Rădoaia | Sîngerei

/ Dumitru P., born in 1928: “I was in the field when I saw the Jews from Rădoaia being shot by Romanian soldiers and some villagers on the outskirts of the village.” © Markel Redondo - Yahad - In Unum Father Patrick Desbois and YIU’s team during the interview with Dumitru P., born in 1928 in Rădoaia. © Markel Redondo - Yahad - In Unum Dumitru P., born in 1928: “Among the victims, I saw the Dudel family and my friend, Gioma”. © Markel Redondo - Yahad - In Unum Mass grave of Jews from Rădoaia killed by Romanian soldiers on the 18-20 July, 1941. © Markel Redondo - Yahad - In Unum

Executions of the Jew of Rădoaia

1 Execution site(s)

Kind of place before:
Field
Memorials:
No
Period of occupation:
1941-1944
Number of victims:
52

Witness interview

Dumitru P., born in 1928: “Before the war, there were quite a lot of Jews living in Rădoaia. I remember our neighbor, Mr. Dudel and his children. His son, Gioma, was a friend of mine. Mr. Dudel owned a shop, as did the majority of the Jews in the village who were merchants. They would sell everything we needed: fruit, vegetables, textiles and many other things. I lost my father at the age of three. I lived alone with my mother. I remember Jewish traders giving me sweets while we were grocery shopping in their stores (…)”. (Witness N°64, interviewed in Rădoaia, on December 5th 2012)

Soviet archives

"According to the Soviet archives, on the July 18-20, 1941, 52 Jews (men, women and children) were either shot or buried alive in three mass graves located in the village of Rădoaia, or very near to said village: 1st mass grave is located near the cemetery (5 victims), 2nd mass grave near the river located south-east from the village (4 victims) and the 3rd mass grave is located about 2km south-east from the village (43 victims). The victims were killed by Romanian soldiers under the command of Romanian officers." [GARF 7021-96-?]

Historical note

Rădoaia is a village in Sîngerei District located in the north of Moldova. Very little is known about the Jewish community of Rădoaia. Thanks to the interviews conducted in Rădoaia during the investigation, YIU managed to establish that Jews from the village were mainly merchants. Jewish and non-Jewish children went to the same school.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

According to the Soviet archives, Romanian soldiers arrived in Rădoaia in July 1941. Between the 18th and 20th of July, they conducted several shootings of local Jews under the command of a Romanian officer. Fifty two local Jews were shot or buried alive in three mass graves located in different parts of the village. Before being killed, the victims were forced to undress. According to YIU’s witness, Dumitru P., born in 1928, some villagers took part in the shootings.

Nearby villages

To support the work of Yahad-in Unum please consider making a donation

Do you have additional information regarding a village that you would like to share with Yahad ?

Please contact us at contact@yahadinunum.org
or by calling Yahad – In Unum at +33 (0) 1 53 20 13 17