The Romanian Orthodox Church and the Holocaust

Ion Popa

In 1930, about 750,000 Jews called Romania home. At the end of World War II, approximately half of them survived. Only recently, after the fall of Communism, are details of the history of the Holocaust in Romania coming to light. Ion Popa explores this history by scrutinizing the role of the Romanian Orthodox Church from 1938 to the present day. Popa unveils and questions whitewashing myths that covered up the role of the church in supporting official antisemitic policies of the Romanian government. He analyzes the church's relationship with the Jewish community in Romania, with Judaism, and with the state of Israel, as well as the extent to which the church recognizes its part in the persecution and destruction of Romanian Jews. Popa's highly original analysis illuminates how the church responded to accusations regarding its involvement in the Holocaust, the part it played in buttressing the wall of Holocaust denial, and how Holocaust memory has been shaped in Romania today.

List of AbbreviationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. A dangerous "symphonia": the church-state relationship and its impact on the Jewish Community of Romania before 22 June 19412. Perpetrator, Bystander or Saviour? The Romanian Orthodox Church and the Holocaust (1941-1944)3. The Jewish Community of Romania and the Romanian Orthodox Church in the aftermath of the Holocaust (1945-1948)4. Cleansing the past, rewriting history: The Romanian Orthodox Church from active involvement in the Holocaust to the whitewashing process5. Forgetting the truth, forgetting the dead: the use of the Holocaust for political and religious agendas and the persistence of anti-Semitism (1945-1948)6. Behind religious harmony: The Romanian Orthodox Church and the Jewish Community during the communist era (1948-1989)7. The Romanian Orthodox Church, Holocaust memory and anti-Semitism during the communist era (1948-1989)8. Nationalism, anti-Semitism and the Romanian Orthodox Church after 1989: Understanding the context of Holocaust memory's re-emergence in post-communist Romania9. The Romanian Orthodox Church and Holocaust memory after 1989ConclusionAppendixBibliographyIndex