The Jews in Harlau during the Holocaust

The oldest documentary sources indicate the presence of Jews in Hârlău since the 15th century. In fact, one of the personal doctors of Stephen the Great, ruler of Moldavia between 1457 - 1504, was Dr. Shmil, a Jew from Hârlău. Also, in Hârlău, there were some of the oldest glass and paper factories in Romania. They were founded in 1768 by Marcovici Hețel after receiving the consent of Prince Grigore Calimachi. Prior to that year, in 1751, there was a Jewish guild in the town.

The tax exemptions granted to the Jews of Hârlău by the rulers of Moldova turned the town into an attractive place for the Jews of Poland who settled in the town in the 17th and 18th centuries. The number of Jews increased in the 19th century, from 300 people in 1803 to 2,718 in 1899, representing 59% of the city’s population. During the interwar period, the share of Jews decreased from 2,032 in 1932 to 1,717 in 1941. A possible explanation for this demographic decline, advanced by Professor Carol Iancu, shows that some of the Jews here emigrated to America due to the drought.

The occupations of the Jews were in the fields of trade and crafts; they are owners of hotels, pubs, cinemas, bookstores, and other types of companies.

The first synagogue dates from 1814-1816. In the years between the two world wars, the Jews also set up a commercial bank, with the help of the Joint organization. The community had a ritual bath, a funeral society, an Easter factory, and a “Talmud Torah” school. In Hârlău, several Zionist organizations were active. During the interwar period, seven synagogues functioned in the city.

The formation of the Goga-Cuza government in 1938 led to the adoption of anti-Jewish legislation and the generalization of discriminatory measures against Jews. Following the decree reviewing citizenship, 201 Jews from Hârlău lost their Romanian citizenship. The repressive practices increased in intensity after the legionaries came to power, in September 1940. Several members of the Jewish community in Hârlău were taken hostage by the legionaries, being beaten and ill-treated. The revenge of the legionaries took place even in January 1941, the month in which they were removed from power, as a result of the conflict with General Ion Antonescu. Then 30 Jews were taken from their homes. The president of the local community was even killed by the legionaries. His family had an identical fate. 

In the years of World War II, the fate of the Jews was also influenced by the decisions of local authorities. Due to the intervention of Mayor Ion Agapie and some local notables, the Jews from Hârlău were not deported or evacuated from the city. However, there were exceptions: several Jewish families were evacuated to Botoșani and Iași, and other Jews were deported in September 1942 to Transnistria, where they died. As in most Moldovan cities, Jews in Hârlău were told to wear the “yellow star”.

After the end of the war, in 1947, there were 1,378 Jews in Hârlău, among them being refugees from other areas. Most emigrated to Israel during the communist years.

Carol Iancu, Hârlău, accessible online at https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Harlau 

Anca Filipovici, Hârlău, accessible online at http://www.inshr-ew.ro/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Harlau-1.pdf 

Iulia Deleanu, Alexandru Marinescu, Hârlău - singura localitate din care evreii nu au fost evacuați [Hârlău - the only locality from which the Jews were not evacuated], in Realitatea evreiască, nr. 370-371 din 1-31 octombrie 2011, p. 3. 

Matatias Carp, The Black Book. The Sufferings of the Jews from Romania 1940-1944. The Legionary Movement and the Rebellion, vol. I, București, The Socec Publishing House, 1946, passim.