[Continuation
--4]
Some Romanian officers and
soldiers helped and saved from death deported Jews to
Transnistria.
This is the case of lieutenant
Ioan D. Popescu, police officer in the city Tiraspol, who
in the evening of August the 18th 1941 received from the
colonel the order to kill with machine guns about 4,300
Jews gathered in the barracks.
The lieutenant refused, risking
his life, to execute this diabolical order, and so, the
life of these innocents was saved.
1)
The mayor Orasanu from the
gendarme legion Moghilev, being informed about the
desperate situation of the Jews confined in the camp at
Capusterna (in cattle stables and pigsties which belonged
to a state farm), went personally to the site, dissolved
the camp, and housed the Jews at local Ukrainian
peasants, saving the life of the 347 Jews.
After numerous interventions and
persistence, especially by the Queen Mother Elena, and by
other Romanian personalities, the Antonescu government
accepted that assistance should be sent to the Jews
deported to Transnistria.
Thus, under the direct
leadership of Dr. Alexandru Safran, Chief Rabbi of
Romania, together with other personalities, an important
aiding action was organized.
In spite of all difficulties
encountered, collective and individual aids in money,
food, medicine, clothes, footwear, etc. were sent to
Transnistria.
These aids brought the deported
Jews relief from their suffering and in many cases saved
human lives.
Thousands of orphans remained in
Transnistria on the roads, hungry, naked, and doomed to
death. Due to the aids sent from Romania, the possibility
occurred to organize some orphanages, where a part of
these children were gathered and saved from
death.
The aids in money, from Jews who
remained in the country, were sent to Transnistria,
through different Christian inhabitants, citizens of
high humanity, who risked their life and liberty, to help
the suffering Jews in Transnistria.
This is for instance the case of
second-lieutenant Vlad Beiu, and sergeant Petru Moraru,
who after returning to Dorohoi were denounced, tried and
convicted.
Also from Dorohoi has to be
mentioned the lawyer Panait Panaitescu, who as officer in
reserve, brought money and medicine to the Jews from
Moghilev, being backed in all his activity by the teacher
Nae Nemteanu.
Colonel Alex Marino came by his
own initiative, into the ghetto Moghilev, where he
distributed to known and even unknown Jews, a big amount
of money, from his own pocket, and such cases were
numerous.
In the second half of the year
1943, the Antonescu government, getting aware, that the
war is lost, began negotiating with the leadership of the
Jewish Center of Romania, and with other Jewish leaders,
to bring back some categories of deported
Jews.
As a result of these difficult
negotiations, at the end of the year 1943 and the
beginning of 1944, the surviving Jews from Dorohoi were
brought back, (over 6,000 persons), also about 1,850
orphans, and several thousands from the Old Kingdom,
totally about 10,000-12,000 persons.
The rest of about 50.000
survivors who remained in Transnistria were liberated
after the 20th of March 1944 by the soviet troupes, and
returned home under the hard conditions of the front, in
the followings months.
How many Jews (from the
former Greater Romania) disappeared in
Transnistria?
According to a report drawn up
at the beginning of September 1943, by the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, based on the registering made by the
General Inspectorate of Gendarmerie, (in districts and
localities), in Transnistria 50,741 Jews (from them
13.980 Basarabian and 36,761 Bucovinian) remained alive.
2)
The census of colonel Radulescu
shows 61,000 survivors. On the other side, Dr. W.
Filderman indicates about 70,000 survivors and I.
Stanculescu's report, 75,000 surviving Jews.
3)
So it can be estimated that
about 60-70.000 Jews survived at the end of
1943.
It results that from the
total number of 150,000 deportees, about 80-90,000 Jews
were exterminated in Transnistria.
This number contains also the
Jews who were killed or died en route, which amounts at
least 5,000 victims.
The extermination rate of the
deported Jews was about 54-60%.
The highest rate of
extermination was registered with the Basarabian Jews,
(about 90%), followed by the Jews from Dorohoi (nearly
50%). Bucovinian Jews lost was between 35-40%.
1)
See, Ilisei Ilie, Popescu D. Ioan: "The Dossiers of
Pain and Suffering"
Editorial Group Musatinii, New Bucovina, 1999.
2)
See, M. Carp: "The Black Book," vol. 3, pp.
455-458, Diogene Publishing House, 1996.
3)
See, M. Carp: "The Black Book," vol. 3, p. 511,
Diogene Publishing House, 1996.
