From late 1940, Romania was ruled upon by Ion Antonescu, who proceeded to uphold antisemitic laws, originally as a partner of the Iron Guard. Unusually, Zissu managed to preserve his estate, including an eponymous restaurant, which was Bucharest's "most selective"; he was also allowed to continue working for the Sugar Trust, as a sales manager. Surviving the pogrom of January 1941, he remained a prominent but controversial figure in his persecuted community, sponsoring his increasingly hostile friend Sebastian. Sebastian described Zissu as "honest but uninteresting", and his wife as a "perfect example of a Jewish parvenue." He also found Zissu's Zionism unpalatable: "[he is] a theorist of full-blown Jewish nationalism who goes out every evening to a cinema or restaurant, two months after a pogrom." As argued by Glass, Sebastian's characterization is partial, and fails to cover the basics of Zissu's wartime activity.