Fritz Valjavec şi România (1939, 1941)
Fritz Valjavec and Romania (1939, 1941)

Summary/Abstract: History of German ethnic groups situated outside the country borders had been a scientific concern of state since the end of World War I. In 1930 it was founded the Munich "Südost-Institut" with particular interest in the German communities of the South-Eastern Europe, especially the Balkan ones. After 1935 the process of research was extended due to the implication of a young historian, Fritz Valjavec. The young specialist perceived the concept of ethnical identity as the main reason to study the German realities in space and time. Valjavec's presence in Romania in December 1939 is related with the actions of the newly founded RSHA (Reich Security Head Office). During his "diplomatic" visit he gathered information about the Romanian political and social climate and the country's international position as reflected within the society. He was also interested in the German minority and economic conduct of the jewry. Fritz Valjavec will return to Romania in July 1941, now as a SS-Untersturmführer, member of Einsatzkommando 10 b, serving as translator of the unit. The historian was present in the city of Czernowitz, where he emerged as a protector of the Ukrainian people. He had supported their attempts of creating an Ukrainian state comprising Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia. More than that, he fuelled anti-romanian sentiments in the region becoming a fervent upholder of the ukrainian movement. The Romanian authorities regarded him from now on as a national menace, and requested baron Manfred von Killinger, the Reich's plenipotentiary minister in Bucharest, to investigate the situation. Finally, Valjavec left the country (December 1941), and the German espionage department concerning him denied his implication in any anti-Romanian actions.

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