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Excerpts from “Shattered! 50 Years of Silence, History and Voices of the Tragedy in Romania and Transnistria”


Dr. Felicia (Steigman) Carmelly

I am a survivor of the Romanian Holocaust, more specifically of the obscure chapter of the genocide in Transnistria. Except for sharing my memories of that part of my life with my family, I have kept them to myself until 1994.

At that time, my husband had purchased the book Jagendorf's Foundry, A Memoir Of The Romanian Holocaust, 1941-1944. After reading it, he placed it in our library without mentioning it to me. One day, while I was dusting and rearranging our bookshelves, this book suddenly fell on the floor. I picked it up and sat mesmerized for three days reading it.

The book describes a foundry in Moghilev, Transnistria, where, similar to the movie "Schindler's List", thousands of Jews were saved by the initiative and ingenuity of one individual.

Mr. Jagendorf, an engineer from Chernovitz, obtained permission from the Romanian authorities to set up a workshop in an old bombed-out building. He proposed to use this shop to repair the city's war-shattered electrical system and its ironworks. The foundry was meant to provide work and save the lives of hundreds of Jewish deportees from Romania.

Under those dramatic circumstances, Jagendorf's accomplishments were even more significant than Schindler's. For, while the latter was a somewhat prominent Nazi, Jagendorf was one of the deportees designated for annihilation by Antonescu's Fascist regime. Through skilful negotiations and bribes, Jagendorf also succeeded in obtaining permission for the families of the foundry workers to remain in the city, while many others were herded further east. His dealings with the German and Romanian Administrations led to a rather controversial perception of him.

Prior to reading that book, I deliberately avoided Holocaust literature, rationalizing that I am burdened enough by my own memories and do not want to be exposed to other survivors' experiences. I felt that I did not have the emotional resources to deal with my past and, at the same time build a 'normal' family life and pursue a career. However, in Jagendorf's Foundry I found many familiar names from my childhood days in Vatra Dornei as well as from the concentration camp in Shargorod, Transnistria, which prompted a confrontation of the memories I tried to suppress.

Some time later, when I was able to talk about my past experiences with friends, I realized that most of them were unaware of the tragedies that have happened during the war in Romania and Transnistria. This realization, combined with a reassessment of my own life, a process that many people embark on in their later years, drove me into a state of intense sadness. In order to counteract that, I began a relentless research on the genocide in Romania and Transnistria, of which I had only a vague understanding based on the perceptions I had as a child.

I became obsessed with coming to terms with that part of my life. It was a frightening undertaking. The fears and the pain from the past resurfaced and had to be confronted. This process required a great deal of emotional energy, but I was determined to finally face it. It was important for me to realize the difference between 'living in the past,' which is, of course, unhealthy and 'remembering the past', which is essential.

Having taken this path, I wrote an article titled "Transnistria, the Forgotten Cemetery" which appeared in The Canadian Jewish News on June 23, 1994.

Fatefully, three days before the article was published, I fell off a ladder and severely tore the ligaments in one knee. This accident left me temporarily handicapped, and I feared that I would be isolated in my house for the rest of the summer. However, the publication of the above-mentioned article suddenly brought the world right into my home. I received a myriad of phone calls from survivors of the Holocaust in Romania and Transnistria living all over Canada, the United Stated, Europe and Israel. Without exception, all callers talked about how glad they were to see Transnistria mentioned in the English press 'for the first time'. Some of the callers were not even readers of The Canadian Jewish News, but had received copies of the article from relatives or friends in Canada and responded immediately. All were distressed by the lack of public awareness about the annihilation of half of Romanian Jewry. The fact that this chapter of the Holocaust was consistently absent in literature and seldom, if ever, mentioned at commemorative events was an additional source of pain for us, its survivors.

Within a short period of time, I established telephone contacts, correspondence and reciprocal visits with survivors from Canada, the United States, Israel, Europe and as far away as Japan and Australia.

In July 1994, I founded The Transnistria Survivors’ Association, and in October 1994, we held The First North American Commemoration of the Victims of Transnistria. This event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Citizenship, the Consulate of Israel, the Canadian Jewish Congress, B'nai Brith, the Holocaust Education and Memorial Centre, and other distinguished community leaders. I felt saddened that prior to that commemoration, only one of the officials invited had ever heard of Transnistria. Representatives of the Romanian government were invited, but they declined. At that time it was not 'politically correct' for them to attend. This remembrance meeting had a particularly emotional and bonding effect on the group of survivors present. Many were crying when the cantors led the gathering into the Kaddish and other commemorative prayers. This first-time official public recognition of Transnistria had a truly cathartic effect.

The ensuing articles in The Canadian Jewish News, The Toronto Star, and Romanian magazines in Israel and Toronto promoted a sense of recognition and validation of our traumatic experiences and our losses. It was the first step in promoting public awareness about that part of Jewish and world history.

In my search for publications about wartime Romania and Transnistria, I discovered excellent reference material, but it is highly unlikely that the average reader would have access to such material, or would even be aware of its existence. Although I found some personal testimonies on the subject, they were in Romanian, Hebrew, Yiddish, Spanish and German.

I realized that this chapter of the Holocaust had to be rescued from the existing obscurity. The gap in English-language Holocaust literature had to be closed. I began a series of lectures to adults and students, mostly within The Holocaust Education and Memorial Centre of Toronto, however, I could not refer them to any reading material in English. As I became increasingly aware of the fact that we are the last generation who can speak and write about that tragedy from an eyewitness perspective, publishing a book on this topic has become a rather urgent task. I felt that if we dare to forget, the world might be influenced by those who dare to deny the horrors of the Holocaust. This is how the idea of publishing the book Shattered! 50 Years of Silence, History and Voices of the Tragedy in Romania and Transnistria came about.

I started the planning of the book in late 1994, and gradually this project took over my entire life. After a relentless effort, the book was published in 1997, and I felt that, finally, the victims of the Holocaust in Romania have a memorial. This volume also has a healing effect on the psyche of the survivors of this shattered world. It helps bridge the gap between the survivors who did not talk about their experiences, and their children and grandchildren, whose mother tongue is English.

This book is not meant to be a scholarly document, but rather a volume of general interest for young and old alike. It briefly describes the history of the Jewish community in Romania from World War I to the present, providing maps and never before published official documents.

The selected personal testimonies tell of the experiences of both men and women who were born in different geographic areas of Romania and the Ukraine. They come from various Jewish religious backgrounds and, for the most part, they were detained in different camps of Transnistria, or had direct contact with children rescued from Transnistria. This varied demographic background provides the reader with specific details of how individual contributors coped with life during those times. Although some of the testimonies had to be translated and all had to be edited, this has been done keeping in mind the individual style of each of the contributors.

All Transnistria survivors hope that Shattered! 50 Years of Silence, History and Voices of the Tragedy in Romania and Transnistria will enable the recollections of this tragic chapter in our history to transcend from the level of individual memories to the collective consciousness of the Jewish people and of the entire world community.

Romania is an eastern European country. Before World War II, Romania was bordered by Czechoslovakia and Poland to the north; the River Dniester and the Black Sea to the north- east were the border with the former Soviet Union; the River Danube divided it from Bulgaria to the south; and at its western border were Yugoslavia and Hungary.

A large segment of the Carpathian Mountain Range runs from the northeast to the southern part of the country, where it curves westward. Romania is a picturesque country, and it was rich in natural resources.

The pre-World War II territory of Romania was 113,918 square miles, and, according to the census of 1930, it had a population of 18,057,208. Of this number, 800,000 to 850,000 were Jews.

Romania's Jewish population was the third largest in Europe, after Russia and Poland. Other large minority groups were Hungarians, Germans, Bulgarian, and Ukrainians.

Romania was divided into counties: Muntenia, Moldova, Oltenia, Banat, Transylvania, Maramuresh, Dobrojea, Bessarabia and Bucovina. The capital of Romania was and remains the beautiful city of Bucharest, referred to, before the war, as the Little Paris. Some of the counties were being run by Prefects; the affairs of the cities were run by Mayors.

In addition to other sources, this section, as well as that of Anti-Jewish Decrees and Pogroms are drawn mostly from I. C. Butnaru's The Silent Holocaust-Romania and its Jews.

In 1241, took place the great Mongol invasion in the area, and some two centuries later the two principalities of Wallachia [Vallahia], presently Muntenia, and Moldova had to contend with the emergent power of The Ottoman Empire. The fight for independence from the many Turkish invasions lasted for about five centuries, although the autonomy of the principalities was recognized in treaties concluded at various times with Hungary, Poland, Austria and the Porte. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, their status as autonomous units of the Ottoman Empire was also recognized in various Austro-Ottoman and Russo- Ottoman treaties.

In 1856, the Conference of Paris recognized not only their right to independence, but also their right to unite. The principalities were united in 1859, and, in 1878, they became known as Romania. During that same year, Dobrojea also became a county of Romania. In 1878, The Congress of Berlin recognized Romania's full independence.

However, "Romanian oppression of its Jews was quite well known, and the Congress made the granting of civil rights to Romanian Jews a condition of this recognition. Despite this condition, relatively few Jews actually received Romanian citizenship."2 The long yoke of the Turks had a devastating effect on the psyche of the Romanian people, who had yearned for a feeling of freedom and national pride.

In order to comprehend the tragedy of Romanian Jewry between 1940 and 1944, it is important to mention the complex political, historical and socio-economic dynamics, which operated in the country prior to World War I. These dynamics constituted significant contributing factors to the destruction of half of Romania's Jewry.

As an ally of the Western Powers, Romania emerged from World War I with the annexation of additional territories; Transylvania, Bucovina, and Bessarabia became counties of Romania. This annexation doubled the country's territory as well as its population. Greater Romania was thus established, and Romanians experienced a strong surge in their national pride.

Minority groups, comprising roughly 20% of the population, were considered "foreigners" and were generally treated with disdain. However, the emerging chauvinistic nationalism impacted less on the Hungarian, German, and Bulgarian minorities because they were ultimately protected by their mother countries. The wrath of the accumulated hostility both from century- long religious accusations of deicide, as well as the resentment from the yoke of the Turks, fell on the Jews, who had no mother country to protect them. Moreover, the social position of many Romanian Jew - merchants, professionals and craftsmen - made them a target for envy and hatred by a gentile population largely plagued by poverty and ignorance.

There was an unequal distribution of Jews in Romania. The national average was approximately 4%, but in Transylvania it was 5%, and in Moldova (including Bessarabia and Bucovina) it was closer to 11%. Consequently, anti-Semitism was highest in Moldova. Extreme anti-Semitic movements, like the LANC, later PNC, and the Legion were founded in Iasi [Iashi], the main city in Moldova. Bessarabia (a region of Moldova annexed by Russia in 1812) also had a legacy of violent anti-Semitism. The 1903 pogrom began in Kishinev, and this is also where the Protocols were first published.

After 1918, Romania's Jewish population more than doubled. Some of these newcomers were not well disposed toward the new state. Most of the Jews of Transylvania spoke Hungarian and regarded themselves as Hungarians of Mosaic faith. They also shared the Hungarians' superiority complex vis-a-vis the Romanians. Therefore, after Moldova, Transylvania was the most fertile ground for the anti-Semitic activities of the Legionnaires.

Following World War I, there was intense fragmentation and volatility in Romania's political life. Finally, two large political parties emerged in Greater Romania. The National Liberal Party was formed in 1926 and was led, until 1927, by I. C. Bratianu . He was followed by his brother Vintila, then by I. G. Duca, and finally, by Ion Bratianu's third son -- Constantin ('Dinu') Bratianu. Splinter groups were led by Gh.Tatarescu and Ion Bratianu's fourth son, Gheorghe. The National Peasant Party was led by Iuliu Maniu. Together these two parties represented the majority of the votes in the country. A few smaller political parties also attracted votes, some of them relying on extremist, nationalistic, chauvinistic and anti-Jewish platforms. Their leaders were A. C. Cuza, Octavian Goga, and Corneliu Zelea Codreanu. The latter headed the Fascist Iron Guard, also called the Legionnaire Movement. In 1927, there was an organization called the Legion of the Archangel Michael. That Legion was banned several times (1931, 1933, 1938) and was reorganized under various guises: the C. Z. Codreanu group, the Iron Guard, and The All-for-the Fatherland Party. The Iron Guard became a major agent in the destruction of Romanian Jewry.

In 1930, King Carol II occupied the throne of Romania. He precipitated the disintegration of some of the political parties and governed through his confidants. However, in 1937, these confidants failed to secure the forty percent of the votes required to form a new government. Consequently, in February 1938, King Carol II established a monarchic dictatorship. He inaugurated a long unfortunate period of three consecutive dictatorships in the history of Romania: the Monarchic dictatorship, the Military-Fascist dictatorship (under Ion Antonescu); and the Communist dictatorship (under Gheorghiu Dej and later Nicolae Ceausescu).

The cruelty and the "dedication" with which a significant segment of the Romanian army, aided by many "obliging" civilians, carried out the destruction of a large part of Romanian Jewry was unequalled even within Axis' Europe. Their savagery was fuelled by deep-rooted, century-long anti-Semitism. At the outbreak of World War II, with he country economically and politically subjugated by Nazi Germany, and with the passing of an ever-expanding racist legislation, the hatred toward Jews steeply intensified and took on a more systemic thrust.

Unlike Nazi Germany, which targeted for annihilation the Jewish population of an entire continent, Romania's Fascist regime was concerned with "solving the Jewish Problem" only within its own borders. Whereas the Third Reich prepared, and conducted each stage of the "Final Solution" plan with scientific and administrative precision, the Romanian approach was less organized and less methodical. However, whatever the Romanian perpetrators lacked in planning and technical means, they made up with fervour and determination in their brutality.

"There were cases when even the hardened German Nazis intervened to stop the slaughter perpetrated by Romanians, as such methods were too offensive to their sense of discipline."1

Reporting on the Iasi pogrom of 1941, the Italian journalist, Curzio Malaparte, describes the following exchange between Hans Frank, the Nazi-appointed Governor General of Poland, and his subordinate, Fischer, the Governor of Warsaw:

"The Romanian people are not a civilized people," said Frank contemptuously.

"That's right, they have no culture," said Fischer, scratching his head.

"When it is necessary, only when it is necessary", Frank repeated emphasizing every syllable, "we use surgery, not butchery. Has anyone ever seen a massacre of Jews in the streets of a German town?"

"It's a question of method and organization", said Fischer.2

Exact figures concerning the Jewish population of pre-war Romania are not available. The census of 1930 lists 759,000 Jews. During the period preceding, and immediately following the outbreak of World War II, there was a significant influx of Jewish refugees from neighbouring countries into Romania. That inflow brought the Jewish population up to approximately 850,000. Only about 400,000 survived after the war. These were mainly Jews living in counties where there were no mass deportations.

During the fall and winter of 1941, almost half of Romania's Jewish population was deported to Transnistria, a stretch of land in south-western Ukraine. Only about 54,000 of the original deportees survived that ordeal. The thriving cultural and religious life of many communities, and their energetic Jewish institutions were destroyed. Furthermore, the potential contribution by those who perished to the development of the country and of the world community vanished.

Since the manner of annihilation chosen by Romanian authorities was rather disorganized and haphazard, the precise number of victims who perished during the many pogroms, on the Iasi Death Train, or of those who died at various "labour projects" and camps within Romania or in Transnistria, will never be known. Raul Hilberg mentions 270,000 dead. Estimates of other historians reach as high as 400,000.

Of the 150,000 Jews living in northern Transylvania (a Romanian region ceded to Hungary in August, 1940), 105,000 were murdered, mostly following their deportation to death camps in Germany and German-occupied Poland by the Hungarian Fascists.

Various sources estimate that of the 300,000 native Ukrainian Jews, living prior to the war within the territory dubbed Transnistria, between 150,000 and 200,000 perished.

"Today Transnistria is an historic phantom, having vanished without a trace. But in Jewish history it is inscribed in blood and tears; it will never be forgotten. Transnistria spells horror --horror that defies description; savage revolting acts of cruelty and bestiality; ... in which one group of men torture, rob, and destroy their helpless victims in cold blood. Transnistria symbolizes genocide."3

During the last five decades Romania's governments did not assume responsibility for the annihilation of about half of its Jewry. That chapter in the country's history was constantly ignored. Some Romanian politicians, historians, and writers are currently trying to whitewash the atrocities inflicted on the Jews by altering, or even entirely denying certain historical facts. Thus, they attribute the wartime abominations to a fringe of the population. In fact, anti-Semitism was a widespread historical phenomenon in Romania. The sad truth is that, during the Holocaust, some Romanians of all socio-economic strata -- professors, students, professionals, merchants, blue-collar workers, or peasants -- became willing and active participants in the persecution and killing of Jews.

There were, of course, even under those circumstances, some Romanians who did maintain their decency. There were national leaders who distanced themselves from the anti-Semitic official policies; there were ordinary citizens who hid their Jewish neighbours, or warned their Jewish friends about upcoming pogroms and deportations. Many of those have been acknowledged as "Righteous Among the Nations" by the Yad Vashem Institute in Israel.4 Those dignified individuals deserve our deepest respect and our heartfelt gratitude for their acts of human decency in a world gone mad. Many others remain known only to those whose lives they saved by risking their own.

The denial practiced in Romania came to an end in May 1997, just a few months after the publication of this book. At that time, the President of Romania, Mr. Emil Constantinescu, finally acknowledged the role Romania had played in the destruction of about one half of its Jews. (The chapter "The Current Situation in Romania" is presenting the text of the above-mentioned declaration, as well as additional information about the socio-political environment in present-day Romania).

Unfortunately, Mr. Constantinescu's attempts to involve the country in the coming to terms with its past and further the democratic process is not yet shared by the majority of Romanian citizens. In November 2000, Emil Constantinescu, decided to withdraw from political life before the new elections, and a new wave of nationalism and radicalism resurfaced in the country.

The current political leadership of Germany, Hungary, Austria, Ukraine, Poland and many other countries did apologize for the participation of their countrymen in the attempted annihilation of European Jewry, during World War II. In 1996, Germany proclaimed January 27, the day of liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, as The Annual National Day of Commemoration for the Victims of Nazism.

"There is also an encouraging change to be noticed in the attitude of the Catholic Church: "The Polish Catholic Church has designated January 17 as an annual 'Day of Judaism' in Polish churches. The day will be dedicated to interfaith dialogue and to teaching Polish Catholics about Judaism. The initiative, slated to involve Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the country, follows the example of The Italian Catholic Church which, several years ago, declared January 17 an annual 'Day of Judaism' in Italy."5

Other countries, which recognize the danger of intolerance and prejudice, promote recognition of the calamity of the Holocaust on a national basis, in the hope that such tragedies will never be repeated.

Britain observed its first national Holocaust Memorial Day last Sunday (January 28, 2001) with ceremonies across the country and a service in London that also honoured victims of other 20th-century genocides... The guest list for a special service at Westminster Central Hall in London included Prince Charles, Prime Minister Tony Blair, the archbishops of Canterbury and Westminster and the Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks... It (the ceremony) came on the 56th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, which is commemorated around Europe...

Germany's commemorative events took place at the site of the planned national Holocaust memorial, close to the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate, in the heart of Berlin...

...Italy held its first Holocaust Memorial Day with a ceremony in Milan organized by Italian Unions, and a moment of silence was planned during the evening soccer game. Padua, in northern Italy, honoured Giorgio Perlasca, a butcher credited with having saved more than 5,000 Italian Jews by pretending to be a Spanish diplomat. Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi acknowledged Italy's blame in the Holocaust, calling Benito Mussolini's racial laws a betrayal of the country's founding principles...

...In Sweden Prime Minister Goeran Persson attended a ceremony at a Stockholm synagogue6
Finland announced that next year it would begin observing an annual Holocaust memorial day on January 27."7

Although there are democratic forces in present day Romania, the country had not yet come to terms with its role in the destruction of half of its Jewish population and thousands of Roma.

The Holocaust was not just an attack on Jews. It was an attack on humanity as a whole. Fifty-seven years after this horrific chapter in human history, we watch on our television screens innocent people being slaughtered in Rwanda, Algeria, Indonesia, Kurdistan, and the "ethnic cleansing" in former Yugoslavia. It seems that the world has not yet assimilated the lesson of the Holocaust. This history must not be allowed to repeat itself, not for us Jews, nor for any other people! When World War II was over, eleven million civilians had died. Among them, six million Jews had been annihilated for no other reason than the fact that they were Jews. Much work remains to be done in the area of educating the young generation about the tragic consequences of racial, religious and any other kind of prejudice and discrimination.

Heinrich Himmler, the chief of the infamous SS, felt elated and proud of this "accomplishment". Commenting on the success of the Final Solution he stated: "It is a glorious stage in our history, but it will never be recorded!"


Psychological Implications for Survivors
Politically, the Holocaust ended 55 years ago, but it continues to fester in the hearts and the minds of its survivors. Many survivors of Transnistria continue to be reluctant to talk to their children and grandchildren about their experiences. This is partly because of the pain such memories revive, and partly because our religious and lay leadership, the media, and survivors from other camps are still unfamiliar with their tragedy and have a distorted perception of the Holocaust in Romania. Consequently, during events commemorating the Holocaust, Transnistria is still only seldom mentioned.

Holocaust survivors have lived through experiences so terrifying and so life-threatening that they carry deep psychological scars. They have been deprived of all human rights, their homes, jobs, properties, and personal dignity. They watched helplessly as their loved ones died a slow, agonizing death. The psychological effects of such traumatic experiences are carried with them throughout their lives.

In order to continue living with their unbearable and overwhelming memories, they had to suppress their feelings of rage, panic, anxiety, anger, guilt, and sadness. They had to harden themselves to cope with the losses and they are continually mourning not only the loss of their loved ones, but also the loss of those they never had a chance to know and to love.

The combination of the long-term trauma and the suppression of feelings caused a dysfunction from which all survivors suffer to one degree or another. This dysfunction is also present in other victims of long-term trauma, such as prisoners of war or populations living for long periods of time under enemy occupation. In modern psychological terms it is known as "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder".

Some of the ways in which the symptoms of P.T.S.D are manifested in their daily life are:

They are more sensitive than others, as their self-esteem and self- image were damaged;
They suffer from survivors' guilt, which is manifested through chronic depression, anxiety, and panic attacks;
They suffer from persecutory nightmares and bouts of paranoia;
Some are unable to verbalize their feelings related to their traumatic experiences, while others incessantly regurgitate them;
Many are unable to fully enjoy happy events in their lives, since in the back of their mind the terrible memories are constantly lurking.
These symptoms also have a negative effect on physical health, as there is a direct relationship between physical and psychological well-being.

Even though many survivors became successful in their post-camp lives, deep down in their psyche, there is a lot of turbulence, which they learned to cover up.

In the case of survivors from the Holocaust in Romania and Transnistria there is an additional component, which is psychologically damaging. That is the fact that so few people know about and acknowledge their tragedies for the enormity they really were. They feel that their trauma is being minimized and trivialized, not only by society at large, but also by their own Jewish communities.

Nevertheless, for the most part, the survivors have rebuilt their families and integrated into their communities. Their hope in a better future for their children and for the entire world is expressed in their creative participation in and contribution to all fields of endeavour where they have settled after the war.

Shattered! 50 Years of Silence, History and Voices of the Tragedy in Romania and Transnistria, is indeed meant to be a record of that "glorious stage" in history. It is my solemn pledge to spare no effort in keeping this memory alive, as our very humanity depends on it. "Do not forget!" is the legacy that the victims and the survivors of that calamity require, demand, and deserve.

Dr. Felicia (Steigman) Carmelly

[1]. Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews, p.486

[2]. I. C. Butnaru, The Silent Holocaust -- and its Jews, p.98.

[3]. Julius Fischer, Transnistria, The Forgotten Cemetery, p. 9.

[4]. A national Israeli centre based in Jerusalem, dedicated to perpetuate the memory of the martyrs and heroes of the Holocaust. It is also the most important establishment for research, documentation and Holocaust education in the world.

[5]. The Canadian Jewish News, December, 11, 1997.

[6]. The Canadian Jewish News, February 1, 2001

[7]. The Canadian Jewish News, February 22, 2001


This volume is dedicated

To the memory

Of the innocent Victims and

To the Survivors of the Holocaust

In Romania and Transnistria

This four times award-winning book has been researched and compiled from historical documents and original eyewitness accounts in English, German, Hebrew, Romanian, Russian and Yiddish. Copies of the book can be obtained by contacting the author

Felicia Carmelly, 1073 Spadina Rd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5N 2M7