The jews of bessarabia the holocaust period

 

 

As a rule the entrance of the Red Army in the villages and towns of Bessarabia went 

quite smoothly and it was orderly and perhaps even festive.  Young Jews, mainly 

leftists, stood out among the crowds happily welcoming the soldiers of the Red Army.  

These young people were delirious, climbed the tanks and hugged and kissed the 

soldiers.  Others from the Zionist youth movements followed them- so excited with 

these sure-footed soldiers.  The excitement generated by the soldiers engulfed many 

people.  They were craftsmen, laborers and the poor; but they were also members of 

the wealthier Jewish community who saw salvation in their new redeemers.  A well-

known community leader from Romaneshti wrote to his relatives that the Soviet regime 

freed him from a terrible fate since he had been blacklisted by the Romanians.  This 

reaction represents the feelings of many strata of the Jewish community.  They were 

happy with the coming of the soldiers and with the pronouncements of the civil 

authorities that “the new regime will bring peace and quiet to the population without 

any religious or linguistic prejudice”.  The Jews were quite hopeful for a great future. 

These expectations brought about a wave of dozens of repatriated Jews who arrived 

from the other side of the Prut River, i.e. Ragat.  The authorities were interested in 

publicizing this fact as it emphasised the human and political facets.  In the Jewish 

Soviet newspaper “The Star” there was a story about a young Jewish doctor named Jon 

Feinstein who managed to escape from Bucharest after he completed his studies.  He 

had been attacked by a group of students who were members of the Iron Guard.  When 

he reached Bessarabia he declared that he was ready to put all his knowledge and 

energy in order to serve this newly redeemed homeland. 

At first, many Jews, mainly former political prisoners and young people from 

prominent families, were integrated into the local government.  Some of them were 

appointed as heads of municipal communities: in Soroki, Edinets, Bricheva, Lipkany, 

etc.  Lower positions were occupied by local non-Jews who had been brought over 

from the eastern banks of the Dniester, especially from Ukraine.  Some of them were 

Soviet Jews and they had some contact with the local Jews.  The fact that so many Jews 

had high positions was a source of national pride and was proof for the possibilities 

available to any Jewish citizen in the Soviet Union. 

---

 

 

In essence, at the beginning, many Jews tried to rationalize events with a positive point 

of view and to ignore any difficulties with the new regime.  The First Secretary of the 

Ukrainian Communist Party, N.S. Khrushchev, announced at a large meeting in 

Kishinev, that no resident of Bessarabia would be punished for his past.  The Jewish 

Soviet poet, Itzik Feffer, also appeared in Kishinev in July and spoke along the same 

lines.  Although he disparaged the Bundists and the Zionists, he still followed the party 

line then popular in the annexed areas. 

During the “honeymoon period” there were some- in the Yiddishist or the Zionist 

camps- who encouraged a belief in the new regime.  The former felt the authorities 

had a preference for Yiddish culture while the latter tried to sense the reaction to their 

views.  However, except for one incident, there were no real results to the attempts by 

the Zionists to clarify their positions.  The members of the agricultural preparatory 

farm Masada near Balti had lengthy negotiations with representatives of the 

Communist Party and the authorities about continuing their professional activities.  In 

the end they were forced to concede and to close the farm.  They began clandestine 

operations by sneaking their members across the border to Romania.  This was the end 

of their “romance” with the authorities. 

The “honeymoon period” did not last long in other areas, such as economy, culture, 

etc.  It was discovered that although there were many Jews who were active in the 

elections for central institutions of the Republic of Moldova (January 1941), the number 

of Jews elected was smaller than their percentage in the population.  In addition, many 

veteran party faithful felt that the authorities were beginning to prefer Soviet 

functionaries in important Moldavian areas over Jews. Only a small number of Jews who 

had been political prisoners and veterans of the party were trusted by the leaders and 

they were appointed to important positions.  They were involved in publicity, 

information, etc.  One of them was named editor of a department in the newspaper 

“Socialist Moldova” and another was in charge of propaganda in the central committee 

of the party in Kishinev. 

The disappointment of many on the left and others from the rest of the population was 

speeded up by the sanctions the new regime ordered from time to time.  There was no 

visible reason for these sanctions, such as the change of passports.  It seemed as if 

---

 

 

this was an ordinary administrative order to change the Romanian identity cards of the 

population to Soviet documents.  However, it caused much unrest and fear.  Those who 

did not receive new documents were fearful, but so were those who did obtain them. In 

section 39 they were told that they could no longer reside in large cities and certain 

other areas and they were forced to move. 

Another phenomenon, that was really not well-known, but indirectly caused great 

difficulties, was the lengthy inquests.  Some people, among them those who had been 

previously active in different parties, were invited to come to the authorities.  They 

were then subjected to lengthy inquiries, with threats, mainly during the night.  They 

were asked to reveal details about their previous activities and to denounce others.  In 

spite of the fact this was a secret inquest, the details were soon well-known.  In some 

cases some people managed to evade the inquests by running away.  There were also 

several suicides. 

It is no wonder that this tragic situation brought about many rumors about forced 

denunciations.  Many people feared they would be involved as well. 

In addition to the inquests, there were also many arrests.  Those arrested were exiled 

to Siberia and other locations deep in Russia.  One of the first arrested was the Director 

of the Joint in Bessarabia, Yitzhak Milstein.  His arrest on July 7 shocked the Jewish 

world since he had been known as a loyal Soviet citizen.  A week later, on the eve of 

the 13

th

 of July, other leaders of the Zionist parties in Kishinev and other towns were 

arrested.  In addition to the Jewish prisoners, there were also Romanian politicians and 

previous holders of government positions in Romania.  There were even some people 

who had served in the gendarmerie.  Even Jews who had been active Communists in 

the past were now accused of having Trotskyite leanings.  However, the chairman of 

the Zionist Cooperative in Bessarabia, Shlomo Berland, the president of WIZO, Yehudit 

Geller, and others were not touched.  It is estimated that during the year of Soviet rule 

hundreds of Jews were arrested.  Among them were some who were crossing the 

border and others who had been accused of economic crimes.   

EXPULSIONS 

---