THE POLICY OF ANTONESCU'S REGIME TOWARDS THE GYPSIES

9. Racism in the Thirties-Forties Romania and the Gypsies.

Since their emancipation and until the early forties, the Gypsies had never been a major preoccupation of the Romanian authorities. They were regarded upon as marginal social groups rather than a minority; they were tolerated. There was no "Gypsy question" in the inter-war period, be it of ethnic or social nature.

It was the "science" of the time that aroused the interest in the Gypsies and in the "Gypsy question". In the second half of the fourth decade the Gypsies came into the focus of some Romanian representatives of biopolitics, the advocates of the racist German theory. Such theoreticians spoke of the danger incurred by the assimilation of the Gypsies. These were considered "an inferior ethnic group", "a burdensome minority", "a bioethnic danger", "a plague" to the Romanian society, etc. The "Gypsy question" being racial in nature, it could only be given a racial solution.

Undoubtedly these racist opinions were embraced by a restricted circle. They would nevertheless pave the way to the policy promoted by Antonescu's government towards the Gypsies.

10. The "Gypsy Question" During Antonescu's Regime.

The rise of the "Gypsy question" at the beginning of the forties can be attributed to the rise of Romanian nationalism and to a change in the political regime of Romania taking place on the political backdrop of 1940. The coming to power of general Antonescu and the falling of Romania under the political and ideological influence of Nazi Germany turned the measures against the non-Romanian populations into state policy.

In a true sense the policy towards the Gypsies was the creation of Ion Antonescu. And its most significant episode was the deportation of some 25,000 Gypsies to Transnistria in 1942. This measure was taken against the "trouble-makers", that is against those Gypsies population to be deported was based on criteria such as life style, nomadism, time served in prison, lack of subsistence means, lack of a permanent occupation.

The Gypsies not rated dangerous or undesirable, that is the largest majority of the Gypsy population were untouched by the policy of Antonescu's regime. They did not lose their civic rights.

Therefore, the measures taken against the Gypsies were basically aimed at a segment of this population. The Romanian government did not regard the Gypsies as a whole. There was never a program aimed at the entire Gypsy population.

11. The Deportation to Transnistria (1942-1944)

The territory between the Bug and Dnestr, part of Soviet Ukraine, was occupied by the German and Romanian armies in the summer of 1941. It remained under the authority of the Romanian State until 1944. Between 1941 and 1944 Transnistria would be the end of the road for the Jews deported from Bessarabia and Bukovina, as well as for some of the Gypsies living in Romania.

The deportation measure was taken against those Gypsies considered to be " a problem". The first to be deported were the nomad Gypsies. They were evacuated in Transnistria between 1st of June and 15th of August. Between 12 and 20 September 1942 part of the sedentary Gypsies were evacuated together with their families. On 13th of October 1942 all deportations of the Jews and Gypsies ceased.

The exact number of the Gypsies deported to Transnistria in 1942-1944 cannot be known. At the beginning of October 1942, after the deportation of the two aforementioned categories, there were 24,686 Gypsies in Transnistria: 11,441 were nomad gypsies, 134,176 were sedentary, and other 69 had been evacuated with special permits, after having been released from prison. If adding to this figure several hundred Gypsies deported subsequently, we can estimate that some 25,000 Gypsies in all were deported to Transnistria.

Once in Transnistria the Gypsies were settled in villages lying on the bank of the Bug. Their status was established by an order of the Government of Transnistria issued on 18-th of December 1942. The deported Gypsies were to be provided with the necessary means to support themselves under the circumstances in which they had been assigned a forced residence. No such provisions would be made. From the very beginning the situation of the Gypsies was extremely difficult in Transnistria. They had no place to work and no means of subsistence. There was a great shortage of food and of the most elementary necessities of life. The Gypsies repeatedly tried to return to Romania either in groups or as isolated individuals. Under these dramatic circumstances many Gypsies died of cold, of starvation, of diseases and of penury. We can only assume that approximately half of the 25,000 Gypsies deported to Transnistria died there.

The Gypsies who survived the deportation to Transnistria returned to Romania in the spring of 1944, on the tracks of the Romanian army and authorities that were withdrawing under the advance of the Soviet Army. The overthrowing of Antonescu's regime on 23rd of August 1944, and the abrogation of the fascist legislation, marked the end of this policy towards the Gypsies.

12. The Policy of Antonescu's regime Towards the Gypsies and the Fate of the European Gypsies during World War II.

It can be assessed that the policy of the Romanian government towards the Gypsies was different in many ways from that adopted in Germany and in the occupied countries, where a large number of Gypsies perished in concentration camps and by mass executions. The measure of deporting the undesirable ethnic groups was nevertheless a Nazi one, and the deportation to Transnistria must have been inspired from the German practices. The deportation of the Jews and of the Gypsies to Transnistria was a racial measure. It was part of the holocaust policy originating in Germany and exported in all the occupied or allied countries, under one shape or another.