His Excellency Mr. Isaac Herzog
President of the State of Israel
Jerusalem, Israel
Subject: Your Visit to Romania and the Need for a Historical Rectification Regarding the June 1941 Events in Iași
Your Excellency,
On behalf of the S.O.S. Romania Party, we have the honour of addressing you on the occasion of your official visit to Romania, scheduled for 28–29 June 2026, in Iași and Bucharest. We regard your presence in our country as a distinction and as recognition of the historical ties between our two peoples. We welcome it as such and assure you of our respect.
Nevertheless, Your Excellency, we must state, with all due firmness, that we cannot agree with the declared purpose of this visit—namely, to commemorate what is officially, yet in our view erroneously, referred to as the “Iași Pogrom.” The S.O.S. Romania Party considers it its moral and civic duty to call for the clarification and rectification of the historical record, in the spirit of a bilateral relationship founded upon historical accuracy and mutual respect.
The dates associated with this visit carry, for us Romanians, a dual tragic significance: 28 June 1883, the day of the civil assassination of Romania’s greatest national poet, Mihai Eminescu, and 28 June 1940, the day of the Soviet ultimatum and the crimes that followed. This convergence of historical events compels us to approach the past with the utmost sense of responsibility and historical rigor.
In this regard, allow us to submit several historical and statistical clarifications which we consider essential:
- The Actual Number of Victims
With regard to the number of victims, the official statistics and the findings of serious historical research indicate figures different from those commonly circulated. Subsequent investigations established that 245 bodies were recovered from the mass graves. To these must be added the approximately 2,500–2,700 Jews who lost their lives aboard the so-called “death trains” before reaching the destinations of Podu Iloaiei and Călărași. Consequently, the total number of victims amounts to a maximum of 2,945, rather than the unverified figure of 14,850. This discrepancy of nearly 12,000 individuals constitutes a serious historical inaccuracy that ought to be corrected. Dr. Achim states that, in April 1941, Iași had a Jewish population of 33,135, while in May 1942 the Jewish population numbered 32,369. The difference of 766 persons is substantially lower than the alleged figure of 15,000 victims (Source: Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania, Notebooks No. 2(4)/2008, study by Dr. Viorel Achim, historian and research fellow).
- Responsibility and Accountability
The most important clarification concerns responsibility and accountability for these crimes. There is no judicial evidence establishing the involvement of the Romanian civilian population in what has been described as a pogrom. On the contrary, responsibility was officially acknowledged by the German State on two separate occasions:
- In 1959, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany agreed to pay compensation to the families of the victims of the Iași events, thereby recognizing the involvement of the German Army. (Source: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 23 August 1959).
- In 2017, following negotiations between the German Government and the Claims Conference, the survivors of the so-called “death trains” were recognized as eligible for monthly compensation pensions paid by the German State, thereby reaffirming Germany’s responsibility. (Source: Realitatea Evreiască, Nos. 502–503, October 2017).
- The Proper Designation of the Events
For these reasons, we consider the term “pogrom” to be historically inaccurate and misleading. In its historical and legal meaning, the term pogrom refers to a collective act of violence, organized or tolerated by the local authorities, directed against a particular community. In the case of the events in Iași, however, the crimes were committed and subsequently acknowledged by a foreign army—the German Army—while no direct involvement of the Romanian authorities has been conclusively established.
It is also significant that the trial held in June 1948, conducted by the authorities of the time, was officially entitled the “Trial of the Iași Massacres”, rather than the “Trial of the Iași Pogrom.”
Our Request
Your Excellency,
In your capacity as President of the State of Israel, and with the full moral and political authority vested in your office, we respectfully ask you to support and promote the official renaming of this historical episode from the “Iași Pogrom” to what we believe it truly was: THE IAȘI MASSACRE (or THE IAȘI MASSACRES). Such a rectification would constitute an act of profound historical justice and would contribute to a more accurate understanding of the past, honouring the memory of the victims without distorting historical reality.
Allow us, Your Excellency, to recall the words of the late Bessarabian writer Efim Tarlapan:
“Those who do not know their history are left without geography.”
We, the S.O.S. Romania Party, assume the responsibility of defending what we believe to be the historical truth.
In conclusion, Your Excellency, please accept the assurances of our esteem for the people of Israel, our commitment to the friendship between our two nations, and our respect for truth.
Yours sincerely,
On behalf of the S.O.S. Romania Party,
Attorney-at-Law, Member of the European Parliament
Diana Iovanovici-Șoșoacă
President of the S.O.S. Romania Party
Senator Dumitru Manea (Miron Manega)
Vice President of the S.O.S. Romania Party
