Jewish Forced Labor in Romania, 1940-1944

181 Pages·2020·4.115 MB·English

by  Dallas Michelbacher

JEWISH FORCED LABOR
in ROMANIA, 1940–1944

JEW ISH FORCED LABOR
in ROM ANIA, 1940–1944
Dallas Michelbacher
Indiana University Press
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
iupress . indiana . edu
© 2020 by Dallas Michelbacher
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by
any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publisher. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Michelbacher, Dallas, author.
Title: Jewish forced labor in Romania, 1940-1944 / Dallas Michelbacher.
Description: Bloomington, Indiana : Indiana University Press, [2020] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019052306 (print) | LCCN 2019052307 (ebook) | ISBN
9780253047380 (hardback) | ISBN 9780253047434 (paperback) | ISBN
9780253047458 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Forced labor—Romania—History—20th century. |
Jews—Romania—History—20th century. | World War,
1939-1945—Jews—Romania.
Classification: LCC HD4875.R6 M53 2020 (print) | LCC HD4875.R6 (ebook) |
DDC 940.53/1813409498—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019052306
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019052307
1 2 3 4 5 26 24 23 22 21 20
For my parents, Leonard and Kathie

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 “Work in the Community Interest” 11
2 Trial and Error 26
3 The “Review of the Working Jews” 58
4 In the Shadow of Belzec 75
5 The Apogee 100
6 Travails Ended, Justice Averted 133
Conclusion 151
Bibliography 157
Index 161

Acknowledgments
I
owe debts of gratitude to several people and organizations for this book. First,
I would like to thank my mentor, Eric A. Johnson, for his guidance during my
research, as well as Doina Harsanyi, Tim O’Neil, Joachim von Puttkamer, and
Vladimir Solonari, who provided important feedback on my work. I also wish
to express my appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against
Nazi Germany, which provided funding that was essential for the completion of
this project. I also must thank the reference staff of the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum for its assistance in my research process. In addition, I would
like to thank Steve Feldman for his assistance with the publication process. And
last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank my parents, Leonard and Kathie,
and my wife, Michelle, for their invaluable support at every stage of this project.
ix