[Cz-L] An article in Ynet

<http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3435320,00.html>http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3435320,00.html

Romanian named 'righteous gentile'

Reserves officer who blocked the deportation of Romanian Jews to Nazi
death camps inducted into Yad Vashem's 'Righteous Among the Nations'
group
Associated Press

Associated Press
Published: 08.08.07, 17:39 / Israel Jewish Scene


Yad Vashem on Wednesday posthumously honored a Romanian reserves
officer who blocked the deportation of Romanian Jews to Nazi death
camps.

Theodor Criveanu was inducted into Yad Vashem's "Righteous Among the
Nations" group of non-Jews who rescued Jews from the Nazis. His son,
Willie Criveanu, accepted the award on his behalf.

The 20,000 Jews of Czernowitz, Romania, were interned during the war
and slated for deportation to death camps.

As a reserves officer in the Romanian army, Criveanu was assigned the
task of presenting authorities a list of Jews who were required to
work in the ghetto, and were thus spared deportation. According to
testimonies given to Yad Vashem, Criveanu risked his own life by
handing out permits beyond the allowed limit, including to Jews who
were not essential to the work force. Yad Vashem said it could not
estimate how many Jews he saved.

Criveanu married the daughter of one of the Jews he saved. He died in
Romania in 1988.

"My father's life was based on justness, correctness. He was a great
humanitarian, that was his nature," his son said at the ceremony. "He
was a gift from God for my mother's family and to so many more."

More than 21,000 non-Jews have been honored by Yad Vashem, including
Oskar Schindler, whose efforts to save more than 1,000 Jews was
documented in the Oscar-award-winning film "Schindler's List." Of
these, 53 Romanians have been honored.
Received on 2007-09-09 13:02:54