Edineț (Edinitz,Yedinetz, Edinet) | Edineț

Execution of Jews in Edineț

1 Killing site(s)

Kind of place before:

Jewish cemetery

Memorials:

Yes

Period of occupation:

1941-1944

Number of victims:

537

Witness interview

Maria, born in 1934: "As soon as the Romanians and the Germans came into the village, they gathered all the Jews at a place fenced by three rows of barbered wire. Today, there is a market at this location. The Romanians entered directly into the houses and took them out by force. Several times I went into this camp with my grandmother to bring some food for the Jews. We gave it to Romanian guards who, after having chosen the best for themselves, gave the rest to the Jews. There were women, men, children and the elderly. " (Eyewitness N°77, interviewed in Edineț, on May 11, 2013)

Soviet archives

"A camp had been established 500m away north-west of Edinet, near the road Ratunda, where the Soviet citizens of Jewish origins native to Briceni, Sculeni, Lipcani and Edinet districts were gathered. 479 people died from hunger and different services they were subjected to. They were buried at different places near the camp. Moreover, from the first days of occupation, in July 1941, Romanian forces executed 537 Soviet citizens of Jewish nationality from Edinet. As there were no dug pits, the remains were not possible to localize. All the victims were buried on the territory of the Jewish cemetery and all around Edinet." [Act of the Soviet extraordinary commission drawn up on December 19, 1944; RG-22.002M.7021-96]

Historical note

The town is located 201 km north of the national capital, Chișinău. In 1812, eastern part of Moldavia was annexed by the Russian Empire. After proclaimed ndependence in January 1918 as Moldavian Democratic Republic, in April 1918, Bessarabia united with Romania. According to the census of 1930, about 4.000 Jews lived in all district of Edineț, which represented about 90% of entire population. In 1940, Bessarabia was occupied by the Soviet Union. The Romanian army came on July 5, 1941.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

The humilations, rapes, murders and robberies were carried out by Romanian army and local population. During the first two weeks the Romanian soldiers killed about 1,000 Jews out of 5,000 leaving in the town. A lot of Jews, their number is diffucult to define, escaped but they were killed afterwards. Moreover, a lot of Jews died from hunger, diseases and inhuman conditions during the deportation to Transnistria. There was a transit camp which started to function at the end of August 1941.

Jewishgen

Other links

• Go to the Bukovina Jewish Heritage website

Nearby villages

• Hîncăuţi
• Cepeleuţi

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