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Ion Gigurtu

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Ion Gigurtu
Prime Minister of Romania
In office
4 July 1940 – 5 September 1940
MonarchCarol II
Preceded byGheorghe Tătărescu
Succeeded byIon Antonescu
Personal details
Born24 June 1886
Turnu Severin,Mehedinți County,Kingdom of Romania
DiedNovember 24, 1959(1959-11-24)(aged 73)
Râmnicu Sărat,Buzău Region,Romanian People's Republic
Political partyPeople's Party(to 1932)
National Agrarian Party(1932-1935)
National Christian Party(1935-1938)
National Renaissance Front(1938-1940)
Party of the Nation(1940)
Parents
ProfessionOfficer, industrialist
Military service
AllegianceKingdom of Romania
Branch/serviceRomanian Land Forces
Battles/warsSecond Balkan War
World War I
World War II

Ion Gigurtu(Romanian pronunciation:[iˈond͡ʒiˈɡurtu];24 June 1886 – 24 November 1959) was a far-rightRomanianpolitician,Land Forcesofficer, engineer and industrialist who served a brief term asPrime Ministerfrom 4 July to 4 September 1940, under the personal regime ofKingCarol II.A specialist in mining and veteran of both theSecond Balkan WarandWorld War I,he made a fortune ininterwarGreater Romania.Gigurtu began his career in politics with thePeople's Party(PP) and theNational Agrarian Party,moving closer to thefar rightduring the 1930s, and serving asMinister of Industry and Commercein the cabinet ofOctavian Goga.Shortly after the start ofWorld War II,Gigurtu was affiliated with King Carol'sNational Renaissance Front,serving asPublic Works and Communications MinisterandForeign Ministerunder PremierGheorghe Tătărescu,before the territorial losses incurred by Romania in front of theSoviet Unionpropelled him as Tătărescu's replacement.

Gigurtu's executive was primarily noted for realizing the inability ofFranceand theUnited Kingdomto guarantee Romania's borders and, accordingly, for the alignment withNazi Germany.As part of this program, Gigurtu most notably enforced officialantisemitismandracial discrimination,implementing locally a version of theNuremberg Laws.Despite such measures, the government fell after being compelled by Germany to accept the cession ofNorthern TransylvaniatoHungary,and was consequently forced to resign amidst nationwide protests. Gigurtu retreated from public life for the rest of the war, and, following the pro-Alliedcoup of August 1944,was arrested, investigated and released several times. Ultimately prosecuted by the newly proclaimedCommunist regimeas part of ashow trial,he eventually died in prison.

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Born inTurnu Severinto General Petre Gigurtu and his wifeOlga[ro](the daughter ofBarbu Bălcescu), he attended primary school andgymnasiumin his native city, followed by high school inCraiova.[1][2]He then went to theGerman Empire,pursuing secondary studies at theFreiberg Mining Academyand theRoyal Technical College of Charlottenburgand becoming a mining engineer. From 1912 to 1916, he worked as an industrial inspector at the Romanian Ministry of Industry and Commerce.[1]During the Second Balkan War in 1913, he was a sub-lieutenant gathering intelligence forArmy Corps Iheadquarters. From 1916 to 1918, he fought inRomanian campaign of World War I,first as a lieutenant and then as a captain.[3]He was a founding member of the Romanian Society of Industry and Commerce (SERIC) in October 1919, and was head of the Mica Society from its founding in the spring of 1921 until October 1944. He was also president of the Nitrogen Society and of the Discount Bank (Banca de Scont).[1]

JoiningAlexandru Averescu's People's Party after World War I, Gigurtu was not particularly active in politics during the 1920s and into the '30s, although he did serve in theChamber of Deputiesfrom 1926 to 1927. In mid-1927, he was part of the Romanian delegation to theGeneva Naval Conference.In April 1932, he followedOctavian Gogainto the National Agrarian faction, a splinter group of the PP. In July 1937, the Industry and Commerce Ministry nominated him as a specialist on the Superior Economic Council.[1]Aside from this party and the PP, he helped finance the mainstreamNational Peasants' PartyandNational Liberal Party,as well as thefascistNational Christiansand theIron Guard.[4]During Goga's brief leadership of a National Christian cabinet (December 1937–February 1938), he was Minister of Industry and Commerce. The 1930s also saw him involved in journalistic activity on economic, domestic and foreign policy issues; he was founder and owner of the magazineLibertatea(January 1933–December 1940).[3]

Gigurtu, as a "pro-Naziindustrialist",was a friend ofHermann Göring.[5]

Rise to power[edit]

Gigurtu (left) withJoachim von Ribbentropin Salzburg, July 1940

Following his imposition of a royal dictatorship, Carol II reconfirmed Gigurtu as a member of the Superior Economic Council in April 1938. He then made himPublic Works and Communications Minister(November 1939–June 1940),Foreign Minister(June 1–June 28, 1940) and state secretary with ministerial rank (June 28–July 4, 1940) in successive cabinets led byGheorghe Tătărescu.[6]This coincided with a dire situation, in which theSoviet Unionpressured Romania into ceding the regions ofBessarabiaandNorthern Bukovina(seeSoviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina). As a member of the specially-convenedCrown Council,Gigurtu himself participated in the decision to accept Soviet demands.[3]As the country was left isolated when its alliance with theUnited KingdomandFrancecrumbled, and came under increasing pressure fromNazi Germany,Carol dismissed Tătărescu.[3]Earlier, Gigurtu's appointment as Foreign Minister had marked a turn toward Germany: he was replacing the Western-orientedGrigore Gafencu,who favoured a continuation of Romania's policy of official neutrality, and this immediately led to a treaty committing delivery of a fixed quantity ofRomanian petroleumto Germany in exchange for military equipment.[7]

The king turned to Gigurtu to be his next prime minister—he was by then a wealthy industrialist who, aside from being a committedGermanophilewell liked by Nazi circles, had good economic relations with important German businessmen. Gigurtu was also seen as a politically sound choice from a domestic viewpoint: loyal to the dictatorship, he had been part of the leadership of the rulingNational Renaissance Frontsince the previous January, and oversaw its transformation into the overtlytotalitarianParty of the Nationshortly before becoming premier. With this move, Carol hoped to reverse or at least delay implementation of Germany's decision to grant part ofTransylvaniaregion toHungary.[8]The part played by political circumstances in bringing Gigurtu to the premiership was highlighted byNational Peasants' Partyleader and Carol opponentIuliu Maniu,who described the new head of government as "the most accidental prime minister of Romania".[9]The cabinet too was meant to please theAxis:Foreign MinisterMihail Manoilescuwas well-perceived in Nazi Germany andFascist Italy,and the pro-German Iron Guard was given three portfolios, one of which was initially held by its leaderHoria Sima.[10]The latter resigned just three days after taking over leadership of theCulture Ministry,when Carol rejected his demand for an all-Guardist cabinet.[11]The longest-held such office was the specially-created Ministry for the Inventory of Public Wealth, presided upon byVasile Noveanuuntil September 3.[12]

Policies, loss of Northern Transylvania and downfall[edit]

After his appointment, Gigurtu announced he would work to integrate Romania into the Axis sphere, taking a series of steps in that direction: withdrawal from theLeague of Nations(11 July); the signing of a new accord with Germany, assigning all grain surplus to that country and its allies (8 August); a ban onstrike actions;arrests and detention in prison camps ofleft-wingpoliticians; and suspension of an already rubber-stamp legislative assembly.[9]One of the most far-reaching of these consequences targeted theJewish Romanian community,and expanded on previousantisemiticlegislation passed by the Goga executive. He thus upheld a decree-law revising the citizenship status of Jews, around a claim that many of them had illegally settled in Romania after 1919 (about a third of the total, or 225,222 individuals, had been stripped of their citizenship).[13]Gigurtu also officially imposedracial antisemitism,adopting laws which defined as Jewish any third-generation descendant of a Jew (as opposed toRomanians"by blood" ), and declaring that the definition of a Jew no longer depended on affiliation toJudaism(and was not altered by conversion toChristianity).[14]The law also institutedracial segregation,banning Jews from public service, removing them from all walks of life, and preventing marriages between Jews and Christians.[15]Male Jews were no longer allowed to perform service in the army, but instead were required to performcommunity workfor the state (muncă de interes obștesc).[16]This was in effect the application of criteria borrowed fromNazismand the GermanNuremberg Laws.[17]This antisemitic legislation, comprising two decrees, was enacted on 9 August 1940, available for all of the Romanian territories.[18]In spite of these measures, he was unable to changeAdolf Hitler's attitude toward Carol, whom the former considered to be hampering German interests in Romania.[3]

From late June to mid-July, the king exchanged several letters with Hitler who, using an ultimatum-like tone, demanded that Carol make territorial concessions to Hungary andBulgaria,promising to guarantee Romania's new borders. Gigurtu, accompanied by Manoilescu, met Hitler and Ribbentrop atBerghofon 26 July. The Germans recommended the Romanian side immediately satisfy Hungary's demands through proposals and direct negotiations. The following day, they metDuceBenito MussoliniandItalian Foreign MinisterGaleazzo CianoinRome,suggesting that negotiations with Hungary and Bulgaria should start withpopulation exchanges,with the borders adjusted later.[9]A key point of Gigurtu's mandate was to convince the Germans that Romania considered Transylvania much more important than Bessarabia, a position stated by the premier in his August 27 letter toJoachim von Ribbentrop,theNazi Minister of Foreign Affairs.[19]In the face of pressure and threats from the Axis, separate negotiations took place with Hungary and Bulgaria in August; the former necessitated intervention by Germany and Fascist Italy and resulted in the loss ofNorthern Transylvaniain theSecond Vienna Award,while the latter led to the cession ofSouthern Dobrujaanda population exchangein early September after the signing of theTreaty of Craiova.[20]

Following numerous protests against what was popularly labelled the "Vienna Diktat", Gigurtu's cabinet resigned on September 4, replaced within a few days by the monarch's rivalIon Antonescu.[21]The Iron Guard, which had been plotting acoup d'étatagainst Carol after September 3, negotiated a partnership with Antonescu, setting up the fascist-inspiredNational Legionary State(which was to crumble duringSima's 1941 rebellion).[22]Reportedly, Gigurtu's decision to resign had been taken after the infuriated king told him to execute fifteen arrested Guardists, therefore aiding the rapprochement between Carol's opponents.[23]

Final years, arrests and death[edit]

Gigurtu stayed in Romania for the remainder ofWorld War II.[3]Arrested on October 5, 1944, after theAugust 23 coup d'étatandConducătorAntonescu's fall, he was held under house arrest in aBucharestbuilding starting in January 1945. He was held under a special law allowing for the arrest of those who "had conducted pro-German policies and who ceded Transylvania"; following Northern Transylvania's retrocession to Romania in March 1945, the investigation stopped, his file was closed and Gigurtu was freed in June 1946. After this, he wished to return to direct his businesses, but pro-Communistprime ministerPetru Grozaadvised him it would be better both for him and for his firms if he remained well away from them, which he did. Over the next two years, he was arrested and freed a number of times, his penultimate arrest being in December 1948, a year after the imposition of aCommunist regime.[24]

Finally, on the night of May 5–6, 1950, Gigurtu was arrested, together with other former dignitaries of the monarchical period, and sent toSighet Prison.In the summer of 1956, most surviving political detainees were freed, except for former prime ministers, justice ministers, and interior ministers, who were accused of "intenseactivity against the working class".Gigurtu had been held without trial at Sighet for nearly six years, but was finally judged in a publicshow trialand sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment. His appeal was rejected, and three years later, gravely ill and in serious pain, he died inthe penitentiaryatRâmnicu Sărat.[24]Gigurtu was rehabilitated by theRomanian Supreme Courtin 1999.[25][26][27]

Essays[edit]

  • Dezvoltarea industriei în România( "The Development of Industry in Romania", 1916)
  • Posibilitățile de refacere și dezvoltare a industriei în România( "Prospects for the Reconstruction and Development of Industry in Romania", 1918)
  • Industria mecanică metalurgică. Studiu economico-statistic( "The Mechanical Metalworking Industry. An Economic and Statistical Study" )
  • Politica minieră a Statului cu privire la exploatațiile metalifere( "The State's Mining Policy in Respect to Metalworking Sites", 1931)

Notes[edit]

  1. ^abcdNeagoe, p.325
  2. ^(in Romanian)Bălcescu, BarbuArchived2011-09-03 at theWayback Machineat the site of the Alexandru and Aristia Aman Dolj County Library
  3. ^abcdefNeagoe, p.326
  4. ^Nicolescu, p.162
  5. ^Radu Ioanid, The Holocaust in Romania: The Destruction of Jews and Gypsies Under the Antonescu Regime, 1940-1944, Ivan R. Dee, 2008, p. 38,ISBN9781461694908
  6. ^Neagoe, p.326; Nicolescu, p.162
  7. ^Keith Hitchins,Rumania: 1866-1947 (Oxford History of Modern Europe),Oxford University Press,Oxford, 1994, p.445.ISBN0-19-822126-6;Marshall Lee Miller,Bulgaria During the Second World War,Stanford University Press,Palo Alto, 1975, p.29.ISBN0-8047-0870-3
  8. ^Deletant, p.23; Neagoe, p.326; Nicolescu, p.162-163
  9. ^abcNicolescu, p.163
  10. ^Deletant, p.51, 56, 293; Nicolescu, p.163; Ornea, p.325
  11. ^Deletant, p.51, 293
  12. ^Ornea, p.325, 330
  13. ^Nicolescu, p.163; Ornea, p.392
  14. ^Ornea, p.392
  15. ^Deletant, p.103; Ornea, p.392-393
  16. ^Deletant, p.103
  17. ^Deletant, p.103; Ornea, p.392
  18. ^Jonathan C. Friedman,Taylor & Francis, 2010,The Routledge History of the Holocaust,p. 279
  19. ^Deletant, p.23
  20. ^Nicolescu, p.163-164
  21. ^Deletant, p.48sqq; Nicolescu, p.164; Ornea, p.325-328
  22. ^Deletant, p.48sqq; Ornea, p.325sqq
  23. ^Deletant, p.48
  24. ^abNeagoe, p.327
  25. ^Martin Jung, Frank & Timme GmbH, 2016,In Freiheit: Die Auseinandersetzung mit Zeitgeschichte in Rumänien (1989 bis 2009),p. 245
  26. ^Wolfgang Benz, Brigitte Mihok, Metropol Verlag, 2009,Holocaust an der Peripherie: Judenpolitik und Judenmord in Rumänien und Transnistrien 1940-1944,pp. 204 and 207
  27. ^Eduard Nižňanský, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave. Filozofická fakulta, Stimul, 2007,Z dejín Holokaustu a jeho popierania,p. 164

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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