871.4016/241
The Minister in Rumania (Gunther) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 17.]
Sir: Pursuant to the observations regarding the present treatment of Jews in Rumania contained in my despatch No. 1502 of July 20, [Page 769] 1940, I now have the honor to report that in the course of a conversation with Prime Minister Gigurtu last Sunday I referred to the new Decree Law regulating the status of Jews in Rumania, the text of which is being sent to the Department separately. I observed that the Jews in Rumania did not seem to be deeply disturbed to date by this legislation, which M. Gigurtu said was the case, since Jews living in cities did not particularly mind the expropriation of land held by rural Jews. He continued by remarking that Rumania this time was positively going to get rid of the surplus of Jews who had proved themselves undesirable. Having heard it said that Hitler had held out hope in some recent conversations with Rumanian officials in Germany that Madagascar would soon be available for the settlement of all surplus European Jews, I mentioned this report. The Prime Minister immediately corrected me by saying that it was Rhodesia and not Madagascar which was in the Fuehrer’s mind as there was some gold there which would give them a welcome occupation. M. Gigurtu observed that even if they were eventually settled there it would probably not be long before a large part found ways and means to leave for other destinations. I asked him what he proposed to do meanwhile with the Jews dispossessed here or otherwise unemployed as a sequence to this new Decree Law and whether Russia would not take them into Bessarabia. He said that on the contrary the Russian authorities were refusing now to accept any more Jews and that as a matter of fact many rich Jews of Bessarabia had succeeded in getting out and into Rumania proper. It is maintained by others that the Russians want a leaven of Jews left here for the propagation of Russian propaganda; it can hardly any longer be called “Bolshevism”.
At this point I thought it opportune to recall to the Prime Minister Rumania’s age-old reputation for tolerance and refuge and observed that it was a pity that Rumania should lose this by following in Germany’s footsteps. I reminded him that in 1919, when after the Rumanians had withdrawn from Budapest and Hungarian anti-Semitic outbreaks had occurred, the Jews of Budapest sent a petition to the Peace Conference at Paris begging that the Rumanians should be permitted to reoccupy Budapest. M. Gigurtu recalled this circumstance—but seemed surprised and pleased that I had—and remarked that this was all very well but that Rumania had been too lenient and complacent and could not risk drifting into the situation in which Germany found itself soon after the war and during the Weimar Republic when no less than 80% of public offices, professional jobs, newspaper posts, etc., were in the hands of the Jews. If they had contented themselves, he remarks, with 20% the question would probably never have been raised. He maintained that Hitler was not voicing anything new in anti-Semitism which had not already been [Page 770] expounded by Kant, Nietzsche and the later writers since the World War such as Carl Rosenberg. I could not argue with him about the 80% as I have not the facts, but I cited in support of my contention that the present wave of anti-Semitism is Hitler’s doing and that Germans have only recently become anti-Semitic, the following clause contained in the Peace of Bucharest of April 24, 1918 imposed upon Rumania by Germany:
“VII. All worships shall be recognized; Roman-Catholic, Uniate, Protestant, Mohammedan and Jewish; they shall have the same freedom and protection as the Orthodox.
“All residents of Roumania shall become citizens without special measures, including the Jews.”
The Prime Minister replied that during all the campaign against Rumania the Jews in Rumania had flocked to the Germans and rendered all sorts of services and that it was in recognition of this attitude of cooperation that the Germans had insisted upon this clause.
The Jews of Rumania have weathered many storms and may survive this one. It will presumably depend largely on the success of German arms and the continued affiliation of Rumanian policy with the Axis. Additional data on this general subject are being submitted in a separate despatch.
Respectfully yours,