Geza Kornis
SURVIVAL THROUGH SOLIDARITY
Fascist Romania in those days
Following the German army’s attack on the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, Romania and all its armed forces joined Germany. The persecution of Jews in Romania itself took on increasingly threatening forms. As early as one week before the outbreak of the war, 8,000 - 10,000 Jews were killed in the Iasi pogrom. On 2 July 1941, the government reported the execution of 500 communists who were said to have fired shots at German and Romanian soldiers.
The first death camp deportations were organised after the pogrom and many Jews - squashed into cattle trucks without any food or water - suffered a miserable death. Only a few survived this torture. There were mass deportations of Jews to Transnistria as early as August 1941. Germany also put strong pressure on the remaining parts of Romania to plan a “final solution to the Jewish question”, the execution of which was imminent, but this was not realised, or only partially.
My arrest was preceded by anti-fascist activities. As early as 1927, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu had founded the Legion of the Archangel Michael, a fascist and anti-Semitic movement which was given the name “Iron Guard” in 1930. By 1937, Romania was ruled by the extreme right-wing government of Octavian Goga and A.C. Cuza, which was closely connected to the German Nazi Party. Anti-Jewish laws gradually became stricter and stricter. Romania became Nazi Germany’s vassal.
In this environment, it was understandable that I sympathised with the left-wing opposition and actively participated in the organised resistance in 1939. When the Romanian Communist Party was legalised in 1945, 1939 was the year considered to be the beginning of my party membership. In 1934, as a commercial school student, I expressed my left-wing attitudes when I demonstrated my willingness to stand up for justice by taking part in a class strike.
I also conducted political campaigns during my military service. I was probably reported by one of my contacts, to whom I had explained the dangers of the political situation, not only for Jews but for the entire country. This is why I was arrested by the Siguranta agent Secosan in 1939. I was locked up and tortured by the police.
They wanted to get the names of comrades by torturing me, but I was able to resist. Their method of torture was to bind your legs and, with your head hanging down, to administer lashes to the soles of your feet. In the beginning I just gritted my teeth and bore the pain, but then I remembered that I had been instructed to scream loudly so that it could be heard in the street. After the ordeal you were forced to immerse your feet in cold water to reduce the swelling so all this could be repeated the next day. Thanks to the help of my uncle Dr. Desiderius Roth, who had connections to the authorities, I was able to eventually get away.
At the same time (1941-1942), before my deportation to Transnistria, I was a forced labourer in labour camps both in Temesvar and in the Oltului Valley (Valea Oltului), in the townships of Lotru and Câineni. In 1942, after lengthy negotiations, the compromise was reached to deport mainly those Jews who were known to the authorities for their anti-fascist activities.
SURVIVAL THROUGH SOLIDARITY
Fascist Romania in those days
Following the German army’s attack on the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, Romania and all its armed forces joined Germany. The persecution of Jews in Romania itself took on increasingly threatening forms. As early as one week before the outbreak of the war, 8,000 - 10,000 Jews were killed in the Iasi pogrom. On 2 July 1941, the government reported the execution of 500 communists who were said to have fired shots at German and Romanian soldiers.
The first death camp deportations were organised after the pogrom and many Jews - squashed into cattle trucks without any food or water - suffered a miserable death. Only a few survived this torture. There were mass deportations of Jews to Transnistria as early as August 1941. Germany also put strong pressure on the remaining parts of Romania to plan a “final solution to the Jewish question”, the execution of which was imminent, but this was not realised, or only partially.
My arrest was preceded by anti-fascist activities. As early as 1927, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu had founded the Legion of the Archangel Michael, a fascist and anti-Semitic movement which was given the name “Iron Guard” in 1930. By 1937, Romania was ruled by the extreme right-wing government of Octavian Goga and A.C. Cuza, which was closely connected to the German Nazi Party. Anti-Jewish laws gradually became stricter and stricter. Romania became Nazi Germany’s vassal.
In this environment, it was understandable that I sympathised with the left-wing opposition and actively participated in the organised resistance in 1939. When the Romanian Communist Party was legalised in 1945, 1939 was the year considered to be the beginning of my party membership. In 1934, as a commercial school student, I expressed my left-wing attitudes when I demonstrated my willingness to stand up for justice by taking part in a class strike.
I also conducted political campaigns during my military service. I was probably reported by one of my contacts, to whom I had explained the dangers of the political situation, not only for Jews but for the entire country. This is why I was arrested by the Siguranta agent Secosan in 1939. I was locked up and tortured by the police.
They wanted to get the names of comrades by torturing me, but I was able to resist. Their method of torture was to bind your legs and, with your head hanging down, to administer lashes to the soles of your feet. In the beginning I just gritted my teeth and bore the pain, but then I remembered that I had been instructed to scream loudly so that it could be heard in the street. After the ordeal you were forced to immerse your feet in cold water to reduce the swelling so all this could be repeated the next day. Thanks to the help of my uncle Dr. Desiderius Roth, who had connections to the authorities, I was able to eventually get away.
At the same time (1941-1942), before my deportation to Transnistria, I was a forced labourer in labour camps both in Temesvar and in the Oltului Valley (Valea Oltului), in the townships of Lotru and Câineni. In 1942, after lengthy negotiations, the compromise was reached to deport mainly those Jews who were known to the authorities for their anti-fascist activities.
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