The Jews in Tulcea during the Holocaust

The settlement of the Jews in Tulcea began at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Their number increased after 1877, the year in which Tulcea became part of Romania. The main factor was the settlement of Jews from Southern Bessarabia, Odessa, and Galicia. According to the existing data, in 1883 250 Jewish families lived in Tulcea. In 1894 the number of Jews was 1,870, and in 1899 it reached 1903, representing 10% of the city’s population. In the following decades, the share of the population declined. In 1907, it dropped to 1,773 people, and in 1913 to 1,553.

The demographic decline was accentuated in the interwar period. In 1930, 802 Jews lived in the city, which meant 4% of the total population. One of the causes of this regression was the forced departure of Jews who were not born in Tulcea. The occupations of the Jews of Tulcea were in the fields of trade and crafts. The first synagogue in Tulcea was built in 1843, and in 1888 the Coral Time was put into use, which still exists today.

The Jews of Tulcea have been victims of discriminatory practices since the end of the 19th century. At that time, it was forbidden for Jews to establish themselves in the city if they were not born in the locality, and in 1896 several Jews were expelled from Tulcea, on the grounds that they were not born in the city. Some measures also aimed to prevent the exercise of the right to vote, as it happened in 1912. In that year, 90 Jews could not vote and 221 were removed from the electoral rolls. The measure was subsequently revised.

Through the law for the organization of Dobrogea of March 9th, 1880, all Ottoman citizens were granted Romanian citizenship. The application of this law was very late in the case of the Jews. Their recognition as citizens did not occur until 1923, with the adoption of a new Constitution.

In 1915, several Jewish-owned shops were destroyed on the pretext that their owners were socialists. The repressive measures increased in intensity after the legionaries came to power in September 1940, their actions being similar to those in other cities. The first targets were traders of Jewish origin, whose commercial licenses were revoked, and some of them were asked to hand over their shops. Such practices continued until the end of the legionary government in January 1941. According to existing information, confiscations continued thereafter. Existing data show that during World War II, at least 141 houses, two mills, a lumber mill, eight industrial enterprises and 3,616 hectares of land were confiscated.

Also in the year of the legionary government, the members of the movement asked the Jewish Community of Tulcea to “donate” the amount of 1 million lei. Because the community could not raise that amount, the legionaries “unleashed a series of acts of terror: [they set] <<guarding>> guards at the entrance to the Jewish shops, hung placards on the doors of these shops, on which they wrote <<Jewish shop >>”. At the same time, Jewish civil servants were fired, and teachers and freelancers were fired. At the same time, discriminatory practices were directed against Jewish students who were expelled from public schools.

In June 1941, Jewish men between the ages of 18 and 50 were sent to forced labour, and hostages were taken from among the city’s elders. Also in that year, towards the end, about 700 Jews were evacuated to Tulcea from Babadag, Sulina, Isaccea, Mahmudia, Chilia Veche, Măcin and Carcaliu. Their maintenance fell under the responsibility of the community from Tulcea. On May 11th, 1942, 10 young Jews were sent to Transnistria from Tulcea, who were placed in the Balta Forced Labour Detachment, located near Bondorovka, where they were used to cut forests and build roads. According to other information, the number of Tulcea Jews sent to Transnistria was about 120. In 1943, Tulcea City Hall reduced the daily bread ration of Jews to 150 grams / day, being reduced by half compared to the amount received by their Romanian fellow citizens. During the years of the communist regime, most Jews from Tulcea emigrated. In 2011, six more Jews lived in the city.

Carol Feldman, De unde am venit… Despre evreii din Tulcea [Where We Came From… About the Jews from Tulcea], București, Editura Hasefer, 2004, pp. 24, 27-31, 47, 63, 86-91.

Ana Bărbulescu, Tulcea, unpublished article.