The Wiesel Commission was the International Commission on the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

which was established by former President

Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu ...

in October 2003 to research and create a report on the actual history of the Holocaust in Romania and make specific recommendations for educating the public on the issue. The Commission, which was led by

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

laureate Elie Wiesel as well as

Jean Ancel Jean Ancel (1940 – 30 April 2008) was a Romanian-born Israeli author and historian; with specialty in the history of the Jews in Romania between the two World wars, and the Holocaust of the Jews of Romania. Biography Jean Ancel was born to Je ...

, released its report in late 2004. The Romanian government recognized the report's findings and acknowledged the deliberate participation in the Holocaust by the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Romanian regime led by Ion Antonescu. The report assessed that between 280,000 and 380,000 Jews were murdered or died under the supervision and as a result of the deliberate policies of Romanian civilian and military authorities. Over 11,000

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

were also killed. The Wiesel Commission report also documented pervasive

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and violence against Jews in Romania before World War II, when Romania's Jewish population was among the largest in Europe. The report was heralded as a landmark development because the true history of the Holocaust in Romania had been suppressed during the communist period, and few Romanians were aware of the extent of involvement in the Holocaust by Antonescu and many others in the military, government, and broader society. Indeed, the Wiesel Commission itself was established following statements made in July 2003 by Romanian President Iliescu and the Romanian Minister of Culture minimizing the Holocaust and indicating official belief that the Holocaust had not occurred in Romania. Iliescu established the Wiesel Commission after an international outcry over these erroneous assertions. In 2004, Romania observed its first National Holocaust Commemoration Day, established by the Parliament to take place on or around October 9 of each year. The date specifically marks the 1941 deportation of Romanian Jews to ghettos and forced labor camps, although they were not sent to Germany as requested by Hitler. The establishment of the commemoration day was among the recommendations made in the Wiesel Commission report. Other recommendations included the establishment of an Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania (subsequently established in 2005), explicit inclusion of the history of the Holocaust in Romania in public school curricula, and the construction of a national monument to the Romanian victims of the Holocaust. All of these are currently being implemented by the Romanian government. As of 2006, Holocaust studies have been implemented into Year 10 high school curricula, and the designs for a National Memorial for Romanian Victims of the Holocaust have been finalised. On October 9, 2006 (the National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust in Romania), the keystone for the memorial was laid by Romanian President

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions between 1991 ...

References

External links

* The Final Report of the Commission is available in several places (in digital format): ** ** **
Executive Summary
*
"Elie Wiesel" National Institute for the Study of Holocaust in Romania
{{Authority control Holocaust studies Jewish Romanian history The Holocaust in Romania Historiography of Romania Holocaust-related organizations

See also

References

External links