Roumanian Government to Act Against Antisemitic Terrorism?: Instructions Issued on King’s Initiative

The Government has decided to take drastic measures to put down the antisemitic terrorist movement in Roumania, it is stated here, the initiative, it is added, having come from the King himself, who insisted on firm action by the Government so that there should be an end to the constant hooliganism which is occurring in Roumania. According to this report, the Government has issued instructions to the local authorities to adopt severe measures against all subversive organisations, treating the antisemitic organisations as illegal bodies in the same way as the Communist organisations, which are not permitted to function in Roumania. In all matters of public security the antisemitic societies will be treated in the same way as the Communist organisations – the societies will be dissolved and their leaders will be placed on trial before the ordinary courts as rebels. Students of the University and the High Schools will be expelled permanently from their schools or universities if they are caught taking part in disturbances, conducting agitation or distributing inflammatory publications. Antisemitic clubs and cells all over the country will be suppressed. The Ministry of Education, it is stated, as sent out instructions to the University and High School authorities throughout the country to carry these measures into immediate effect. On the orders of the Ministry of the Interior a search was made this evening at the Club House of the antisemitic Iron Guard Organisation, headed by Zelea Codreanu. The archives of the Organisation were seized and the doors of the premises were sealed. Several of the leaders have been arrested. All proprietors of public halls have been warned that they will be subjected to severe penalties if they rent their halls for meetings of the Iron Guard.

The attempt made by the antisemitic student Dumitrescu upon M. Socor at the office of the “Adeverul”, may turn out to have been a good thing, the Press comments, if it is going to result in the Government taking really effective action to restore public order in the country.

In 1928, after the devastations at Oradea Mare, the then Government of the Liberal Party dissolved the Union of Christian Students, whose Congress was the starting point of the disturbances. It was explained at the time that the Union of Christian Students had been functioning without permission of the University Senates and the Government in dissolving it warned the leaders that any at tempts to continue their agitation would result in their arrest and trial by court martial. The student organisations remained suppressed until the Maniu Government restored their permission to function on the ground that it could not suppress an organisation because of its opinions, and could only take action against definite outbreaks.