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Iaşi - Jewish History of Iaşi

Iaşi - Jewish History of Iaşi: Encyclopedia II - Iaşi - Jewish History of Iaşi

Iaşi also figures prominently in Jewish history. Records of Jews exist from the 16th century, and by mid-19th century, the city was at least one-third Jewish. In 1855, it was the home of the first-ever Yiddish-language newspaper, Korot Haitim; in 1876 it was the site of what was arguably the first-ever professional Yiddish theater performance (See Abraham Goldfaden). By 1930 there were over 30,000 Jews and over 127 synagogues. After World War II, it played a prominent part in the revival of Yiddish culture in Romania: from 1949 to 1964. Iaşi was home to a second company of the State Jewish Thea ...

Iaşi: Encyclopedia II - Iaşi - Jewish History of Iaşi

Iaşi - Jewish History of Iaşi

Iaşi also figures prominently in Jewish history. Records of Jews exist from the 16th century, and by mid-19th century, the city was at least one-third Jewish. In 1855, it was the home of the first-ever Yiddish-language newspaper, Korot Haitim; in 1876 it was the site of what was arguably the first-ever professional Yiddish theater performance (See Abraham Goldfaden). By 1930 there were over 30,000 Jews and over 127 synagogues. After World War II, it played a prominent part in the revival of Yiddish culture in Romania: from 1949 to 1964. Iaşi was home to a second company of the State Jewish Theater. Today, Iaşi has a Jewish population of 600.

Iaşi - The Iaşi Pogrom

During World War II, Iaşi was the site of one of the deadliest pogroms, or anti-Jewish riots, in history. The Iaşi pogrom lasted from June 29–July 6, 1941, and approximately 14,000 people, or half the Jewish population, was massacred in either the pogrom itself (around 2,000 Jews), or in its aftermath (around 12,000 Jews), and the rest were deported. Under express orders from Ion Antonescu to cleanse the city of its Jewish population, Section Two of the General Headquarters of the Romanian army and the Special Intelligence Service (SSI) of Romania spread rumors of Jewish treachery in the press, including that Jews were guiding Russian bombers by placing lights in their chimneys[4]. A systematic pogrom by the Iaşi police, Romanian and German soldiers, and a portion of the citizens of Iaşi followed; then the remaining Jewish population of the town was loaded onto overcrowded, sealed "death trains" that drove slowly back and forth across the country until many of the passengers died of heat, thirst, or their wounds. Six non-Jewish citizens of Iaşi are credited with saving around one hundred Jews (see Righteous Among the Nations), but, according to the official Romanian report on the subject, the vast majority of the population of the town did nothing to intervene, and a small portion joined in the pogrom.