Traian Popovici (October 17, 1892 – June 4, 1946) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n lawyer and mayor of

Cernăuți Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, known for saving 20,000

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

from deportation.

Life

Popovici was born in Rușii Mănăstioarei village of the

Duchy of Bukovina The Duchy of Bukovina (; ; ) was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1849 and a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary from 1867 until 1918. Name The name ''Bukovina'' came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation ...

in the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. He was the son of Andrei Popovich of

Udești Udești () is a commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania. It is composed of eleven villages: Chilișeni, Luncușoara, Mănăstioara, Plăvălari, Poieni-Suceava, Racova, Reuseni, Rușii-Mănăstioara, Securiceni, Știrbă ...

and grandson of Ioan Popovich, a famous priest, who, in 1777, refused to take the oath to the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. His uncle was (1873–1950), who became a minister for Bucovina under the government led by General

Alexandru Averescu Alexandru Averescu (; 9 March 1859 – 2 October 1938) was a Romanian marshal, diplomat and Populism, populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister of thr ...

. He studied at the Suceava high school (1903–1911), then enrolled at the Faculty of Law of the University of Chernowitz, which he graduated at the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was a former president of ''

Societatea Academică Junimea Societatea Academică Junimea (Romanian for "Junimea Academic Society") was a society (''Studentenverbindung'') for Romanian students in the Austro-Hungarian city of Czernowitz, located in the Bukovina region of Cisleithania. The city was called '' ...

''. In 1908, while a high school student, he crossed from Austria-Hungary into

illegally, in order to see

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...

who was visiting the town of Burdujeni. When World War I started, he went to Romania and enlisted in the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

, fighting until the end of the war. After World War I, he settled briefly in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

, where he was secretary at "Our House" organization that dealt with land reform. In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, he worked as a lawyer in the city of Cernăuți. In 1935, he was the founder of the Cernăuți branch of the

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

National Christian Party The National Christian Party () was a far-right authoritarian and strongly antisemitic political party in Romania active between 1935 and 1938. It was formed by a merger of Octavian Goga's National Agrarian Party and A. C. Cuza's National-Chr ...

. After the Soviet occupation of Northern Bukovina in June 1940, he took refuge in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, where he continued to work as a lawyer.

Mayor of Cernăuți

In June 1941, Romania entered

on the side of the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

and soon after re-established control over Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Military dictator

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...

requested him to become mayor of Cernăuți, but Popovici initially refused, unwilling to serve a

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

government. He changed his mind, however, based on advice from his friends. A few days after acceptance, in early August 1941, he was ordered by , the Governor-General of

, to create a

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

for the Jews of Cernăuți, but Popovici refused to accept that part of the city's population could be confined behind

barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the ...

fences. On August 30, 1941, Rioșanu died after an unsuccessful surgery, and he was succeeded as governor by General Corneliu Calotescu. On October 10, Calotescu announced his decision that all the Jews of Cernăuți must be

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

. After a long debate, Calotescu allowed Popovici to nominate 200 Jews who were to be exempted from deportation. Unsatisfied with the modest concession, Popovici tried reaching Antonescu himself, this time arguing that Jews were of capital importance to Cernăuți's economy and requested a postponement until replacements could be found. As a result, he was allowed to expand the list, which covered 20,000 Jews in its final version. TraianPopovici1

Popovici died in 1946 in the village of Colacu (part of Fundu Moldovei commune, in

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county (') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat and the ...

), and was buried in the churchyard of the village, next to the . Due to Popovici's defense of Jews, his political adversaries nicknamed him "''jidovitul''" ("the turned-Jewish").

Legacy

Traian Popovici Righteous Among the nations tree at Yad Vashem

Popovici is honored by

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

memorial as one of the ''

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

'', an honour given to non-Jews who behaved with heroism in trying to save Jews from the

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

References

External links

* Popovici's testimony on the deportation: *
original Romanian
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovici, Traian 20th-century Romanian lawyers Mayors of places in Romania Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian Righteous Among the Nations Politicians from Chernivtsi People from Suceava County 1892 births 1946 deaths Eastern Orthodox Righteous Among the Nations Chernivtsi University alumni National Christian Party politicians

Life

Mayor of Cernăuți

Legacy

See also

References

External links