DECRETE LEGI PENTRU EXPROPRIEREA BUNURILOR RURALE, URBANE ȘI PLUTITOARE ALE EVREILOR DECRET LEGE PENTRU INFIINŢAREA C. N. R. – An official publication from the Collection of Romanian Laws, featuring the decree-law for the confiscation of agricultural, urban, and floating assets (vessels, boats, ships, etc.) belonging to Jews, as well as the decree-law establishing the C.N.R. – the body responsible for executing the confiscation of Jewish property in Romania, which operated under the fascist–antisemitic Romanian regime. A collection of antisemitic decrees concerning Jewish property, issued as part of Romania’s antisemitic legislation in 1941. Published by Soces & Co., Bucharest (Romania), 1941. Extremely rare.
On May 2, 1941, the Centrul Național de Românizare (C.N.R.) – the National Center for Romanianization – was established as a government body dedicated to implementing the process of “Romanianization” of Jewish-owned property. This included the confiscation and subsequent lease or sale of those assets to ethnic Romanians. The C.N.R. served as both the guiding and executive authority responsible for the plundering of Jewish property in Romania. Presented here is the report containing the full decrees issued between May and the end of 1941, including the official texts of the orders, along with detailed clauses outlining the powers granted to the confiscating authority. In practice, the C.N.R.’s authority over Jewish property was unlimited. As outlined at the beginning of the booklet, the body was empowered not only to determine which Jewish property would be confiscated and by what means, but also to reject any claims for damages filed by Jews against the Romanian state. The C.N.R. acted simultaneously as both the judicial and executive authority in all matters concerning the seizure of Jewish assets.
At the beginning of the publication appears the full transcript of the report submitted by State Minister Mihai Antonescu to the Romanian head of state, detailing the declarations and ideological motivations behind the expropriation of Jewish property: “In order to complete the Romanianization of assets and economic foundations on our territory, I have the honor to present for your signature the enclosed decree concerning the establishment of the National Center for Romanianization. The expropriation of Jewish property is nothing more than the liberation of the national heritage from foreign intrusions, which were intended to suffocate its originality, independence, and future… True Romanianization lies not only in the removal of foreigners, but in their replacement by Romanian elements, and especially in the revival of national economic activity through the vital force of new Romanian owners… Romanianization of rural and especially urban property can be thoroughly achieved simply by finding competent and industrious Romanian elements to replace the Jewish element…”.
The report includes the full transcript of the decrees concerning the expropriation of Jewish agricultural property (bune rurale) – most notably Decree-Law 3347, issued on October 4, 1940, which confiscated all agricultural assets owned by Jews, including land, orchards, livestock, and related holdings: “Jews are not permitted to possess, acquire, or hold rural property in Romania, under any form of ownership or function, including that of owner, titleholder, partner, manager, etc. For the purposes of this law, anyone whose parents are both Jewish, or even only one parent, is considered Jewish, regardless of whether he or his parents were baptized into a non-Mosaic religion, whether they are Romanian citizens or not, and regardless of whether they reside in the country…”.
Also included are: The Decree-Law on the Expropriation of Urban Property (imobile urbane), signed March 27, 1941, transferring all urban property owned by Jews to the state. The Decree-Law on the Expropriation of Floating Property (bunuri plutitoare), issued December 3, 1940, prohibiting Jewish ownership of vessels and boats in Romania.
Additional expropriation decrees, including measures that barred Jews from seeking legal redress against the confiscation of their assets, which had now been fully legalized by Romanian law.
Between 1940 and 1941, under the regime of Ion Antonescu and in alliance with Nazi Germany, Romania began implementing a series of draconian laws legalizing the expropriation of Jewish-owned property rural, urban, and floating. These decrees transferred ownership to the Romanian state and placed management under the C.N.R. (National Center for Romanianization), the official body charged with “cleansing” the economy of Jewish assets. In practice, the Romanianization process became a systematic mechanism of state-sponsored looting. Homes were seized overnight, stores were handed over to government officials or party loyalists, ships were re-registered under “Romanian” ownership, and assets were often sold at symbolic prices to speculators and insiders. Jews were ordered to vacate their properties within days or even hours and often received no compensation whatsoever. This was robbery under the guise of law, carried out in the name of the nation. The shock of property loss struck the Jewish population within hours, rendering it destitute and powerless.
Extremely rare. Only one copy recorded in the WorldCat global library catalog, held at the Biblioteca Centrală Universitară in Cluj, Romania.
60 pages. Good condition.
