Final Report of the International Commission on the - Minority Rights ...

<strong>the</strong> 331,000 Ukrainian Jews counted during <strong>the</strong> census <strong>of</strong> 1939, at least 150,000 and perhaps over
200,000 were still alive in Transnistria <strong>the</strong>n, including up to more than 90,000 in <strong>the</strong> district <strong>of</strong> Odessa.
Upon entering <strong>the</strong> district capitals, <strong>the</strong> Romanian army—followed by <strong>the</strong> gendarmerie units and <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>
prefects—immediately and energetically identified all Jews for purposes <strong>of</strong> imprisonment in ghettos and
camps.
On August 4, 1941, <strong>the</strong> Fourth Army informed all military units, <strong>the</strong> gendarmerie, and <strong>the</strong> police that,
“<strong>the</strong> Jews in <strong>the</strong> towns and villages <strong>of</strong> Ukraine will be ga<strong>the</strong>red in ghettos.” This decision was made by
Antonescu, conveyed through War Headquarters, and signed by General Tataranu: “To prevent any act <strong>of</strong>
sabotage and terrorism by <strong>the</strong> Jews, we have taken <strong>the</strong> measure <strong>of</strong> imprisoning <strong>the</strong>m in ghettos and using
<strong>the</strong>m for labor.” Upon arrival in <strong>the</strong> District capitals, <strong>the</strong> prefects ordered <strong>the</strong> Jews to register with <strong>the</strong>
new authorities and move into <strong>the</strong> ghettos, abandoning <strong>the</strong>ir homes. On September 3, for instance,
Colonel Vasile Nica, prefect <strong>of</strong> Balta, gave “all kikes” three days to move to <strong>the</strong> ghetto (composed <strong>of</strong> four
streets). He imposed forced labor on all Jews between <strong>the</strong> ages <strong>of</strong> fourteen and sixty and ordered <strong>the</strong>m to
wear yellow badges: “Any kike—from <strong>the</strong> town <strong>of</strong> Balta, <strong>the</strong> county, or anywhere else—who is found in
Balta is to be sent to <strong>the</strong> ghetto. Similar ghettos will be set up in o<strong>the</strong>r towns <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> district. Any
insubordination, attempted rebellion, or terrorism by a kike will be punished with his death and that <strong>of</strong>
ano<strong>the</strong>r twenty kikes.”
Deportations and Death Marches
On September 30, 1941, <strong>the</strong> commander <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Fourth Army posed <strong>the</strong> question to <strong>the</strong> General Staff:
“What is <strong>the</strong>re to be done with <strong>the</strong> civilian Jews <strong>of</strong> Transnistria?” Antonescu’s answer was clear: “All <strong>the</strong>
Jews in Transnistria will be immediately imprisoned in <strong>the</strong> camps on <strong>the</strong> Bug established by <strong>the</strong> governor
<strong>of</strong> Transnistria….Their estates will be taken over by <strong>the</strong> local authorities.” In early October, Antonescu
ordered <strong>the</strong> deportation—which meant extermination—<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ukrainian Jews to <strong>the</strong> Bug and <strong>the</strong>
plundering <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir property. Not only Ukrainian Jews were deported to <strong>the</strong> Bug. Eichmann’s envoy,
Richter, announced to his superiors that Antonescu had decided to concentrate near <strong>the</strong> Bug 110,000 Jews
from Bessarabia and Bukovina, “in view <strong>of</strong> exterminating <strong>the</strong>m.” Their transfer and eventual execution
fell to <strong>the</strong> government <strong>of</strong> Transnistria, which had gendarmerie units and occupation troops at its disposal.
Alexianu described <strong>the</strong> operation to <strong>the</strong> Fourth Army commander on October 11:
As to <strong>the</strong> given instructions, all <strong>the</strong> Jews <strong>of</strong> Bessarabia and Bukovina are being evacuated from <strong>the</strong>se
provinces to <strong>the</strong> region west <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bug, where <strong>the</strong>y will stay this fall until—in accordance with <strong>the</strong>
agreement concluded with <strong>the</strong> German state—we are able to dump <strong>the</strong>m east <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bug. Over 15,000
Jews have entered Transnistria so far….The rest, up to <strong>the</strong> approximately 150,000 envisaged for this fall,
will arrive soon.
The Romanian authorities took no responsibility for <strong>the</strong> Jews’ subsistence, both during <strong>the</strong> deportation
and in <strong>the</strong> camps and ghettos. “The Jews will live on <strong>the</strong>ir own,” it was written. Yet, <strong>the</strong>y were to be used
for agricultural or any o<strong>the</strong>r work, and <strong>the</strong> gendarmes mercilessly shot dead any laggards.
Each convoy was first plundered by <strong>the</strong> gendarmes. Young women and girls in each convoy were
raped, particularly by <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers, who chose stops where <strong>the</strong>y could organize orgies, and gangs <strong>of</strong>
Ukrainians attacked <strong>the</strong> Jewish convoys as well—killing, looting, and sometimes even stripping hundreds
<strong>of</strong> Jews bare and leaving <strong>the</strong>m to freeze to death. The convoy commanders were not responsible for Jews’
lives, only for <strong>the</strong>ir transfer—<strong>the</strong>se Jews had no name or identity. Ukrainian volunteers (later called <strong>the</strong>
Ukrainian police) accompanied <strong>the</strong> convoys, exhibiting even greater cruelty than <strong>the</strong> gendarmes.
Unfamiliar with <strong>the</strong> area, <strong>the</strong> gendarmes relied on <strong>the</strong>se volunteers, assigning <strong>the</strong>m partial escort and