Alliance for the Union of Romanians Party criticised for dismissing Holocaust education as “minor topic”

A Romanian political party has been criticised for referring to Holocaust education as a “minor topic”.

The Alliance for the Union of Romanians party, or AUR, which holds 43 seats in Romania’s Parliament, issued a statement accusing the Government of relegating “fundamental subjects” such as “exact sciences, Romanian language and literature and national history” in favour of “minor topics” such as “sexual education” and “history of the Holocaust.”

The Government, the statement said, is trying “to undermine the quality of the education system in Romania.”

The Government’s Special Representative for Combating Antisemitism, Alexandru Muraru, reportedly hinted at the possibility of outlawing AUR, calling the Party “a threat to Romania’s constitutional order.”

In his Party’s defence, AUR’s co-leader, Claudiu Tarziu said: “We are Christians, so we can’t be antisemites.” He denied calling the Holocaust a “minor topic” and referenced the “sinister horrors” visited upon on Jews by “the Nazi regime”.

The AUR has drawn controversy since its surprising election result in 2020, when it won 9% of the vote and entered Parliament for the first time, as its leaders have reportedly defended historical figures who served in Ion Antonescu’s wartime regime, which was allied with the Nazis.

According to official Romanian statistics, between 280,000 and 380,000 Jews were murdered or died in territories under Romanian administration during WWII.

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