The Jews in Focșani during the Holocaust

The presence of Jews in Focșani has been attested since the middle of the 17th century. In the following centuries, the number of Jews increased, from 20 tax-paying Jews in 1820 to 6,000 in 1910. In the interwar years, however, the Jewish population declined, falling to 4,301 in 1930, and then increased slightly. In 1941, 4,953 Jews lived in Focșani, which represented 10.5% of the city’s population. Focșani went down in history as one of the first cities in which a Zionist congress took place, in 1882, attended by 59 delegates from 29 cities in Romania. The first synagogue was opened in 1827, and in 1866 the first secular Jewish primary school was opened, but closed in two years due to the reactions of Orthodox circles. It was reopened in 1874. In 1896, there were 6 synagogues in Focșani. The occupations of the Jews were in the field of trade and crafts. The number of Jewish merchants was 245 in 1910. In the interwar period, several Jews became involved in the industry, setting up textile or candle factories, banks, and even a few bicycle shops.

Anti-Semitic demonstrations have taken place in the city since the 1920s. In 1925, the trial of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, tried for the murder of the prefect of Iași, began in Focșani. On that occasion, groups of legionaries vandalized the homes of Jews, as well as the great synagogue in the town. The establishment of the national legionary regime in September 1940 had detrimental consequences for Jewish entrepreneurs in the city. Like those from other cities, several Jews from Focșani were forced to transfer their stores to members of the Legionary Movement. Those who refused risked ending up in the camps in Târgu Jiu and Caracal. In that year, various signs were inscribed on the homes of the Jews from Focșani, indicating that there was a Jewish house there.

At the same time, Jewish students in public schools were expelled, being forbidden to attend these educational institutions. To help them, the community set up its own schools, in which those expelled were enrolled. In Focșani, the Jewish High School was established in 1940. At the same time, the movement of Jews on the main streets was forbidden. Jews could only travel on the side streets, and meetings with Romanians were also forbidden. At the same time, they were forced to wear the “yellow star”. In some cases, they were the victims of humiliations from their own Romanian fellow citizens, as Livia Diaconescu, a native of Focșani, confesses in an interview.

With the entry of Romania in the Second World War, Jewish men aged between 16 and 60 were detained, 1,112 being interned in the Jewish School, the Jewish dispensary and eight buildings in the Jewish quarter. A few weeks later, most of the Jews were released, with the exception of 65 of the community leaders. They were held hostage for another few months. Later, they were replaced by other Jews. Among the hostages were the city’s rabbi and community president. In the same month, according to the orders issued by the Romanian government, the Jews from the neighbouring rural localities were evacuated to Focșani, their maintenance being ensured by the local community. At the same time, some of the Jews from Focșani were sent to forced labour, and several Jews from southern Transylvania were brought for similar jobs in the city.

In the spring of 1944, Focșani was one of the places where Jewish orphans from Transnistria were repatriated, who were placed in the care of members of the community. As the front approached Focșani, the Jews of Focșani, men, and women, aged between 15 and 55, were mobilized to dig anti-tank trenches to defend the city.

After the Second World War, about 2,000 Jewish refugees came to Focșani, their number being 6,080 in 1947. During the years of communism, most of the Jews from Focșani emigrated.

Carol Iancu, Focșani, accessible online at https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Focsani 

***, Focșani, accessible online at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/focsani 

Anca Ciuciu, Interviu cu Livia Diaconescu [Interview with Livia Diaconescu], accessible online at https://www.centropa.org/hu/node/78453#Familia%20mea 

Ștefan Borcea, Ce a mai rămas din comunitatea evreiască din Focșani [What is left of the Jewish community in Focșani], accessible online at  https://adevarul.ro/locale/focsani/foto-mai-ramas-comunitatea-evreiasca-focsani-In-1896-erau-sase-sinagogi-25-populatie-evreiasca-1_5b06b0dadf52022f755cd7fb/index.html