Anti-Jewish legislation in Romania (January 1934-30 August 1940)

The Jewish population of northern Transylvania was deeply affected by the enactment of anti-Jewish legislation during the Romanian administration, as well as after the Second Vienna Award of 30 August 1940, when northern Transylvania was annexed to Hungary.

Anti-Jewish legislation in Romania (January 1934-30 August 1940)

The first stages of anti-Jewish legislation occurred during the interwar period, when Romanian Jews (including those in northern Transylvania) were the direct target of this type of legislation which restricted, and then abolished, their fundamental civil rights, laying the ground for the future deportation and annihilation of the Jews. During the interwar period, several far-right parties emerged in Romania which contributed to a further radicalisation of the fascist and anti-Semitic political discourse. The parties whose ideological platform was based on an extremist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic discourse were: Liga Apărării Naţional Creştine – LANC (The National-Christian Defense League), led by A.C. Cuza, and Legiunea Arhanghelului Mihail (the Legion of the Archangel Michael), founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, and which developed into the Garda de Fier (Iron Guard) in 1930. Destroyed in 1933 by the liberal government led by I. G. Duca, the Iron Guard re-emerged as the Totul pentru Ţară (Everything for the Country) Party, gaining 15.56% of the votes in the 1937 election.

The laws of the Tătărescu Government (January 1934-December 1937)

The first stage of the anti-Jewish policy promoted at state level resulted in laws that were not explicitly directed at the Jewish population, but which, by their provisions, held a discriminatory character that affected the Jewish citizens of Romania. These discriminatory laws were passed during Gheorghe Tătărescu’s Government (January 1934-December 1937):

The laws and orders of the Goga-Cuza Government (29 December 1937-10 February 1938) and from the period of royal dictatorship (10 February 1938-5 September 1940)

The second stage of the anti-Jewish policy promoted at state level resulted in explicitly anti-Jewish government orders and laws whose implementation was aimed at depriving the Jewish population of all its civil rights.

a. Government orders

1. The ban on newspapers edited by Jewish journalists, including Dimineaţa (Morning), Adeverul (The Truth), Lupta (The Struggle), Lumea (The World), Noutatea (The News), Czernowitzer Blaetter (The Chernivtsi Gazette), Darkenu (Our Path), Dos Yidishe Vort (The Jewish Word).
2. The withdrawal of the permit for free movement on the Romanian railways from Jewish journalists.
3. The exclusion of Jews from all departments of public administration. This government provision resulted in lists of names of Jewish civil servants, doctors and lawyers (who worked in various sectors of the public administration) and their dismissal. Another consequence of this order was that 1540 Jewish lawyers from the Bucharest Bar Association were excluded from this professional organisation.
4. The exclusion of Jews from the selling of products which were under state-monopoly (tobacco, alcohol, matches), and from agricultural trade.
5. The exclusion of enterprises employing Jewish staff in which the state was one of the parties involved (either as customer or supplier).
6. The expropriation of agricultural enterprises, real estate and properties owned by Jews or Jewish institutions, for “the benefit of the public interest”.
7. The expulsion of rabbis who were not Romanian citizens and the ban on teaching about Judaism in state schools.
8. The prohibition on the employment of non-Jewish housemaids under 40 years of age by Jews.