The Jews in Moinești during the Holocaust
Moinești, 1941
Documentary sources indicate the existence of Jews in Moinești in the second half of the 18th century, a period from which several tombstones were discovered. In the following century, their number increased, from 193 in 1831 to 2,398 in 1899, representing 50.6% of the local population. At the demographic level, there is a decline during the decades of the 20th century. In 1930, 1,761 Jews lived in Moinești, and in 1941 the community registered 1,325 members. That year, there were five synagogues in the city. The occupations of the Jews were in the fields of trade, crafts, and the oil industry. The Jews from Moinești were also some of the first to emigrate to Israel. Granting civil rights to Jews after 1919 allowed them to participate in political life, and some of them were elected to lead the locality.
Persecutions
After the start of the Second World War, at the behest of General Antonescu, Jews from small urban and rural localities were evacuated to the county seat cities. In 1941, the Jews from Moinești were taken en masse to Bacău. In the county capital, they were accommodated in synagogues or in schools owned by the Jewish community in Bacău. Subsequently, some of them were sent to forced labour in Bessarabia. Also, in those years, Jewish cemeteries in several localities, including those in Moinești, were desecrated and destroyed. The tombstones were used to pave roads and courtyards, and the remains removed from the graves.
At the end of the war, some of the Jews returned to Moinești. In 1947, 480 Jews lived here. Their number has diminished considerably in the following decades. Many emigrated to Israel.
Sources
Marius Cazan, Moinești, accessible online at http://www.inshr-ew.ro/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Moinesti-revazut-ND.pdf
Lucian-Zeev Herşcovici, Moinești, accessible online at https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Moinesti
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, p. 31.
Persecutions
After the start of the Second World War, at the behest of General Antonescu, Jews from small urban and rural localities were evacuated to the county seat cities. In 1941, the Jews from Moinești were taken en masse to Bacău. In the county capital, they were accommodated in synagogues or in schools owned by the Jewish community in Bacău. Subsequently, some of them were sent to forced labour in Bessarabia. Also, in those years, Jewish cemeteries in several localities, including those in Moinești, were desecrated and destroyed. The tombstones were used to pave roads and courtyards, and the remains removed from the graves.
At the end of the war, some of the Jews returned to Moinești. In 1947, 480 Jews lived here. Their number has diminished considerably in the following decades. Many emigrated to Israel.
Sources
Marius Cazan, Moinești, accessible online at http://www.inshr-ew.ro/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Moinesti-revazut-ND.pdf
Lucian-Zeev Herşcovici, Moinești, accessible online at https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Moinesti
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, p. 31.