Razboi Mondial

At the beginning of World War II about 400 Jews were living in Pitesti who were wealthy, being traders and professionals united around the Hebrew Community, which had had recognized legal status since 1932. Along the central street of the city, Serban Voda, 15 of the existing 29 on that street, most of the shops were owned by Jews, trade being their favored occupation. Other Jews had trade licences (jewelry, dental technicians, brush makers, roofers etc.) or were liberal professionals (lawyers, doctors, engineers, accountants, photographers and so on).
Not very many documentary traces of the Legionnaires actions towards the Jewish population of the city were kept from the National Legionary State period (September 1940 - February 1941). Local authorities led by Legionnaires (The Prefecture of Arges County led by Dr. Michael Georgescu, the City Hall of Pitesti and the Police) ordered and carried out house searches during the night at homes of some wealthiest Jews in the town, where they confiscated goods from traders like Misu Michelstein, who had a wholesale store in a central area, the Diocese Market street. Also, other unilateral documentary sources show that the rebellion of January 1941 and removal of Legionnaires from the top local institutions was done quietly and without violence, as alleged by commander Lt. Col. Modest Isopescu of the Gendarmerie Legion of Arges.
After the imposition of the military dictatorship of General Ion Antonescu, the anti-Semitic policies were further applied in ways that were mainly aimed at excluding Jews from Romanian society by means of the romanianization of the economic affairs and staff of all businesses:
In order to achieve the strictest possible coordination and supervision, all Hebrew associations and organizations were disbanded, including the Hebrew Community of Pitesti which passed under the jurisdiction of the Jewish Central Office in Romania (OJCE Arges).
All assets of Jews in rural areas were expropriated without compensation, and they were forcibly moved into the city of Pitesti, with a total of 12 persons under house arrest. All buildings were nationalized, except the synagogue, which came under the temporary administration of the National Center for Romanianization (CNR) in Bucharest. Some of the former owners were tolerated as tenants paying large amounts of money for a few rooms in their homes, and the other vacant rooms were rented for a fee to the local institutions or individuals who also paid rent directly to the CNR. The Hebrew School located near the synagogue was rented by the Police of Pitesti, who at the time did not have their own building.
At first, all merchants were forced to "double" the specialized Hebrew employees with "ethnic Romanians" for a short time and then fire the Jews. Jews were forced to request a work permit from the special inspector of romanianization of Arges county, Professor Michael Ilovescu, the representative of the Central Office of Romanianization (OCR) in Bucharest. Ilovescu’s solutions were often to dismiss the Jews and make them available to the local authorities for the provision of forced labor. However, the OCR had the final decision and hired “ethnic Romanians” to replace the dismissed Jews, in particular refugees from Transylvania, Bessarabia and Cadrilater, or arbitrarily set the remuneration that the employee should receive. Bureaucratic chaos was created because of the OCR’s belated appointments, some appointed staff refused the job, or the job was meanwhile occupied by another person freely chosen by the employer.
All trade licences were canceled and the practice of liberal professions was banned except requisition orders coming from administrative and military authorities. Jews were forced into community work under the direction and supervision of the Circle of Recruitment of Arges and the Prefecture of Arges, but the most wealthy or influential could buy their freedom.
To support the country’s war effort, the Jews were forced by the OJCE of Arges to contribute large amounts of money to the "Reunification Debt". In 1941 and 1942 alone, over 7,000,000 lei were raised and a new house built in the model village Antonesti (Corbeni commune, Arges), which was devastated by floods in the summer of 1941, was valued at a price starting at 250,000 lei. They also contributed 100 beds for hospitals with war wounded and garments for social work.
In late 1941, after declaring the city of Ploiesti and Prahova County a strategic oil area, the Jews were forced to leave the area immediately. About 90 Jews, originally from Ploiesti, settled in Pitesti under house arrest having first passed through the intermediate camp of Teis – Targoviste. In the following year, over 50 Jews, some local and some from Ploiesti, were deported under the pretext of a general charge of economic sabotage of the romanianization law or communist activities. Among those deported were also members of the committee of the OJCE of Arges: lawyers Joseph Bercovici and Joseph Elias, as well as Maurice Braunstein.
Other specific repressive war measures directed against the Jews were: banning the freedom of movement without the consent of the authorities at ministerial level, the confiscation of all radios, the rationing and restriction of access to essential foods, the prohibition against employing Christians or having contact with farmers coming to town etc.
Under these uncertain and precarious conditions, in 1942 the OJCE of Arges had the desire and support of the Jewish Center in Romania led by Wilhelm Filderman to establish a class of primary education in the synagogue building, as well as founding and supporting a social canteen, supporting the poor financially while other Jews tried to make a living peddling on the streets, although this practice was prohibited. It can be said that the bureaucracy and corruption of the state government were mitigating factors that sometimes facilitated temporary and isolated exemptions from the application of anti-Semitic legislation.