Photo: Planet Agency (public domain), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons¹¹

Max Auschnitt

Romanian businessman & political figure (1888–1957)

Max Carol Auschnitt, also known as Ausschnitt, Auschnit or Aușnit (February 14, 1888 – January 18, 1957), was a Romanian businessman and political figure, one of his country's most prominent industrialists during the interwar period. Born to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, he spent much of his youth abroad, returning in the 1910s to set up business as an importer of sheet iron, greatly expanding his father's fortune after World War I. Auschnitt was caretaker, and from 1929 managing director, of the Iron Domains and Factory (UDR) of Reșița, as well as founder of Titan-Nădrag-Călan (TNC), regional partner of Vickers-Armstrongs, and investor in many other fields.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Max Auschnitt (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Feb 14, 1888, died Jan 18, 1957.¹

About

Primarily known as the "iron king" of Greater Romania, he had a business connection, and later a consuming rivalry, with manufacturer Nicolae Malaxa. The two were associate owners of Creditanstalt, which established their presence in Europe.

First elected to the Senate as an independent corporate member, Auschnitt turned to partisan politics as a financial backer of the National Peasants' Party; he had enduring collaborations with Virgil Madgearu and Dem I. Dobrescu. In tandem, he joined a camarilla formed around King Carol II, constantly bribing him and his mistress, Elena Lupescu. Such behavior drew negative attention to his businesses, particularly since Auschnitt used his political connections to secure Romanian state contracts, on which his fortune largely rested. His alleged corruption, along with his ethnicity and his publicized anti-fascism, made him a target for verbal and physical attacks by the far-right movements, in particular the Iron Guard. Auschnitt attempted to diffuse this threat by paying public tributes to Romanian nationalism and, more discreetly, by sponsoring the Guardist network. His 1935 marriage to Augustin Pordea's daughter, and his conversion to Roman Catholicism, elicited additional controversy.

Auschnitt found himself at odds with Carol after a string of matrimonial, economic, and geopolitical disputes. Marginalized by the passage of racial laws in 1937, he was further maligned when Carol's National Renaissance Front pursued a rapprochement with Nazi Germany. He was arrested shortly after the start of World War II, and imprisoned following a show trial. In the process, he lost his UDR shares, which went to Malaxa and Albert Göring, and then his citizenship. Carol himself fell from power in 1940, with Ion Antonescu replacing him as dictator. Despite being antisemitic, this new regime bargained over TNC shares, and finally cleared Auschnitt of all charges in 1942. Once freed, he turned to sponsoring underground opposition groups, and was also involved in helping fellow Jews to escape the Holocaust. He had a minor role in plotting the anti-fascist coup of 1944, though he himself had to flee Romania before the event, and was sentenced to death in absentia. Returning to assist the Allied Commission, he was slowly pushed back into exile by signs that the Romanian Communist Party was establishing a new dictatorship.

The new communist regime again withdrew Auschnitt's citizenship, before pronouncing him guilty of treason. This charge referred to Auschnitt's involvement with anti-communist resistance groups, including his allegedly financing Nicolae Petrașcu's Iron Guard cells. Stripped of his Romanian properties, Auschnitt relaunched himself as an entrepreneur in the plastics industry, and obtained American citizenship. His final political activities were as a sponsor of the Romanian National Committee, which split into pro-Auschnitt and pro-Malaxa factions, respectively led by Constantin Vișoianu and Nicolae Rădescu.

From Wikipedia’s article on Max Auschnitt, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

I.O.R.Founder¹⁰

Early life and education

Date not recordedVienna University of Economics and Business³

Career

Occupation: businessperson.⁶

Date not recordedFounded I.O.R.⁴
Date not recordedMember of the Senate of Romania⁵

Personal life

BornFeb 14, 1888, Galați⁷
DiedJan 18, 1957, New York City⁸
CitizenshipUnited States, Romania⁹

Legal issues and controversies

Duca assassination and Pordea scandal

Auschnitt did not seek reelection in December 1933, informing the public that he no longer thought it wise for Jews to appear in political roles. Reportedly, he also blocked a deal between the National Liberal Party, which held power with Ion G. Duca as the Prime Minister, and a communitarian Jewish Party—his contribution criticized by the latter as an act of political sabotage. Days later, a Guardist death squad murdered Duca, exposing the movement to Carol's violent retaliation. As reported by writer R. G. Waldeck, the Guardist leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, fearing for his life, messaged Auschnitt the warning: "If you don't find a way to save me, you'll be bumped off next." According to this account, Auschnitt and Lupescu, by then a royal mistress, hid Codreanu from the authorities, and also negotiated a truce; Waldeck also claims that Auschnitt and Malaxa agreed to finance the Iron Guard, thus ensuring its political survival into the post-Duca era. The allegation was also publicized by Panait Istrati, who sympathized with the anti-Codreanu group, the Crusade of Romanianism. He noted that Guardists took Auschnitt's money while still reining violence on lower-class Jews, who were powerless.

According to historian Grigore Traian Pop, the claim that Auschnitt was Codreanu's sponsor is fundamentally inaccurate. Pop sees such rumors as planted in the public arena by Blank and Victor Iamandi, who were Auschnitt's rivals at the court. Several Guardists have independently confirmed that Auschnitt advanced sizable contributions to their cause over an unspecified period—though, as noted by historian Roland Clark, these merely showed that he wanted his business protected from harm. The conflict between Codreanu and Auschnitt was finally resumed in 1934, when the Guard's press referred to "Max Auschnitt the kike", "national bloodsucker", as the power behind the throne. This notion was also embraced by the Romanian Front (FR), a far-right dissidence of the PNȚ, whose newspapers claimed that "the kike Max Auschnit" had steadily raised the price of iron after 1930. As Damian argued: "He, the Jew from Galicia, determined whether of not the Romanian peasant deserved to own a plow [...]. He dictated the price of nails, of corrugation, of iron, or heating stoves, of gutter pipes, of anything iron-related".

Auschnitt remained noted for his escapades with film stars and high-society ladies, before finally marrying Livia Pordea (also rendered as Prodea or Pordeanu), from a political family of Cluj. His father-in-law was Augustin Pordea, at the time a serving as Vice President in the Senate. The wedding came in January 1935, at the same time as Auschnitt's conflict with the Iron Guard, and therefore had to take place in secrecy, at Augustin Pacha's chapel in Timișoara. Respecting the wishes of his in-laws, Auschnitt abandoned Judaism and converted to Catholicism. Reputedly, the issue of his conversion only served to enrage his Guardist adversaries. It also caused a polemic in religious circles, sparked by the observation that the Pordeas were Greek Catholics, whereas Auschnitt had opted for the Roman Catholic Church. Pandrea claims that Madgearu became the Auschnitts' godfather, though other sources contrarily allege that he was their godson. Auschnitt bought his family the Gheorghe Manu villa on Aleea Alexandru, in the Bucharest ward of Dorobanți. Designed by Grigore Cerchez, and partly redecorated by Auschnitt himself, it was situated very near to Malaxa's residence. The Billionaires' Club, which reunited Auschnitt with Malaxa and Constantin Argetoianu, was housed at this location until 1937, when its members rented Elisabeta Palace. His social advancement also raised the profile of Livia's brother, August "Gustave" Pordea, who took as his lover the actress Elvira Godeanu.

Argetoianu reports that, in 1937, Auschnitt attempted to buy a portion of Romania's sugar industry from Creditanstalt, which had foreclosed various Romanian refineries. He found himself overwhelmed by liabilities and resold his shares to Carol II, who immediately obtained a debt restructuring. For a while, the new couple was especially close to Lupescu, for whom Auschnitt and other camarilla businessmen obtained villas in Dorobanți and Sinaia. Auschnitt alone purchased from the Aga Khan the steed Firdussi, which he then presented as a gift for Carol. According to reports by Carol's lawyer George de Berea, Auschnitt and Malaxa met in Lupescu's house for poker matches, using gold coins as tokens. Argetoianu and Vidran both note that Auschnitt made sure to play a losing hand.

Auschnitt's extreme wealth made him into a patron of the arts. Though a Catholic, he donated to the Orthodox parishes in Hăuzești and Săceni. He intended to purchase, and thus rescue, the Teitler house in Galați, which popular opinion claimed as the house of a national hero, Alexandru Ioan Cuza. He renounced this plan upon being told by historian Nicolae Iorga that the building had no cultural value. From 1935, his donations helped Gavrilă Marinescu build an administrative palace for the Romanian Police. He was also said to be involved in regular charity, as the person sponsoring soup kitchens feeding the proletariat in Țara Moților. One anecdote suggests that Auschnitt heard actors Grigore Vasiliu Birlic and Ion Iancovescu plead for financial assistance, before presenting them with a literal wall of cash, and asking them to pick out a layer of money.

Arrest

Only days after, Carol II staged a self-coup, outlawing all political parties and replacing them with the National Renaissance Front; the antisemitic legislation, passed in 1937, was tightened and extended. This regime also formalized Carol's growing disdain for Auschnitt. The latter was still invited to join Carol on a 1938 cruise aboard the royal yacht, but, as Vidran observes, the relationship soured immediately after. Vidran believed that Auschnitt had resisted the king's demand for more control over the industry. Other accounts claim that the spat began once Livia refused Carol's sexual advances, or once Lupescu grew jealous that she would not. Pandrea alleges that "the Transylvanian tease Pordea" was publicly known as Carol's second mistress, and tolerated as such by Lupescu. He believes that the conflict between Malaxa and Auschnitt exploded when Malaxa's young daughter, seduced by Carol, came to usurp Livia's role at the court. Auschnitt himself was notoriously unfaithful to his wife, spending his money on sexual escapades in Vienna.

As reported by Jovan Dučić, in late 1938 Auschnitt and Malaxa were involved in undermining the Polish–Romanian alliance, favoring instead Czechoslovakia and the Little Entente; this was because of Poland's role in the partition of Czechoslovakia, and because both industrialists were suppliers for Škoda Works. Dučić alleges that the two men played a crucial part in preventing Romania from annexing Carpatho-Ukraine, as proposed to Carol by the Polish government. From March 1939, Carol directed Romania's political and economic rapprochement with Germany. This move alienated Auschnitt, who feared Nazi racial policies. His memorandum on the matter reached Carol and Madgearu, but had no success. The same month, Romanian diplomat Viorel Tilea, who had once served as Auschnitt's employee, attempted to engineer a government reshuffle and steer Romania back into the anti-German camp. Auschnitt was often credited as the mastermind behind Tilea's action, though Tilea himself later revealed that he was urged on by people close to Malaxa.

In July, Carol shelved the plan for an Anglo–Franco–Romanian joint venture, reportedly objecting that its two would-be managers, Auschnitt and Oskar Kaufmann, were Jewish. Later that month, Orghidan, who was seen as "Auschnit's man", was voted off the UDR board. Soon after this, Auschnitt was no longer invited to Lupescu's poker evenings. On August 18, he resigned from the UDR, citing no explicit reason. The pretext was offered by his alleged conflict of interest: Auschnitt was claimed to have tampered with a signed UDR contract in order to obtain state compensation for TNC budgetary losses. Auschnitt is cited by Argetoianu as emotionally shaken by the interpretation of facts, openly denying that the document in question was ever modified. The diarist notes that Urdăreanu, who "has a nose for these things", had come to openly disrespect Auschnitt long before heading the investigation at Reșița. This issue is attested in other records, which, Scurtu notes, show Urdăreanu constantly engaged in undermining Auschnitt's reputation. Pandrea reports that Livia Auschnitt once insulted Urdăreanu, who enjoyed Lupescu's protection.

As recounted by Vidran, the regime had been told by Malaxa and by a man at the UDR that Auschnitt and his relatives were using CEPI to move bullion and hard currency out of Romania, since they saw the country as prone to a Nazi takeover. Urdăreanu allegedly concluded that Auschnitt had also "clogged" the UDR with Jews and Hungarians, and insisted that this was additional proof of malfeasance. Argetoianu additionally reports that both Auschnitt and Kaufmann had by then been involved in insider trading at the Credit Bank, from which they drew a profit of 6 million lei between them. Their momentary success was offset by Edgar Auschnitt, who lost 3 million lei playing backgammon against Constantin Cantacuzino.

Commenting on Auschnitt's character in his diary, Carol surmises: "A Yid is still a Yid, no matter how nice he might be as a man." News of Auschnitt's defeat by Malaxa were recorded by socialite Marthe Bibesco as evidence that a "British pawn" had lost to a "pawn or half-pawn of the German financiers". Similarly, economist Kurt Lachmann places blame for Auschnitt's ouster on the "antisemitic campaign in Rumania, financed by the Nazis." In Germany, the Völkischer Beobachter openly celebrated the Auschnitts' downfall. Auschnitt's opposition to Nazi policies entered a new stage in March 1939, just before the Allied Powers renewed their commitment to defending Poland from Nazi encroachment. Historian R. P. T. Davenport-Hines suggests that Auschnitt may have been responsible for strengthening the Anglo-Polish military alliance in that he circulated an alarmist claim, namely that Germany had issued an ultimatum for Romania to join the Axis. In September, during the Nazi invasion of Poland, Auschnitt retaliated against the Nazis by assisting Polish refugees.

First trial

The prosecution confronted him about Auschnitt's practice of only sending the poorest-quality scrap iron to the UDR, where weapons were being produced, while the best was resold for a profit for used on steel cans at Metalunit. Auschnitt defended this as a "frequent practice in commerce". In October 1939, the king allowed Iamandi to draft new regulations for sociétés anonymes, specifically designed to harm Auschnitt; the latter was just then being interrogated by prosecutors regarding his UDR contracts. Business rivals where then allowed to engineer a trial against Auschnitt, who was accused of fraud and money laundering. Various observers believed that he was no longer willing to share his profits with the camarilla, which made him a target for retribution. Argetoianu adds speculation that Carol was resentful because his stocks in the Lujani sugar refineries, obtained from Auschnitt, had been subject to litigation; or that the king intended to please Adolf Hitler by "sacrificing his own kikes". The interpretation is partly backed by sociologist Mictat Gârlan, according to whom "Max Auschnitt, a man close to the Royal House", was arrested "only because he was Jewish." The disgraced courtier kept in his desk a document showing that Carol was fully responsible for the sugar debacle.

A "public enemy number 1", Auschnitt was also expected to relinquish his UDR shares. According to one account, he agreed to sell only if he was guaranteed immunity from prosecution and allowed to settle in France, where Livia had already relocated. A deal was reached, but Auschnitt was still arrested on the border. Argetoianu partly backs this rumor, by relaying a story allegedly told by Iamandi, according to which Auschnitt agreed to cede his stock if promised immunity from prosecution. His proposal, Argetoianu notes, was simply denied. Though selected by Carol to serve as prime minister during the same interval, Argetoianu still viewed the affair as a settling of scores, and asked not to be involved on either side. With Auschnitt's taking into police custody on the evening of November 8, the censorship office was instructed to allow the publication of "any reportage that would detail the reasons behind [his] arrest."

As Auschnitt was being relocated to Văcărești Prison that same day, Argetoianu read his grounds for indictment and concluded that his friend was not in fact innocent, though the trial he faced was likely to be unfair. Writer Radu Tudoran, who covered the trial as a young reporter, contrarily noted that Auschnitt was not guilty, and that his "concise", "hard-hitting" self-defense was proof in itself. The matter was personally handled by Gavrilă Marinescu, who was Argetoianu's Minister of Internal Affairs. He cited his "moral debt" to Auschnitt in an attempt to recuse himself, but Carol insisted that he pursue the investigation, noting that Auschnitt was symptomatic for a "corrupt system", and that a show trial would commence "the purge" of Romanian industry. On November 14, the authorities raided TNC offices, arresting general manager Constantin Naghi and four other directors who, they claimed, were "controlled by Aușnit". They also detained an unnamed witness, whose testimony allowed them to recover 10 million French francs that Auschnitt had deposited with his former father-in-law, Aronovici. Prosecutors also looked into another issue of conflicting interests, noting that Auschnitt had used CEPI to buy off UDR assets.

On December 5, a new cabinet, headed by Gheorghe Tătărescu, stripped Edgar Auschnitt of his citizenship; Max lost his four days later. Edgar had by then escaped to London, which allowed government to confiscate and redistribute his assets in Romania. Livia, meanwhile, was spotted on the French Riviera, allegedly pursuing an affair with Kurt von Haugwitz-Reventlow. Argetoianu assesses that Auschnitt's imprisonment had by then brought a great surge in the king's popularity, since the public, especially the "nationalist and antisemitic circles", could now believe that the tide was turning on his camarilla. He comments on demonstrative gestures by the authorities, which included forcing Auschnitt into the regular police van. Argetoianu also writes that "philosemites" were baffled by Carol's clampdown, and exaggerated its meaning. He illustrates this with a quote from General Eugeniu Vârtejanu, who was reportedly Auschnitt's friend: "This is the Dreyfus affair in its Romanian version".

For all his subjects' enthusiasm, the king never agreed to have other camarilla men prosecuted for their alleged misdeeds. As noted by researcher George Enache, the affair showed the power that of Romanian secret services had in influencing legal procedures, especially so since Malaxa, whose name had been cited in similar allegations, was never convicted. In February 1940, a man known as I. D. Dumitrescu publicized a full record of illegal deals involving Malaxa (who had left the country on an extended leave), but Carol ordered Marinescu not to follow up on this lead. On March 14, Auschnitt was sentenced to a six-year term in labor camps, and ordered to pay back 200 million lei (approximately 140,000 British pounds in 2016 rates). In June, while filing his appeal from Doftana prison, he made a final attempt at placating the camarilla, offering to split his UDR shares between CEPI and Malaxa's companies. This message failed to impress. His UDR stock was confiscated without him being involved. Auschnitt's shares were reportedly split between the Nazi iron conglomerate and Malaxa. According to Lachmann, Albert Göring "terrorized the Rumanian government" into issuing more shares that his firm then acquired.

Second trial and August coup

Also in early 1944, Auschnitt was reportedly dragged into the power struggles within the Communist Party—assisting Emil Bodnăraș in ousting its disgraced general secretary, Ștefan Foriș. He eventually caught news that Nazi envoys wanted him targeted in what was to be the final stage of Holocaust crimes in Romania. One report additionally suggests that he was briefly held at a concentration camp in Hungary. Aviator Matei Ghika-Cantacuzino, who was Auschnitt's personal friend, agreed to fly him into Allied territory. They used Ghika's Heinkel He 111, which had been ordered to Ianca. The flight, which landed in British Cyprus on June 15, 1944, also transported businessmen Alexandru Racotă and Radu Hurmuzescu. In British records, their group was code-named "Yardam", and Auschnitt was "Cocoon".

Their escape served to prepare the anti-fascist coup of August 23. Auschnitt had brought with him messages sent by PNȚ leader Iuliu Maniu, agreeing to Antonescu's overthrow, as well as a letter from Pătrășcanu. Protected by the Royal Air Force, Ghika then flew his passengers to Aleppo, where they met Maniu's liaison, Constantin Vișoianu. Auschnitt was then transported to Egypt, as he and Hurmuzescu still had to be screened by Security Intelligence Middle East, as potential Nazi spies. This referred to their links with Tester, which, Auschnitt convincingly explained, had reaped humanitarian benefits for Romanian Jews. Auschnitt was released at Cairo, but his "lavishness with money" remained a point of contention for the remainder of his stay. On July 5, a military court of the Third Romanian Army issued warrants for all fugitives. Auschnitt was charged with defection to the enemy and instigating desertion. He was then tried in absentia, and sentenced to death; the same verdict was pronounced against Ghika.

During the coup, Auschnitt's car was reportedly borrowed by Pătrășcanu, who used it to transport Groza out of Deva. Immediately following these events, Auschnitt sent letters home demanding that Antonescu aide Valentin Georgescu face punishment for his wartime activities. He also asked to purchase the archives captured from Antonescu's spy chief, Eugen Cristescu, which included minute details on communist networks active in Romania. Signaling his anticipation of a communist takeover, Auschnitt "mapped out a plan of action", including the creation of a pro-capitalist "information service within the workers' world". In September, the United States Army Air Forces flew him back to Bucharest, where he was awarded protection by the Allied Commission, and allowed to assist in reconstruction. His 1940 trial was again up for review in November, when another court confirmed his innocence. In December, Nicolae Rădescu took over as prime minister, noting with alarm that Auschnitt had resumed his conflict with Malaxa, to the point of paralyzing Romania's transport industry. That same month, when he founded a Swiss Balkan Finance and Trading Company, Auschnitt was registered as residing on Câmpineanu Street, 2. He and Malaxa both entered a new Masonic Lodge, called Lanțul de Unire, where, in 1945, they initiated Hulubei.

Auschnitt was secretly backing Rădescu's coalition against the rising PCR, who wanted Groza as prime minister. In early 1945, the two rival camps clashed in the streets of Bucharest, leading to a communist takeover. As reported by Pandrea, Auschnitt unsuccessfully supported an anti-communist counter-coup, and was identified by other participants as Romania's would-be Finance Minister. On March 9, 1945, as Groza formed a communized cabinet, Auschnitt catered champagne for a pro-communist group, the Romanian Society for Friendship with the Soviet Union, later becoming Vice President of its Economic Section. He claimed to have been approached by Soviet General Ivan Susaykov, whom he advised to recruit economic experts from outside the PCR. According to Auschnitt's own data, the Soviet state took over 30% of UDR shares as part of the reparations plan, their assistance actually preventing the factories from going bankrupt. He and Malaxa were considered for a partnership in the forestry SovRom (Soviet–Romanian joint venture), until Groza vetoed the proposal. Auschnitt, who expressed his disdain for SovRoms and for Malaxa's willingness to participate in them, had recovered some of his UDR stock. He was still prevented from reusing his villa, which was requisitioned by the Red Army in 1946.

In tandem, Auschnitt served as Vice President of a rival club, called "Friends of America". General Cortlandt V.R. Schuyler also viewed him as a trusted adviser; together, they met with Constantin Titel Petrescu of the Social Democratic Party, who reassured them that he was only allied with Groza and the PCR until a change of setting would allow him to break away. Resuming his lifestyle, Auschnitt organized a lavish party for New Year's Eve, serving crouchen and caviar to his 200 guests. These included General Schuyler and Kathleen Harriman, daughter of diplomat W. Averell Harriman. Informația Prahovei journalists commented that the event was in poor taste, at a time when Romania's children were starving; they appealed to Auschnitt's Christianity, asking him to donate more to charities.

Third trial

Auschnitt still hoped that the Potsdam Conference would push back Soviet hegemony in Romania, but reassured Schuyler that he was prepared to leave the country at a moment's notice. His offices on Câmpineanu Street was frequented by British spies Archibald Gibson and Ted Masterson, both of whom were also Freemasons; Auschnitt allegedly informed them on the state of Romania's economy. In a November 1945 interview with Mark Foster Ethridge, he spoke about the communists' zeal and incompetence as being responsible for the massive inflation. He also contended that industrial workers and peasants, wishing to be left alone, had turned virulently anti-communist. He claimed to have personally solved a labor dispute at Astra Brașov once he prevented workers from sacking the managerial staff.

Under interrogation by communist authorities, several Freemasons reported that Auschnitt and Reșița engineer Alexandru Popp, as members of the Big Finance Club, had agreed to sponsor opposition groups, including the PNȚ, in preparation for parliamentary elections in November 1946. Also to these sources, the effort was coordinated by American envoys. Alexandru Grigoriu, himself an industrialist and a Mason, noted that Auschnitt personally handled grants for Titel Petrescu and Anton Dumitriu, who had by then formed an Independent Social Democratic Party. Auschnitt reportedly approached Mihai Ralea, who served as Romanian ambassador to the US, and whom he mistakenly identified as an anti-communist, with a plan to sabotage Romania's maize production; when his offer was rejected, Auschnitt "tried to demoralize Ralea, telling him that he held information [...] that Ralea was viewed with suspicion by the Soviets."

Working as a diplomat, Gustave Pordea sensed the changing of fortunes, and opted to defect in 1947. According to historian Dinu Zamfirescu, the Pordeas were actually protected by Groza, who allowed both Gustave and Livia safe passage when their father promised to donate all his assets to the Romanian state. Gustave was sent to an "obscure post" in The Hague precisely because he could then escape, together with his "many children". Sources differ as to where his brother-in-law was living at the time. A report by the Soviet spy S. Pivovarov, issued in June 1947, claims that Auschnitt "has been in the US for over a year", and that, with Malaxa, he was attempting to channel American funding for Romania's industrial effort. Other accounts suggest that Auschnitt remained in Romania for several years, although being singled out by Groza's government as a sponsor of the anti-communist underground. As such, he was briefly detained in 1947. Schuyler finally warned him that his life was in danger, prompting Auschnitt to relocate in France at some point before August 15, 1947.