The History Of Romanian Jews During World War II: A Matter Of Culture And Civic Conscience
The History Of Romanian Jews During World War II: A Matter Of Culture And Civic Conscience

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to assess the extent to which the myths of recent history are replaced by a rational discourse, based on historical documents and using an explanatory paradigm in which both the executioner and the victim form the main relationship. The misconceptions regarding the ethnic minorities or the reactions to certain historical events in which the “Romanian People” was in the losers’ camp are still numerous and active in many citizens’ conscience. The main means for disseminating a minimal knowledge on the Holocaust are the mass media, the educational programmes in the field of history, the historiographical works – some destined to primary and secondary school teachers and students, others to the public at large –, as well as the testimonies of the victims, bystanders or executioners. After decades of history interpretation from the standpoint of a triumphal nationalism, the re-interpretation of the so-called sensitive periods has been slow and met with acceptance reluctance. The analysis shows that studies minimizing the Holocaust in Romania still exist. These examples play a part in preserving a perverted image of the Holocaust of the Romanian Jews within the collective conscience, by maintaining, even indirectly, the myth of Ion Antonescu – seen as a nation saviour, and bring forth the need for the study and learning of the Holocaust of the Romanian Jews within the rigors set by historical sciences.

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