and the Soviet Union. Filderman was also present as a regular member of the audience, and looked on as Feldman made "great gestures of friendship" toward Nahum Goldmann , who was thus convinced that collaboration could still exist between Jewish and Soviet groups. In its coverage of the war in Palestine , the PCR press spoke of the "savage aggression by the Arab states against the Jewish people in Palestine", and alleged that it

21844-474: The newly-inaugurated communist regime , whose leadership came to suspect that Zionism had seeped into CDE policies. In late 1948, the Labour Zionists parted ways with the CDE, with some attempting to reorganize as a local section of Mapam . Under Feldman's leadership, the CDE began "unmasking" campaigns, which, from 1949, resulted in a thorough purge of its own national and regional structures; it also opposed

22016-482: The normalisation of Israel–Romania relations spread quickly in 1958, leading 100,000 Romanian Jews to apply for emigration. Such revelations about the still-massive popularity of Zionism in Romania prompted the PMR to purge its own ranks of Jews, leading to the effective introduction of a Jewish quota among card-carrying communists. No Yiddish books were published in Romania in 1961, though Yiddish theaters continued to be active, and were reputedly flourishing; meanwhile,

22188-768: The notion of loyalty to the Romanian state. Rabbi Rosen continued to head the community, but also acted as a Zionist dissident. He had founded 19 illegal Talmud Torahs at the height of repression, and, during the 1960s liberalisation, managed to obtain approval for the departure of many other Jews. This also witnessed more of the former CDE activists leaving, as was the case with Loewenstein-Lavi in 1957, and with Rosenkranz in 1961. Rosen took pride in noting that, by 1985, about 96% of Romanian Jews had settled in Israel. 1946 Romanian general election Petru Groza Ploughmen's Front Petru Groza Ploughmen's Front General elections were held in Romania on 19 November 1946, in

22360-405: The number to 160 a month, most of whom were not in fact Romanian citizens; the Romanian government intervened to relax pressures during November. As noted by researcher Raphael Vago, this positioning reflected a convergence of two attitudes. Among the Jewish communists, Ana Pauker pleaded with her colleagues to " let my people go "; other PCR leaders, "backed by anti-Semites, were glad to get rid of

22532-619: The official results. Writing at the time, the academic Constantin Rădulescu-Motru , who had his electoral rights suspended due to wartime membership of the Romanian-German Association, reported rumours that authorities had been arbitrarily preventing people from voting, that many voters were not asked for their documents, and that electoral lists marked with the Sun symbol of the BPD had been shoved into urns before voting began. Such

22704-451: The opposition PNȚ's newspaper, he had reportedly stated in a February 1946 meeting with workers: "If the reaction wins, do you think we'll let it live for [another] 24 hours? We'll be getting our payback immediately. We'll get our hands on whatever we can and we'll strike". According to Berry, the Premier had stated that he assessed Romania's commitment to freedom of election in opposition to

22876-458: The opposition parties. Carried out upon the close of World War II , under Romania's occupation by Soviet troops, the elections have drawn comparisons to the similarly flawed elections held at the time in most of the emerging Eastern Bloc (in Albania , Bulgaria , Czechoslovakia , Hungary and Poland ), being considered, in respect to its formal system of voting, among the most permissive of

23048-582: The overall results for the BPD in Arad County, officially recorded at 58%, were closer to 20%. Throughout the country, voting bulletins were set fire to immediately after the official counting was completed, an action which prevented all alternative investigation. Sometime after the elections, the PCR issued a confidential report called "Lessons from the Elections and the C[ommunist] P[arty]'s Tasks after

23220-432: The party leadership estimated winning 60-70%, "through certain 'techniques'", the BPD could win up to 90%. A reference to "techniques" was also made by Ana Pauker in conversation with Soviet officials; she nevertheless expressed her belief that, without such techniques, the overall result was not going to be upwards of 60% (Pauker also voiced concern that such a figure, while a victory for the BPD coalition, would result in

23392-550: The presidents of election bureaus treat women voters, since women have never voted, have never seen electoral laws and are not aware of voting procedures". The UPM also actively campaigned among women, with its propaganda considered to be better than PCR's even by government agents. In one incident, witnessed during the elections and occurring in Cluj , "there was an unexpected turnout of Magyar women. Old women aged 70–80, carrying chairs, had queued, in rainy weather, awaiting their turn to vote. The slogan was: if one does not vote with

23564-444: The previous December, argued that the CDE was behind his ouster, since he had refused to sign a document calling for the execution of anti-communist leader Iuliu Maniu . As he recalled, he left the country before he could be framed by the Committee leadership. Elsewhere, Șafran noted that his departure had been hastened by CDE envoy Sandu Lieblich, while another emissary had asked that he sign papers to show that he left willingly. Before

23736-557: The regime fell to "purging commissions", all of them controlled by the PCR, and the Romanian People's Tribunals (investigating war crimes , and constantly supported by agitprop in the Communist press). The decision to allow military men and public officials to vote was also intended to secure a grip on elections. At the time, Groza's cabinet exercised complete control over public administration at central and local levels, as well as

23908-414: The regime's official newspaper, Scînteia , issued directions for CDE to circulate Ilya Ehrenburg 's critique of Israel among its members and sympathisers; this message pushed the CDE into open conflict with the Zionists, resulting in a series of street battles between the two camps. On 12 December, the same publication more openly alleged that a Zionist conspiracy was subverting the CDE from within. Before

24080-427: The regime's temporary relaxation of emigration restrictions. The Committee was pressed into dissolving itself in March 1953, when it proclaimed that Jews had been fully integrated into the new society. The regime's clampdown on Zionism contradicted this statement, as did the large-scale popularity of emigration projects, lasting into the 1980s, and directly encouraged by Rabbi Rosen. Historian Corneliu Crăciun notes that

24252-448: The release of Zionist prisoners. Feldman declared himself against this move, noting that the Zionists had been charged with spying. By contrast, Rosen, Halevy and Leibovici-Șerban made efforts to obtain the release of Zionist rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal , whom they depicted as a defender of democratic values. Finally, the CDE itself was targeted by communist purges, with six of its board members being pushed to resign, for "laxity", during

24424-525: The religious communities and bourgeois forces on the other." In this, the Committee earned backing from Rabbi Meyer Abraham Halevy , who declared that, with the onset of Soviet occupation , the synagogue had a duty to become " red "; on this basis, the CDE endorsed a direct supervision of all synagogues by the FCER. As early as February 1946, CDE activists convened a meeting of 1,266 shochtim , instructing them to perform their duties with "democratic spirit", heeding

24596-428: The restitution of assets confiscated during the Holocaust, as well as for the "protection of unhindered freedom of emigration". More to the south, Arad hosted a Union of Democratic Jews, which, in October 1944, inaugurated a process to restore property confiscated under fascism. From Bucharest , painter M. H. Maxy and lawyer Iosif Șraier resumed the project to give pro-communist Jews a national representation. Șraier

24768-453: The same time, Maxy was being investigated for his work at the Artists' Union. He had been accused of nepotism, incompetence, and lack of commitment to socialist realism . Kohn, who had maintained contacts with disgraced MADOSZ leader Gyárfás Kurkó after 1949, was protected from arrest by his friendship with Groza and Constantinescu. During subsequent years, former CDE cadres continued to defend

24940-410: The situation was saved. In this section, where we believed we had the best comrade president, and thus expected the best result, we received the worst result of all voting stations for the military. […] All of this because of the attitude of Comrade Petrovici [the section president]. If this section had not existed or if Comrade Petrovici, as its president, had listened to us, the army would have yielded

25112-565: The start of the Cold War , notably marked by Winston Churchill 's " Iron Curtain " speech at Westminster College on 5 March 1946, and the centering of Western Allied interest in turning the tide of the Civil War in Greece . The intricate issues posed by the latter contributed to weakening ties between the Romanian opposition groups and their Western supporters. The date of the election coincided with

25284-739: The takeover, Popper published a piece which alleged that Șafran was an illegal defector. Upon taking over, Rosen was also awarded a seat on the CDE's presidium; Popper was at the time the FCER President, replaced by Bacalu in 1950. As these events unfolded, the CDE carried out a census of runaway Bukovina Jews living on Romanian territory, noting that most of them were using up Committee resources while preparing their escape to Israel. The CDE branch in Lugoj , meanwhile, carried out an investigation and purge of "racketeers" ( speculanți ) from party ranks, and become more appealing to proletarian Jews. In October 1948,

25456-642: The unresolved issue of Holocaust confiscations; the CDE section of Bihor also protested over the under-representation of Northern Transylvanian Jews in the Assembly of Deputies. The Committee maintained an international profile during its last years, with delegates attending the 1948 World Jewish Congress in Montreux . Mișu Benvenisti of the PER was also invited, sharing the stage with Feldman, Bacalu, and Leibovici-Șerban. The latter expressed Jewish Romanian sympathy toward Israeli independence , supporting an alliance between

25628-457: The villages, under the influence of the priests, preferred voting for the PNȚ. While securing the votes of the state apparatus and the Jewish petite bourgeoisie , the BPD was not able to make notable gains inside the categories of traditional PNȚ supporters. Budapest Offensive [REDACTED] 2nd Ukrainian Front [REDACTED] 3rd Ukrainian Front [REDACTED] Army Group South The Budapest offensive

25800-429: The violent quelling of PNȚ and PNL–Brătianu activities inside Army units. Eventually, as the institution made use of its venues to campaign for the BPD, it encountered hostility. At a time when the airplanes of the Romanian Air Force were used to drop pro-Groza leaflets over the city of Brașov , EPC activists were alarmed to find out that the manifestos had been secretly replaced with PNȚ–Maniu propaganda. The Army

25972-436: The vote. This not only contradicted the official results, but also opposition claims that they actually won as much as 80% of the vote. In Țurlea's interpretation, the result, although coming at the end of fraudulent elections, could be counted as a victory of the opposition. The report also confirms that the BPD's popularity had been much higher in the urban areas than with the peasantry, while, despite expectations, women in

26144-489: The workers, outlining reasons why they should not take in Zionist ideology. In October, CDE militants, including Feldman and Laurențiu Bercovici, gave speeches condemning David Ben-Gurion , Israel's Head of Government and noted Labour Zionist, for having moved away from Soviet influence. Feldman himself referred to the Mapai as " right-wing socialists ". The message was expanded upon in Isac Ludo 's book, Scrisoare domnului Ben Gurion ("Letter to Mr Ben Gurion"), published by

26316-503: Was a "fanatical" among his fellow communists. Local bodies were quickly integrated into the countrywide structure—on 25 March, the Cluj GDE became a CDE territorial office. In October, it was joined by other Northern Transylvanian organisations, with the CPED, gradually diminished in importance, also finally recorded as a regional CDE branch. Kohn remained in charge of the CDE provincial chapter (seconded by Sándor Neumann). His past had by then come under review, resulting in his expulsion from

26488-406: Was a "twin brother of anti-Semitism". Anti-communist observers in the Romanian diaspora began speculating that the communist leadership was preparing to implicate the Zionists in a localized version of the László Rajk trial. During January 1949, the CDE still honored an agreement with Israel, allowing 1,300 Jews to sail out of Romania. This was followed by a severe clampdown in February, reducing

26660-516: Was a control over religious Jews through the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania , which was placed under the left-leaning rabbi Moses Rosen . The CDE was averse to the illegal exodus of Jews into Mandatory Palestine , seeking to document, control, and finally suppress it. It presented Jews with the option of integrating into a socialist economy, emphasising producerist guidelines and condemning parasitism . The Romanian regime recognised Israel , but failed in its project of communising

26832-425: Was a noted PCR middleman, having spent the interwar as a public defender for communist prisoners. The CDE effort was officially sanctioned by PCR Secretary Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej while visiting Templul Coral on 25 April 1945, and advanced on 2 June, when Șraier negotiated with David "Dadu" Rosenkranz. The latter, a wartime humanitarian, had been active with the UER before moving into left-wing politics. The Committee

27004-428: Was also published by the CDE. According to Zeev-Herșcovici, the CDE was only successful in promoting socialist Yiddishism through its network of schools, including obtaining a Yiddish state curriculum; the Barașeum was maintained as a state theater, to promote Yiddish drama . Yiddishist campaigns were partly supervised by Polia Barasch, who was an inspector for the Ministry of Education , as well as serving as leader of

27176-504: Was assigned its own Electoral Commission, placed under the leadership of two notoriously pro-Soviet generals, Nicolae Cambrea and Mihail Lascăr , both of whom had formerly served in Red Army units of Romanian volunteers. This drew unanswered protests from the opposition, who called for another Commission to be appointed. By the time of the election, the Groza cabinet decided not to allow reserve and recently discharged soldiers to vote at special Army stations, in order to prevent "tainting"

27348-423: Was being prepared to raise the percentage from 55 to 65% to 90%; compared to the mandates awarded to the BPD according to the official results, his estimation came within 1%, though this was not the case for the mandates obtained by other competitors. Kavtaradze expressed concern that information on this topic had leaked out to opposition parties in various locations, and that the PCR had thus failed to fully respect

27520-427: Was being propped up by " Anglo-American imperialism ". By then, however, the Romanian communist leadership had switched their support to the Arab Liberation Army . On 11 June 1948, exactly as Romania gave formal recognition to Israel, all Zionist organisations were ordered to shut down. On 16 June the organisation elected Moses Rosen as the Chief Rabbi of Romania to replace Alexandru Șafran . Șafran, who had defected

27692-524: Was communicated through the party branches, with activist Meier Froimovici declaring that "there is no longer a Jewish Question in Romania", and equating the Zionist underground with human traffickers. This thesis was furthered by CDE activists designated as lămuritori ("educators"), who drew comparisons between hasty emigration and wartime deportations to Transnistria , in that they divided families. Egység suggested to its readers that "anyone seeking to emigrate would be committing suicide", and that Zionism

27864-427: Was continuing as before. In reality, the regime was clamping down on the use of Yiddish: though not as repressed as Zionist propaganda, various Yiddishist textbooks were placed under restricted use until the end of communism in 1989 . The communist authorities finally opted not to recognize Jews as a separate ethnicity, but as Romanians professing Judaism; the FCER was allowed to exist as a sole instrument through which

28036-424: Was engaged in Antisemitic and Anti-Hungarian violence, as a means to draw the interest of central authorities and Western Allied supervisors. In a secret note released at the same time, General Precup admitted that violent incidents against the government and its supporters had been occurring, and that the Army had been sent in to intervene. He also admitted that local supporters of the PNȚ–Maniu were upset with

28208-604: Was established with a constitutive session on 7 June 1945, though it was only truly active from 22 July. Its first Chairman was Maxy, but only for a short period. According to various reports, it was originally named "Jewish National Committee", and was led in 1945–1946 by Lică (Abramovici) Chiriță. From the beginning, it was a satellite organisation of the PCR: its first-ever meetings were attended by PCR envoy Vasile Luca , supported by two Jewish party colleagues—Maxy and industrialist Emil Calmanovici . According to historian Idith Zertal , it functioned as "an impossible conglomerate of

28380-474: Was extended to them because of cultural priorities: "[activists] had to strike a balance between [the troupe's] state-assigned role as poster child of the regime and its self-assigned task as torchbearer for high quality Yiddish culture." By 1950, the CDE took its "unmasking" sessions into factories, encouraging workers to shame those of their colleagues who had submitted emigration papers, and insisting for Zionists to be stripped of their wages. As noted by Kuller,

28552-501: Was fully endorsed by Unirea , who referred to Zionists as "blackmarketeers" and "disrupters of the socialist economy". During December, as noted by French diplomat Philippe de Luze, the standoff produced "very violent incidents". CDE squads stormed into the Bucharest offices of the ten remaining Zionist organisations, including Mishmar, Ihud, Bnei Akiva , and HaOved HaTzioni . The latter two in particular mounted resistance, with publicised incidents which prompted communist authorities order

28724-442: Was in practice liquidated) on 16 March of that year, when it issued a final notice declaring that "all issues which confounded the Jewish population are presently resolved". A note by the Soviet diplomat N. P. Sulitsky suggests that the act was forced upon the Jewish community by Gheorghiu-Dej, who still regarded the CDE itself as a hub for "Jewish bourgeois nationalists". Pauker was arrested the same day as part of an investigation into

28896-496: Was taken up in Romania by Ihud , which immediately signed up to the National Democratic Front's platform and, internationally, acted as a section of Mapai . In November, Romania's Labour Zionists formed a Union of the Working Land of Israel ( Brith Eretz Israel HaOvedet , BEIH)—federating Ihud, Poale Zion , Ahdut HaAvoda , as well as a former affiliate of Hashomer Hatzair called Mishmar. The PCR had more success in Northern Transylvania , which had been reattached to Romania during

29068-399: Was the general attack by Soviet and Romanian armies against Hungary and their Axis allies from Nazi Germany . The offensive lasted from 29 October 1944 until the fall of Budapest on 13 February 1945. This was one of the most difficult and complicated offensives that the Soviet Army carried out in Central Europe . It resulted in a decisive victory for the USSR , as it greatly sped up

29240-474: Was the most fraudulent election in the history of Romanian politics. Various authors note however that the fraud has been mythologised by the opposition, including in its post-1990 installments. The 1946 elections were in many ways similar to the ones won by PNL–Brătianu or PNȚ before World War II: the governing party always used state resources in its campaign, ensuring for itself a comfortable majority, against clamorous accusations of fraud and violence coming from

29412-521: Was to put this policy into practice by both weakening (and later on suppressing) the two large pre-war Jewish organizations, the Jewish Party and the Union of Romanian Jews." Imitating communist organisational structures to the point of creating its own Politburo , the new group was both formally and informally dominated by PCR activists, some of whom were integrated into its official leadership. Examples include Maxy, writer Barbu Lăzăreanu , doctors Maximilian Popper and Arthur Kreindler ; Maxy returned as

29584-409: Was traditionally considered reactionary by the PCR, with historian Marian Ștefan arguing the measure was meant to facilitate control over the legislative process The BPD government also removed the majority bonus , awarded since 1926 to the party that had obtained more than 40% of the total suffrage. The election coincided with the deterioration of relations between the Soviet Union and the West at

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