Romania is a young country, independent only since 1877. However, it has a rich and complex history. Indeed, its specific geographic location – at “the Gates of the Orient” like wrote Raymond Poincare - for centuries prevented the Romanian people from having a unified country. This people is considered by the majority of Romanian historians to be of Daco-Roman origin (ancient inhabitants of Dacia mixed with the Roman colonists).

The country is made up of three principal historical territories – Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania – which were coveted for a long time, or even occupied, by the big empires with ambitions in Europe. The Romans and the Byzantines during the time of antiquity, later the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires took over, in the course of their expansionist strategies, the territories inhabited by Romanians.

The first two regions (Wallachia and Moldavia) were united in 1859 in order to form Romania under the French influence and in particular under that of Napoleon III. The two other ones (Transylvania and Bessarabia) joined them in the course of the year 1918 in order to form “Greater Romania”. However, Bessarabia was lost at the end of the World War II.

At the moment Romania has five neighbours, these are: Bulgaria (in the south), Serbia (in the south-west), Hungary (in the north-west), Ukraine ( in the north and north-east) and Moldavia ( in the east and predominantly Romanian speaking).

The different foreign occupations were connected with territorial wars waged by great empires. In the case of the Ottoman invasions, for instance, Romania was the second country after Bulgaria used for launching attacks against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its proximity to the Russian Empire, its access to the Black Sea and to Poland made Romania into the perfect strategic place.

These circumstances had a lot of influence on the country and its culture. The best and the principal witness of this is the language. It is of Latin origin but, as the result of the events mentioned before, it absorbed a certain number of Slavic, Turkish or Russian words. Architecture is another remarkable witness of the Romanian past. For instance one comes across the Medieval “German” towns such as Sibiu or Sighisoara where once lived German colonists, or “Austrian” towns such as Timisoara which for a long time would be called “Little Vienna” or “Hungarian” towns such as Cluj-Napoca. The culture and the life-style had a multi-ethnic character but in this case it is a bit hard to distinctly evaluate the weight of foreign influences.

One can notice that certain regions used to be populated by more than 40 % of non-Romanian populations. This was the case in Transylvania, the region which, for a long time, stayed under the Hungarians and which is still claimed by them as theirs. The Christian religion (mostly Orthodox) which is dominant there, also played an important role in the cultural orientation which the country took.

Of course, the identity of a nation is always the result of historical factors. Yet, the characteristic of Romania, following the example of Poland, is its specifically strategic location.

If one wished to make the latest report of “transitions” which Romania experienced we would need to look at the late census made in 2002. It shows us that the present population is made of 89,5% Romanians proper. The remaining 10,5% of foreigners (let’s notice that the legislation distinguishes between the Romanians – considered to be native – and the strangers – always considered to be as such) are mainly composed of Gypsies, Germans, Hungarians, Tatars and…9000 Jews. The last figure can make us think that the Jewish community of this country was always small. In reality, it conceals the fact that this was one of the most important Jewish communities of Europe of the 19th century, at the beginning of the the Second World War. It was third after that of Poland and that of Russia. The current condition of the Jewish community is the result of both the Shoah – which decimated more than 40% of its members – and the massive immigration caused by the Communist tyranny which used to see Jews as enemies. The dictatorship, at first favourable towards the minorities ( in which it saw its vehicle for survival), quickly turned towards exaggerated nationalism.

The Jewish population ( which today has become symbolic), traditionally religious and endowed with strong cultural belonging, has left a considerable legacy in this country. This historical legacy has been built in the course of the centuries of the Jewish presence on the Romanian territories, from which it has drawn its characteristics.

Objects and tombs found by archaeologists testify to the presence of Jews since the 1st century of the Christian era. They came as auxiliaries of Roman troops when these occupied Dacia. This presence was temporary and had, it seems, no other impact on the country.

The Jewish population of Romania, such as it was at the end of the First World War, was a mixture of immigrants from Western Europe (Germany, Bohemia, Hungary), the North (Poland) and later from the South (Ottoman Empire). Romania begins to fill up with Jews from the 14th century onwards.

The first ones arrived around the year 1367 fleeing Hungary from where they had been expelled. They spread all over Wallachia where they stayed till their persecution and/or murder during the Second World War. In the 16th century the Sephardis (Jews of Spanish or mostly North African origin), living up till then in the Ottoman Empire, also settle in Wallachia and Moldavia. They are merchants sent by the Sultans to carry out trade or merchants who, in the middle of their journey, settled on the commercial route leading to Poland and Lithuania. At that time one can find important communities in towns such as Iasi, Suceava ou Siret. In addition, numerous Jews are diplomats or medical doctors. They have links with the Court and are able to build relations with neighbouring territories. In 1867, there are about 133 000 Jews in Romania.

Finally, following the inclusion of Transylvania – the territory recovered at the end of the First World War - a large population of Magyarized Jews is integrated into Romania. The population, therefore, rises to more than 800 000 people at the beginning of the 20th century.

So, during the six centuries two Jewish communities – living next to the other - were known in Romania: the Ashkenazim who came from Europe and the Sephardim who came from Turkey. The two communities had each preserved their own peculiarities like, for instance, the manner of celebrating services, their ritual objects and also the architecture of the synagogues.

They grew, above all, in Moldavia (almost 50% of Jews in the town of Iasi and 30% in the towns of Bukovina 1930) and in the region of Maramures (situated in Transylvania where the Jews represented more than 20% of the urban population in 1930).

Before the end of the 19th century the Jews, like the majority of the minorities present in a country of Central or Eastern Europe do not have real rights. They are dependant on the good will of the sovereigns who do as they please. They have a lot of trouble to obtain jobs in politics or to work in liberal professions as well as to obtain Romanian nationality which most of them still do not have at the beginning of the 20th century. While France, Great Britain or Austria have already granted rights to “their” Jews, Romania does not begin to consider the “Jewish question” until the end of the century.

The rebellion against Russia in 1848 offers a semblance of evolution. It begins with the proclamation, on the part of the insurgents, of civic equality for all minorities and leads to the treaty of Paris in 1958 which calls on the Romanian power to make this effective. Those rights are not put in force, on the contrary, the persecution against the Jews intensifies under the rule of Carl von Hohenzollern. Anti-Semitism, present for centuries (chiefly under the form of anti-Judaism), assumes proportions without precedence.

The Treaty is inactivated not until after the First World War in which the Jews took active part. At the end of that war, out of which Romania emerged stronger than ever (the country becomes therefore Greater Romania from dreams), the Jews are given particular rights for their proven patriotism. Between the two world wars the Jewish community experiences particularly dynamic development.

However, the Jews did not have to wait for the First World War to earn themselves a place in the history of Romania. From the middle of the 17th century up until the Second World War the community has been very dynamic. It occupies an important place in its country. The Jews are particularly present in the city: the census of 1899 attests to this reality by putting the number of the Jewish urban population at 30% and that of rural at 1%. These numbers become even higher in such towns as Falticeni (57%), Dorohoi (53.6%) or Iasi (50.80%).

Economically, the place of the Jews was equally considerable. According to the statistics of 1904 the involvement of the Jews in commercial activities was 20,4%. In the towns (cited before) where they are very numerous, the Jews often possess more than 70% of trade. They are also visible in the liberal professions (which they have the right to practise, unlike numerous other occupations). For example, 38% of practising doctors in 1904 are of Jewish confession.

This omnipresence in the domains of trade and liberal professions has its roots in the position which was accorded to this minority from the time of its arrival to the country as well as in rights the sovereigns granted them according to their own liking.

This, however, did not prevent its members from developing dynamic life which has continued until the Second World War. It is at that dark moment of history where we can put the “end” of the tremendous life of the Jewish community of Romania. As we know, the Jews were in the firing line of this war.

In Romania the government of that period held in the hands of Marshal Antonescu has had a contradictory attitude towards the Jews. During the first years the Jews were massacred by the “legions” of the infamous “Iron Guard”, a small fascist group which was authorized by the chief of state (Antonescu) to carry out actions to their liking. With no instruction from the Nazis these barbarians committed pogroms (in Iasi, for example) and deportations (in Transdniestria). Afterwards, from 1944 onwards the Jews are protected by the government which does not hold out for too long and which is knocked over by King Michael.

The new head of state (King Michael who later will be expelled by Communists) opposed to the ideas implemented by Marshal Antonescu, turns against the Axis powers in order to join the Allies. The final outcome, though, is tragic with 40% of the Jewish population murdered (according to the estimates about 350 000 to 450 000 people of the total of 850 000 to 900 000).

After these dark years the Jews consider it to be good to ally themselves with Communists who – so they believe – will protect them. They become quickly disappointed which is best illustrated by the change of situation when the Communist Jewish group Patrascanu condemned in 1954. There begins a massive immigration to Israel ( according to the recent census there are about 400 000 Israelis of Romanian background. Today, the community in Romania counts, as the census of 2002 reveals to us, less than 10 000 people.

And yet, the soul of the Jewish people, so present in the course of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, is still there in the society. One realizes it while visiting the towns where the Evrei (Jews in Romania) lived: cemeteries, dwellings, synagogues all testify to this history.

In the course of these six centuries of life in Romania, the Jews have built and developed an important legacy. The synagogues and the cemeteries are the principal evidence of this life and of its tragic end. The state in which they continue to be reminds us that there was an important community in Romania and their disappearance is at issue.

To see part of history of the country and Europe disappear in this way would be an enormous loss for the history and memory of the continent. It would, at the same time, be a victory for those who wished that the Jews disappear. The presence of the Jewish community is part of the European history, especially the way the minorities lived there before the middle of the 20th century.

Let’s notice that France, being a country that contributed most to the creation of Romania, was always influential in the support for the minorities - all across Europe (including Romania) or North Africa. It encouraged the governments to fight against the anti-Semitic groups and defended different ethnic groups by passing specific bills. Following these demands Romania agreed to ratify the Treaty of the protection of minorities, included in the treaty of Paris in 1858. Unfortunately, this was never really implemented.

This heritage is also strongly visible on the intellectual and artistic scenes. Indeed, one finds Jewish influence in different forms of Romanian art and literature.

So, a certain number of persons born in the Romanian Jewish families contributed considerably to art and literature in the beginning and the middle of the 20th century. They transposed all the inspiration acquired in their country of origin into different forms of expression. They also transported those works all over the world and so gave Romania an additional recognition in the world’s arena.

These artists and intellectuals left a mark in the domains as diverse as painting, literature, linguistics or architecture. The most famous without match are:

Many others such as Mihail Sebastian, Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea, Lazar Salneanu or Alexandru Graur wrote, painted or thought using a subtle mixture of their religious culture and that of their country.

The Romanian Jews also influenced the Jewish life by creating the first Yiddish theatre in the world (1876, located in Iasi and active ever since), diverse confessional journals and by composing the traditional music. They played an important role in the creation of the state of Israel in that they founded two oldest Israeli localities which are Rosh Pina (1878) and Zikhron Ya’akov (1882).

As illustrations of this dossier, we are going to present one of the significant elements of the heritage left by the Israelites of Romania. We are referring to a synagogue which is the verge of becoming a ruin. The religious building presented below is a perfect representation of the current condition of the heritage of the Romanian Jewish community. The building is located in Timisoara – the place where the 1989 Revolution began. This town , in the west of the country in the region of Timis, is close to the Hungarian and Serbian borders. It is nicknamed “Little Vienna”. Its architecture was influenced by Austrian and Hungarian architecture.

The synagogue, in its actual form, was opened on the 3rd of September 1899 by both the Jewish community of the suburb of Fabric – from which it derived its name – and the then mayor of Timisoara (Carol Telbis). It was an architect from Budapest called Leopold Baumhorn who made the plans. The construction was entrusted to the contractor from Timisoara, Josef Kremmer. The architecture is influenced by that which was going on at that time in France. By building impressive buildings the Jews wanted to show that at last they were free in their country. The church-like style and the presence of the organ demonstrate a good integration of the community into the Romanian Orthodox society.

This building replaced another smaller building which had been opened, according to the sources, either in 1838 or in October 1841. The Jews of the area came to pray in that place during almost a century and a half and the synagogue almost survived the war and the passage of time.

Today it is closed. Indeed, it represents a danger too great for the tiny community (estimated at about 300 people) who come to pray there during religious festivals and for the faithful (a dozen) who gather there for weekly prayers. A small hall which was probably used for religious classes in the beginning of the century is still used today as it is more suitable for a small number of participants.

The foundations are giving in to the passage of time. The roof has given in to dampness to the point that it leaks through. The floor is collapsing and pieces of stone fall from the ceiling. All this magnificent work is today in danger of disappearing.

The Romanian Jewish community which is trying to survive with the external help, no longer have any means to look after the possessions left to them by their ancestors and so they are forced to leave most of it in a neglected state. Romania which is trying to, first of all, to solve its economic difficulties, has neither time nor money to devote to the protection of such historic treasures.

In the same town, the community, not being able to look after three synagogues, has given one of them – classified as a historic monument – to the municipality. The latter has plans to turn it into a hall of philharmonic orchestra. However, many years have passed since this donation and nothing has been done. There are, it seems, other priorities.

A sad account, especially for a symbol that belongs to all those who want to remember the horrors of the Shoah and the destruction of the European Jews. One ought to ask oneself if one day – in the countries where the Jews experienced the worst horrors – something will be left, something which will be able to attest to or at least to offer us the possibility to remember the absolute horror of that war in particular and the war in general.

What has been left of the Romanian synagogues cannot be regarded today as religious as the number of Jews there is minimal. Among most of these who have not yet disappeared - not yet – few come to pray. Thus the synagogues have become a universal heritage, the heritage of entire Europe. They remind Europeans – Europeans as we all are - of the responsibility to remember. To see them disappear – what will inevitably happen if we do nothing – would be an enormous loss for our heritage.

When no-one is around anymore to tell us what happened, someone will ask, seeing them (hoping that they could be saved at the moment): Why do we have these imposing buildings, older, for the most part, than a century? What do they represent? Do they not make a contrast with the community (if it still continues to be around), the community which is so small? Why is this synagogue – dating back to the 19th century – still around while those who built it (or a great part of their descendents) are not?

Emmanuel DYAN
e.dyan@ifrance.com

These photos are reproduced by courtesy of Emmanuel Dyan