- Alexandru Şafran
Alexandru Şafran (or Alexandre Safran;
September 12 ,1910 –July 27 ,2006 ) was aRomania n and, after 1948, Swissrabbi . As chief rabbi of Romania (1939-1948), he intervened with authorities in the fascist government ofIon Antonescu in an unusually successful attempt to save Jews during theHolocaust .Biography
Şafran was born in
Bacău , and received hisdoctorate inphilosophy fromVienna University (1933). He briefly succeeded his father as rabbi in Bacău, before becoming thechief rabbi of Romania in 1940, then the youngest chief rabbi in the world. In September 1940 Romania allied toNazi Germany and, under Nazi influence, had begun to introduce anti-Jewish laws. In 1941, Şafran and Romania's Union of the Jewish Communities, through intervention withNicodim Munteanu , the patriarch of theRomanian Orthodox Church , convinced Antonescu to revoke an order forcing Jews to wear theyellow badge .Shortly thereafter, the government dissolved all Jewish organizations, so Şafran and other Jewish leaders formed an underground Jewish Council. In 1942, Şafran used his contacts with ambassadors (notably the Swiss
René de Weck ), the queen mother Elena, and church officials, including thepapal nuncio Andrea Cassulo , to convince Antonescu to resist German demands for the wholesale deportation of Jews.As
World War II continued, the Jewish Council organized efforts to aid and lobby of the return of Jews deported to Transnistria. About 57 percent ofGreater Romania 's pre-war Jewish population of about 800,000 survived the war.In 1945 he worked with composer
George Enescu to raise relief funds for Romanian famine, including aUnited States tour. However, Şafran refused to cooperate with Communist authorities after the war, and, in 1947, was forced into exile inGeneva , Switzerland. In 1948, he became chief rabbi of Geneva, where he remained until his death. There he worked withUnited Nations ,Red Cross , and other organization to improvehuman rights .He wrote several books including a memoir, "Un Tăciune smuls Flăcărilor: Comunitatea Evreiască din România, 1939-47", published in Romanian in 1995. His best known writing is on the
Kabalah .He was elected an honorary member of the
Romanian Academy in 1997, as well as being named senator for life. He is buried inIsrael beside his wife, Sarah. They had a son and a daughter.External links
* [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/romania.html "The Virtual Jewish History Tour — Romania"] by The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2006.
* [http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=383&sid=863919&sidelines=1 "Former Romanian Chief Rabbi Dies at 95"] by Frank Jordans, Associated Press, 28 July 2006.
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2304300,00.html "Alexandru Safran,"] Obituaries, "The Times", London, August 09, 2006.
* [http://www.bnaibritheurope.org/content/blogcategory/44/84/lang,en/ "Dr. Alexandre Safran"] , "B’nai B’rith Europe News", 18 August 2006.
* [http://piusxii.hismercy.ca/actions.html "Apostolic Nuncio in Bucharest"] cooperation in 1944.
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