International Commission
on the Holocaust in Romania
Issues Final Report

November 11, 2004 -- Established in October of 2003, the Commission was created "to research the facts and to determine the truth about the Holocaust in Romania during World War II, and the events preceding this tragedy." The Final Report of the Commission was presented to the President of Romania on November 11, 2004. According to Radu Ioanid, member of the commission and an advisor to our project, the report is to be published toward the end of 2005. We've received a pre-publication draft of the report; some excerpts follow, courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum .

From the Executive Summary

HOLOCAUST EDUCATION IN ROMANIA
                One of the most basic reasons for the creation of the Commission
has been the need for correcting and supplementing what is currently known
about the Holocaust in Romania. The long-term success of the Commission will, in no small measure, be judged by its impact on the teaching of the Holocaust to present and future Romanian students.
                Educational Programs to Mark Remembrance Day
                The Ministry of Education and schools throughout Romania should organize special programs and assemblies to mark the commemoration date. Consideration should be given to holding essay contests, inviting Holocaust survivors to speak of their experiences, and other means of engaging students' interest.
                Other Commemorative Events
                Religious leaders should be encouraged to observe Holocaust Remembrance Day through an interfaith ceremony and service. Additional efforts should be made to engage religious leaders and theological students in the subject, so that they can include the Holocaust in their studies and their sermons.
                Holocaust Memorials and Exhibitions
                […] Local authorities, particularly in former centers of Jewish populations, should be encouraged to find ways to recognize their prewar Jewish communities as well as to commemorate the Holocaust. For example, this could be accomplished by special exhibits in local museums, memorial plaques at historically significant sites, and the restoration of the Jewish names to streets and public squares.
                Documentation of Holocaust Victims
                Every effort should be made to document the names of Holocaust victims in Romania. The Romanian government and its archival institutions and repositories should assist Yad Vashem and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in their work of collecting information and digitizing their findings.
                Archival Access
                Access to Holocaust-related records in the Romanian government archives is essential for present-day and future historians to do their work. The Commission calls on the Romanian government to remove all impediments to access and further recommends that a central Holocaust-related archive center be established in Bucharest at the Central University Library or the Library of the Academy.

From Chapter 10: The Holocaust in Northern Transylvania
                The largest ghetto in Hungary-except for the one in Budapest-was that of Oradea. Actually, Oradea had two ghettos: one for the city's Jews, holding approximately 27,000 people and located in the neighborhood of the large Orthodox synagogue and the adjacent Great Market; the other, for the close to 8,000 Jews brought in from the many rural communities from the following twelve districts: Ale?d, Beretttyóújfalu (now Hungary), Biharkeresztes (now Hungary), Cefa, Derecske (now Hungary), Marghita, Oradea, S?cueni, S?lard, Salonta Mare, Sárrét (now Hungary), and Valea lui Mihai. Many of the Jews from these communities were concentrated in and around the Mezey Lumber Yards.
                The ghetto of Oradea was extremely overcrowded. The Jews of the city, who constituted about 30 percent of its population, were crammed into an area sufficient for only one-fifteenth of the city's inhabitants. The density was such that 14 to 15 Jews had to share a room. Like every other ghetto, the ghetto of Oradea suffered from a severe shortage of food; they also were the victims of the punitive measures of an especially vicious local administration. The anti-Semitic city government often cut off electric service and the flow of water to the ghetto. Moreover, under the command of Lt. Col. Jenõ Péterffy, the gendarmes were especially sadistic in operating the local "mint," which was set up at the Dréher Breweries immediately adjacent to the ghetto. Internally, the ghettos were administered by a Jewish Council headed by Sándor Leitner, the head of the Orthodox Jewish community.
                The deportation of the Jews began with the "evacuation" of those concentrated in the Mezey Lumber Yard on May 23. This was followed on May 28 with the first transport from the city itself. The last transport left Oradea on June 27.

Deportation Trains from Northern Transylvania
Passing through Kassa (Kosice) in 1944:
Dates, Origin of Transports, and Number of Deportees

May 16 May 17 May 18 May 19 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 May 22 May 23 May 23 May 25 May 25 May 25 May 25 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 28 May 29 May 29 May 29 May 30 May 30 May 30 May 31 May 31 May 31 June 1 June 1 June 2 June 2 June 3 June 3 June 4 June 5 June 5 June 6 June 6 June 6 June 8 June 8 June 8 June 9 June 27

Sighetu Marma?iei Ökörmezö (now Ukraine) Sighetu Marma?iei Vi?eu de Sus Satu Mare Sighetu Marma?iei Vi?eu de Sus Sighetu Marma?iei Satu Mare Vi?eu de Sus Oradea Oradea Cluj Aknaszlatina Vi?eu de Sus Satu Mare Târgu Mure? Dej Oradea Cluj Satu Mare Oradea Târgu Mure? Oradea Satu Mare Cluj Baia Mare ?imleu Silvaniei Oradea Satu Mare Bistri?a Cluj Oradea ?imleu Silvaniei Reghin Oradea Baia Mare Dej Bistri?a ?imleu Silvaniei Dej Cluj Târgu Mure? Cluj Oradea

3,007 3,052 3,248 3,032 3,006 3,104 3,013 3,490 3,300 3,023 3,110 3,148 3,130 3,317 3,006 3,336 3,183 3,150 3,227 3,417 3,306 3,166 3,203 3,187 3,300 3,270 3,073 3,106 3,059 2,615 3,106 3,100 2,972 3,161 3,149 2,527 2,844 3,160 2,875 1,584 1,364 1,784 1,163 1,447 2,819