Israel’s Yad Vashem Memorial Holocaust Center has issued a fierce statement strongly condemning “attempts to obscure or distort the historical role of Ion Antonescu and the Iron Guard during the Holocaust in Romania.”
The statement comes in the wake of a November 24 presidential vote in Romania in which far-right candidate Calin Georgescu surged to victory. Romania’s national elections are held in a three-step process – presidential balloting on Nov. 24, parliamentary vote on Dec. 1, and presidential run-off on Dec. 8 if the prior vote was close.
In the first round of presidential voting, Georgescu won by a margin of 22.9 percent against 19.17 percent, that of centrist candidate Elena Lasconi.
Georgescu is a pro-Russia candidate who has lauded pro-Nazi General Ion Antonescu (executed for war crimes in 1946) and Corneliu Codranu, founder of the vicious antisemitic Iron Guard (assassinated in 1938) as national heroes.
Due to suspicions the Kremlin meddled in the Romanian presidential elections the country’s Constitutional Court ordered a recount of the votes.
“Expressions of admiration for a regime defined by notorious and murderous antisemitism constitute a grave distortion of Holocaust memory and its vital lessons for present and future generations,” Yad Vashem said.
“Such actions are cause for great concern and carry dangerous implications, particularly when they come from public figures and leaders,” the Holocaust center warned.
A run-off presidential election is to be held on December 8. Romania’s ruling leftist Social Democrat (PSD) party won the country’s parliamentary election on Sunday (Dec. 1), with a period of coalition-forming expected to follow.
Admiration for malevolent antisemitic murderers and the Jewish genocide of the Holocaust is growing across Europe along with the rise of antisemitic attacks. This past October, Moldova unveiled a monument to Ion Antonescu and his soldiers with the participation of Romania’s ambassador.
“Yad Vashem remains at the forefront of rigorous, fact-based research on the Holocaust in Romania and will continue to safeguard truth as the foundation of historical understanding and responsibility,” the Center pledged.
