A recent statement by a Romanian government ministry about the Holocaust has aroused the ire of the Israeli government and Jewish groups. Yad Vashem was first to announce its objection to a recent Public Information Ministry statement that there was "no Holocaust inside Romanian borders between the years 1940-1945."
Israel's Foreign Ministry summoned Romania's Ambassador in Israel, Valeria Mariana Stoica, and informed him that Israel takes a grave view of the Romanian statement. Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General for Central Europe and Eurasia, David Peleg, said that the Government of Romania must find a way to correct this unfortunate statement, in order to return the countries' bilateral ties to the right path.
Yad Vashem's response emphasized that "the murder of Jews in greater Romania during the Holocaust has already been established." In fact, 420,000 Romanian and Soviet Jews were murdered in greater Romania during the Holocaust years.
In a book published by Yad Vashem, Dr. John Ancel shows that the Romanian government, army and police "bear direct responsibility for the murder of a large number of the Jews in greater Romania during World War II." Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev said that the information is based on documents that were collected from archives in Romania and around the world. "It is difficult to believe that a country which endeavors to establish a democratic regime would present such a distorted version of historical events," Shalev said.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) joined in today and said that claims by the Romanian Ministry of Public Information that the Holocaust did not take place in Romania were "outrageous." In a letter to Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nstase, ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman wrote,
"In recent years, Romania has done much to come to terms with the Holocaust, during which over 250, 000 Romanian Jews were deported or killed. Statues venerating Marshal Ion Antonescu, who collaborated with the Nazis and arranged for the deportation of Romanian Jews to concentration camps, have been banned. Last week, Romania announced an important partnership with the United States Holocaust Museum. Unfortunately, the Government's most recent statement gives unprecedented legitimacy to those who seek to deny or downplay Romanian and Marshal Antonescu's deadly policies during the Holocaust. We strongly urge the Government of Romania to address this matter and take steps towards an honest reckoning of what happened in Romania during the war years."