The Jews in Pașcani during the Holocaust

In 1845, the presence of 85 Jews in the city is attested, also mentioned among the founders of the city. Their number increased towards the end of the 19th century. In 1899, 1,862 Jews lived in Pașcani. In the following decades, however, their number dropped to 1,543 in 1904 and then to 1,490 in 1930. In 1870, the Jewish synagogue, ritual bath, and Jewish cemetery were put into use. The occupations of the Jews were in the fields of wood and grain industries, and trade in cattle and sheep. Also, in the interwar period, most of the traders from Pașcani were Jews, having their shops in the centre of the city.

Documentary sources indicate the existence of persecution measures against Jews since the beginning of the 20th century. For example, in 1907, anti-Semitic episodes took place, with more casualties among Jews. As in other cities, although Jews were not citizens of a state with which Romania was at war, in the years of the first world conflagration, several Jews were arrested, and their shops were closed.

Romania’s entry into the Second World War meant both the generalization of restrictive measures against Jews and the transformation of terrorism into state policy. Thus, in 1941, several leaders of the Jewish community in Pașcani were taken, hostage. As mentioned in a City Hall publication of July 4th, 1941, they were to be the first to be shot if acts of treason, aggression, sabotage took place in the city. Not only the hostages were to be executed, but also those who allegedly committed them, as well as their families. At the same time, traffic restrictions were imposed on Jews. From that day on, no Jew was allowed to be on the street between 6:00 pm and 7:00 am. At the same time, only family members could be in the homes owned by Jews, and it was forbidden to host other people or visit.

In the same year, 12 Jews were deported to Transnistria, and another 240 Jews were sent to forced labour in Bessarabia, to build roads or to quarry stone in quarries in Tighina. According to documentary sources, the Jews were also sent to forced labour in Măcin, Dobrogea. Following the March 1944 bombing of the city’s railway lines, 100 Jews were killed. The following month, the Jews of Pașcani were allowed to leave the locality and take refuge in other areas. After the end of the war, 870 Jews returned to the city. Of these, most emigrated from Romania during the communist period.

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

Lucian-Zeev Herşcovici, Pașcani, accessible online at https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Pascani 

Matatias Carp, The Black Book. The Sufferings of the Jews from Romania during the Fascist Dictatorship 1940-1944. The Progrom in Iasi, vol. II-A, Bucharest, The National Publishing Graphic Arts Society, 1948, p. 163. 

Traian Chiuariu, Evreii din Pașcani. Negustorii [The Jews of Pașcani. The Merchants], accessible online at http://interbelica.xhost.ro/evrei.html 

Traian Chiuariu, Nașterea unui oraș [The Birth of a City], accessible online at http://interbelica.xhost.ro/nasterea.html