RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED ON JEWS AND CATHOLICS 1. RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED ON JEWS 2. RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED ON BUCHAREST CATHOLICS 3. RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED ON CONSTANTA CATHOLICS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R015200190008-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 3, 2011
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: December 4, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/01/03: CIA-RDP82-00457RO15200190008-9
FEB 1952 0"_"jA
V01 IT-I'V-
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
SECURITY INFORMATION
COUNTRY Rumania
INFORMATION REPORT REPORT
REFPJE f
SUBJECT Restrictions Imposed onnJewsa nd catoiULA I L
1. Restrictions Imposed on Jews NO. OF PAGES 2
2. Restrictions Imposed on Bucharest Catholics
DATE OF 3. Restrictions Im ed on Constanta Catholics NO. OF ENCLS.
INFO.
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PLACE
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SUPPLEMENT TO
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES, WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLE 18, SECTIONS 793
AND 794, OF THE U.S. CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR REVE-
LATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS
PROHIBITED BY LAW. THE REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.
Restrictions I.22sed on Jews
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
1. All Zionist centers in Bucharest have been closed by the government in
retaliation against Zionist propaganda in favor of immigration to Israel.
All Jewish operated trade and handicraft schools in Bucharest, where students
received training for the day when they would immigrate to Israel, were also
closed.
2. The Jews living in Rumania formerly belonged to two religious groups, the
Spanish and the German sects. By order of the government, both sects
were merged into one single group under the leadership of the Jewish
Democratic Committee (Comitetul Democrat Evreesc o CDE). This committee
enjoys the support of the Rumanian Communist Party, and its leaders are
recruited from the ranks of the Communist Party. The committee publishes
a weekly paper, The New Life (Viata Noua), the principal object of which
is to discourage immigration to Israel. It also organizes teams of
"enlighteners" (indrumatori), who visit all Jewish homes and try to con-
vince the Jews not to immigrate to Israel. The work of these "enlighteners"
is supported by two exhibitions opened in two Bucharest movie theaters,
the Mosilor and the Gloria, where documents and photographic material
depicting the misery of.the immigrants in Israel are displayed.
3. The slaughter of poultry according to the ritual of the Jewish faith is done
in Bucharest at the central slaughterhouse. The faithful who want to
purchase poultry slaughtered according to Jewish ritual have to pay a tax
varying between 4 lei and 6 lei per fowl. This tax is levied by the
government which pays 360 lei monthly to the rabbi who performs the ritual.
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
STATE NAVY X NSRB
ARMY
AIR PBI
DISTRIBUTION
DATE DISTR. 4 December 1952
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 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/01/03: CIA-RDP82-00457RO15200190008-9
4. The Italian Catholic Church in Bucharest, located on Bulevardual Nicolae
Balcescu (formerly Bulevardul Bratianu), has been closed since 1951 when
its priest, Father Manticca, was forced to leave the country.
CONFIDENTAIL
_ 2 _
Restrictions Imposed on Bucharest Catholics
The Notre Dame Church in Bucharest is also closed. In the hall of this
church important members of the Communist Party hold meetings at regular
intervals. When such meetings take place, the movement of pedestrians in
front of the church is diverted by militiamen who guard the street.
6. The following Catholic Churches have been authorized by the government to
function in Bucharest:
a. The.Saint Joseph Cathedral. (The priest of this cathedral is a certain
Father Andrei Korn Despina, a Communist disapproved of by the Papal Nuncio
in Bucharest. Despina was appointed by -:he authorities to replace Father
Shuber, who was sentenced to life imprisonment. Despina is assisted
by a German prl est, Joachim Tuchsherer, who changed his name to Ion
Dugariu, by Father Johann Jovanelli, and by a new priest, Andrei Herghelegiu.)
b. The Baratiei Church, where Father Francisco Sunder and Father Frantz
Klein serve Mass.
e. The Saint Thereza Chapel in the Bellu Cemetery where Father Otto Jose is
the pastor.
7. The Catholic priests are not permitted to wear clerical garb in the streets.
Their sermons are often recorded by stenogra;Dhers and secret agents. The
teaching of the Catechism has been permitted again since 1951.
8. One Vasile Begu, a Communist priest from the suburban village of Popesti
Leordeni in the vicinity of Bucharest, acts as liaison between the Catholic
communities in Bucharest and the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
All Catholic nuns have been interned on a farm located on the Bucharest-
Oltenita highway. They are obliged--to cultivate the farm and are not permitted
to leave the area assigned to them. When going to a chapel located in the
vicinity of their farm, the nuns are not permitted to wear their robes.
10. The buildings of the Notre Dame School for Girls in Bucharest have been
converted into an espionage school operated by the Rumanian authorities.
R
Restrictions Imposed on Constanta Catholics
r!,
11. The Catholic Church in ConsoLanta is closed'after having been ransacked by
the Communists. The Catholic priest Kendelbacher, who returned in
January 1952 from the Soviet Union where he had been deported, celebrates
Mass in a private residence located on Strada Tudor Vladimirescu.>ti
12. It is estimated that approximately 3,000 members of the Catholic clergy in
Rumania have been arrested.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/01/03: CIA-RDP82-00457RO15200190008-9