Wiesel Commission

Wiesel Commission

The Wiesel Commission is the common name given to the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania, which was established by former President Ion Iliescu in October 2003 to research and create a report on the actual history of the Holocaust in Romania and make specific recommendations for educating the public on the issue. The Commission, which was led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, released its report in late 2004. The Romanian government recognized the report's findings and acknowledged the deliberate participation in the Holocaust by the World War II Romanian regime led by Ion Antonescu. The report assessed that between 280,000 and 380,000 Jews were murdered or died under the supervision and as a result of the deliberate policies of Romanian civilian and military authorities. Over 11,000 Roma were also killed. The Wiesel Commission report also documented pervasive anti-Semitism and violence against Jews in Romania before World War II, when Romania's Jewish population was among the largest in Europe.

The report was heralded as a landmark development because the true history of the Holocaust in Romania had been suppressed during the communist period, and few Romanians were aware of the extent of involvement in the Holocaust by Antonescu and many others in the military, government, and broader society. Indeed, the Wiesel Commission itself was established following statements made in July 2003 by Romanian President Iliescu and the Romanian Minister of Culture minimizing the Holocaust and indicating official belief that the Holocaust had not occurred in Romania. Iliescu established the Wiesel Commission after an international outcry over these erroneous assertions. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3736864.stm] .

In 2004, Romania observed its first National Holocaust Commemoration Day, established by the Parliament to take place on or around October 9 of each year. The date specifically marks the 1941 deportation of Romanian Jews to ghettos and forced labor camps. The establishment of the commemoration day was among the recommendations made in the Wiesel Commission report. Other recommendations included the establishment of an Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania (subsequently established in 2005), explicit inclusion of the history of the Holocaust in Romania in public school curricula, and the construction of a national monument to the Romanian victims of the Holocaust. All of these are currently being implemented by the Romanian government. As of 2006, Holocaust studies have been implemented into Year 10 high school curricula, and the designs for a National Memorial for Romanian Victims of the Holocaust have been finalised. On October 9, 2006 (the National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust in Romania), the keystone for the memorial was laid by Romanian President Traian Băsescu.

References

*The Final Report of the Commission is available two places on line:
**cite web
author = International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania
title = Final Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania
publisher = Yad Vashem (The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority)
language = English
url = http://yad-vashem.org.il/about_yad/what_new/data_whats_new/report1.html
format = HTML index, chapters are PDFs
doi =
accessdate = 2006-07-25

**cite web
author = International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania. Also includes a related October 12, 2004 speech by Ion Iliescu and a message from Elie Wiesel | title = Final Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania
publisher = United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
language = English and Romanian
url = http://www.ushmm.org/research/center/presentations/features/details/2005-03-10/
format = HTML overview and index, chapters are PDFs
doi =
accessdate = 2006-07-26
[http://www.ushmm.org/research/center/presentations/features/details/2005-03-10/pdf/english/executive_summary.pdf Executive Summary] .

ee also

*History of the Jews in Romania
*Romania during World War II
*Iaşi pogrom
*Tismăneanu Commission, which published in October 2006 a report on Communism in Romania.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • WIESEL, ELIE — (Eliezer; 1928– ), journalist, novelist, professor, human rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Born in Sighet, Romania, in a town that became part of Hungary in 1940, Wiesel was raised in a fervently Orthodox and ḥasidic milieu.… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Wiesel-Kommission — Elie Wiesel Wiesel Kommission ist der gebräuchliche Name für die Internationale Kommission zur Erforschung des Holocaust in Rumänien, welche von dem ehemaligen rumänischen Staatspräsidenten Ion Iliescu im Oktober 2003 gegründet wurde. Sie… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wiesel, Elie — orig. Eliezer Wiesel born Sept. 30, 1928, Sighet, Rom. Romanian born U.S. novelist. Living in a small Hasidic community, Wiesel and his family were deported in 1944 to Auschwitz and then to Buchenwald; his parents and sister were killed. All his… …   Universalium

  • Elie Wiesel — Infobox Writer name=Elie Wiesel awards=Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal caption=Wiesel speaking at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in 2003 birthdate=birth date and age|1928|09|30 birthplace=Sighet …   Wikipedia

  • Elie Wiesel National Institute for Studying the Holocaust in Romania — The Elie Wiesel National Institute for Studying the Holocaust in Romania (Institutul Naţional pentru Studierea Holocaustului din România Elie Wiesel in Romanian) is a public institution established by the Romanian government on August 7, 2005,[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Elie Wiesel — bei einer Rede auf dem Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos 2003 Elie Wiesel (* 30. September 1928 in Sighetu Marmației, Rumänien) ist ein US amerikanischer Schriftsteller und Überlebender des Holocausts. 1986 erhielt Wiesel, als Verfasser zahlreicher… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • History of the Jews in Romania — The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after around 1850,… …   Wikipedia

  • National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust — For other national days dedicated to the Holocaust, see Holocaust Memorial Day (disambiguation). The National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust (Ziua Naţională de Comemorare a Holocaustului in Romanian, is a national event held on October 9 in… …   Wikipedia

  • List of World War II topics (W) — # W, or the Memory of Childhood # W. Andersen # W. Browning # W. D. Workman, Jr. # W. G. E. Luddington # W. G. G. Duncan Smith # W. George Bowdon, Jr. # W. H. Murray # W. Jason Morgan # W. L. Rambo # W. M. W. Fowler # W. Marvin Watson # W. N. T.… …   Wikipedia

  • Iaşi pogrom — The Iaşi pogrom of June 27 1941 was the second most violent pogrom in Jewish history after Baby Yar, launched by governmental forces in the Romania in city of Iaşi against its Jewish population, resulting in the brutal mass murder of at least… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”