The Romanian political analyst Radu Golban calls on the Allied and United Powers to provide a firm response to the re-establishment of a Nazi organisation in Romania

The well-known Romanian political and economic analyst Dr. Radu Golban has published his open letter to the heads of state and government of the Allied and United Powers of the Second World War, and the foreign affairs ministers and heads of the foreign policy committees of the parliaments of these countries.

The letter draws attention to the fact that at a time when extremist movements are gaining traction around the world, Romania has set the dangerous precedent of rehabilitating a fascist organisation and thereby opened the door to a revision of the peace treaties. This statement is backed up by expert assessments signed by figures of international renown in the field of public law, which are annexed to the letter. These expert assessments show that through the decisions of Romanian courts to recognise the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania as the successor in title to the German Ethnic Group (GEG), Romania is re-establishing, in law and in fact, a Nazi group and breaching its obligations under the treaties that were signed at the end of the war.

The letter recalls that the German Ethnic Group was disestablished in 1944 pursuant to the Armistice Agreement between Romania and the Allies, having been classified by the entire world community as a Nazi organisation.

The disestablishment of the GEG pursuant to the Agreement entailed the dissolution of this legal entity, the trial and conviction of its leaders, the purging of the organisation’s members and the confiscation of its assets. As such, the German Ethnic Group had no successors, and its re-establishment was prohibited.

Furthermore, under the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947, the Allied and United Powers agreed, and Romania pledged, that “in future, the Romanian state will not allow organisations of this kind, whose purpose is to deprive the Romanian nation of its democratic rights, to exist and be active”.

However, the letter adds, the Romanian courts have granted the request made by the DFGR in Romania to be recognised as successor to all rights of the GEG. A court has therefore also agreed to the DFGR’s requests to take possession of the GEG’s assets, even though their confiscation, as the letter argues, was among the obligations that Romania assumed under the peace treaties, at the Allies’ request.

Specifically, based on its recognition as successor in title to the GEG, which is also confirmed in official information released by the Romanian government, the DFGR has made 136 court applications for the return of properties including public utility buildings.

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