From Stereotype to Genocide: The Myth of Judeo-Bolshevism in the Romanian Press, 1940-1941.

This study examines the role of the Romanian press during 1940 and 1941 in consolidating the myth of Judeo-Bolshevism. I use the contents of the Universul daily newspaper and the Sentinela magazine, these being publications with different editorial profiles and audiences. The analysis has shown that the articles, reports, and entertainment materials were not mere accounts, but active instruments of propaganda meant to present the Jewish community as a collective enemy and justify its marginalization and the acts of violence it was submitted to. In the pages of the two publications, military and political conflicts were presented as a "crusade" against the Jewish influence, while Bolshevism was constantly associated with the "Jewish danger". Beyond those publications, in which antisemitism was a central editorial focus, this article aims at analyzing the content of important publications of the time, that were not at the forefront of antisemitic militancy, thus attempting to recover the centrist ideas of the official propaganda in the analyzed period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]