Reversing Robbery: Restitution of Jewish Property in Post-Holocaust Romania, 1944-1950

February 10 I 7 p.m.
Bush Conference Center I Beckman Hall I Room 404

Stefan Ionescu, Ph.D.
Research Assistant, Department of History and the
Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education, Chapman University

In August 1944, Romania changed sides, leaving the Axis and joining the Allies. This change gave Romania’s remaining Jews hope that the government’s longstanding antisemitic policies would be reversed and their rights restored, including the restitution of properties that had been nationalized during the Romanization years of 1940–1944. Although the new regime formally repealed racial legislation, restitution remained limited. For many Jews, what had been taken from them remained lost forever.

In this lecture, Dr. Stefan Ionescu examines the political, legal, technical, and economic factors that contributed to the partial failure of restitution. Dr. Ionescu holds a Ph.D. from the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University. He is the author of Jewish Resistance to ‘Romanization’: 1940–1944, to be published by Palgrave Macmillan in spring 2015.

Admission is free. No tickets/reservations required.

Reserved seating is available for groups of 10 or more.
To make group reservations, contact Ashley Bloomfield at
(714) 532-7760 or ambloom@chapman.edu.