According to Russian propaganda, a Nazi monument has been built in the Republic of Moldova. In fact, this is a monument dedicated to Romanian soldiers who fell during World War II.
NEWS: A new monument dedicated to Nazi collaborators has been inaugurated in the Republic of Moldova, this time in the village of Slobozia Mare, the president of the “Pobeda” National Coordination Committee and of the search movement, Alexei Petrovici, has announced.
[...] “In the village of Slobozia Mare, Cahul district, Republic of Moldova, the Monumentum Association, which promotes the glorification of Nazism, inaugurated a new monument dedicated to the soldiers of Nazi Romania who fell in the summer of 1941 during the invasion of the Soviet Union. The falsifiers traditionally called Hitler’s accomplices ‘liberating heroes’, who gave their lives ‘for the liberation of Bessarabia from servitude’... It is already the fourth object inaugurated in honor of the Romanian-fascist occupiers in the past month”, Petrovici wrote on his Telegram channel.
He added that the inauguration took place with the participation of the honor guard and the military orchestra of the Border Guard Service Department of Moldova*, of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia**, of local authorities and of children.
“This monstrous falsification, whitewashing and glorification of Nazi invaders, is specifically targeting children in the long term precisely”, Petrovici emphasized.
Earlier, the Moldovan public expressed indignation that school textbooks on the History of the Romanians include chapters and theses that glorify Nazism. The Education Minister, Dan Perciun, stated that the new textbooks reflect an “objective” approach to historical events. According to an investigation by RIA Novosti, the new history textbook for upper classes claims that Moldova’s occupation by Romanian troops, who fought alongside Hitler, supposedly brought the country “economic benefits”. The Jewish community of Moldova asked authorities to withdraw the textbook from the educational process until it is revised, arguing that it distorts facts about the Nazi genocide policy.
After the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) came to power in the Republic of Moldova, led unofficially by President Maia Sandu, the country has allegedly promoted a policy of “amnesia”, aimed at rewriting history. The PAS parliamentary majority adopted laws banning the use of the Saint George ribbon and the installation of monuments dedicated to Romanian soldiers who fought on Hitler’s side. Nevertheless, monuments dedicated to Romanian soldiers continue to appear across the country, including in Chișinău, often with the participation of officials and representatives of the Romanian Embassy. Such initiatives are accompanied by solemn ceremonies and provoke criticism from parts of society that recall the crimes committed by Romanian troops against the civilian population of Moldova.
NARRATIVES: 1. The authorities of the Republic of Moldova glorify Nazism and falsify the history of World War II. 2. History of the Romanians textbooks in Moldova promote Nazi ideas and falsify historical facts.
PURPOSE: To discredit the Moldovan government and portray it as anti-Russian, pro-Nazi and under Western influence, thus justifying Moscow’s rhetoric about the “fight against fascism” and insinuating that Moldova, like Ukraine, is run by forces that “rewrite history” and “rehabilitate Nazis”. Through such messages, Russia seeks to maintain its self-appointed role as the “guardian of historical memory”, to justify possible hostile actions against Chișinău, and to fuel distrust in the education system while provoking anti-Romanian sentiment to legitimize its propaganda about the “threat of fascist rehabilitation” in ex-Soviet republics.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: In Slobozia Mare, Cahul district, a monument was indeed recently inaugurated in honor of Romanian soldiers who fell in World War II, a reconstruction of the one originally built during the war and destroyed by the Soviets.
The building of monuments or maintenance of military cemeteries for Romanian soldiers has nothing to do with glorifying Nazism It represents a humanitarian and moral duty. Propaganda linking such gestures to “fascist rehabilitation” echoes old Soviet and current Russian theses meant to discredit national memory and Moldova’s rapprochement with Romania.
In fact, we are dealing with a widespread international practice: the protection and maintenance of soldiers’ graves are stipulated by the Geneva Convention.
Veridica has previously debunked false narratives about the so-called “Nazification” of the Republic of Moldova.
Regarding the history textbooks, the author is most likely referring to the one addressing 12th graders, which has been previously criticized. In fact, the textbook explains the context of Romania’s entry into World War II, after the annexation of Bessarabia by the USSR and the Vienna Award, and it addresses the Holocaust, including the Roma Holocaust and data from the final report of the International Commission for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania: “In the Kingdom of Romania, the Holocaust started in 1938, with the promulgation of the first anti-Jewish restrictive laws by the Goga government, when over 220,000 Jews were stripped of a series of political and civil rights, and continued after Romania entered the war, including in territories controlled by the Romanian state, ending in 1944”.
Far from glorifying the Antonescu regime, the textbook presents historical reality, including that regime’s complicity in the Holocaust:
“The activity of the Romanian administration in Transnistria was overshadowed by crimes linked to the use of Transnistria as a place for the deportation and extermination of Jews and Roma. I. Antonescu pursued a conflicting policy towards the Jewish issue. He was at first reserved and reluctant to adopt Nazi policies, but gradually yielded to pressure, adopted racial laws, ordered deportations of Jews and Roma to Transnistria, and collaboration with the Nazis led to numerous victims and crimes against humanity”.
BACKGROUND: The territory of the Republic of Moldova was a theater of war during the World War II, between 1941–1944. Soviet historiography, literature and cinema portray Romanian soldiers who fought in World War II as fascists who annihilated the local population, a carry-over of the “Romanian gendarme” stereotype promoted by Soviet propaganda since the interwar period.
In the Republic of Moldova, several cemeteries and monuments dedicated to Romanian soldiers who fought in World War II have been restored or built. Such actions have generated criticism from parts of society, as well as from some politicians or local officials. In 2012, the governments of Chișinău and Bucharest signed an Agreement on the Legal Status of Romanian War Graves located on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The agreement provides the legal framework under which both states commit to identifying, protecting, maintaining and commemorating the graves and burial sites of soldiers and war victims, regardless of nationality or the side they fought on.
NOTES:
*The Border Guard Service no longer exists in the Republic of Moldova.
** The Metropolitanate of Bessarabia is subordinated to the Romanian Patriarchate.
