In 1943, Romania's Ministry of Finance sued Aristide Blank for the recovery of his assets, and obtained a foreclosure of his property on Berthelot Street, outside Cișmigiu. According to one report, Blank left Romania in 1941, together with members of the British Legation. However, Sebastian's accounts place him in Bucharest in 1942–1943, noting that his library was being seized by Romanian authorities on orders from Paul Sterian. In late 1942 or early 1943, Blank was included on a list of Jewish hostages, presented by the Central Jewish Office as a guarantee of its loyalism toward the Ion Antonescu regime; also featured were writers Henric Streitman and Iosif Brucăr. In early 1943, Sebastian notes, Blank was "looking for some refuge in the countryside." He finally left Bucharest in April, at the peak of Allied bombing raids, and by June was living in Butimanu.