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

“During <strong>the</strong> day we work at <strong>the</strong> kolkhoz, but at night we patrol <strong>the</strong> precinct; <strong>the</strong>y give us very little
food: 300 grams <strong>of</strong> [corn] flour, 500 grams <strong>of</strong> potatoes and 10 grams <strong>of</strong> salt per person, without any o<strong>the</strong>r
kind <strong>of</strong> food; we haven’t been given oil for 8 months.”
At <strong>the</strong> same time, authorities <strong>of</strong>ten criticized <strong>the</strong> fact that Roma tried to avoid work when it was
available. According to <strong>the</strong> documents, <strong>the</strong> Roma preferred to travel around <strong>the</strong> villages and beg. In order
to procure food, some Roma started to steal; <strong>the</strong>re were Roma gangs <strong>of</strong> thieves. These deportees
terrorized <strong>the</strong> Ukrainian population with <strong>the</strong>ir criminal activity and caused difficulties for <strong>the</strong> Romanian
authorities. At <strong>the</strong> same time, <strong>the</strong> Roma had a tendency to flee from <strong>the</strong> “colonies” on <strong>the</strong> Bug. Ei<strong>the</strong>r
individually or in groups, <strong>the</strong>y attempted to return to Romania by any means possible. However, <strong>the</strong>
runaways were usually caught and brought back. The authorities in Transnistria discovered that it was
impossible to put a stop to this. Punishment camps were planned for such situations, but were never
realized. Only in fall 1943, when <strong>the</strong> exodus <strong>of</strong> Roma had grown considerably and <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> those
who had fled and been caught exceeded 2,000, was <strong>the</strong> measure taken to create such a camp in Golta,
where 475 Roma were interned.
The situation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Roma varied from county to county, district to district, and even farm to farm. It
depended on many factors, including <strong>the</strong> Romanian <strong>of</strong>ficial at <strong>the</strong> head <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> administrative unit (county
<strong>of</strong> district). Food provision depended heavily on local communities, but <strong>the</strong> local Ukrainians considered
<strong>the</strong> Roma to be a burden. County and district authorities <strong>of</strong>ten had to force <strong>the</strong> Ukrainian communes and
communities to give <strong>the</strong> Roma food according to <strong>the</strong> dispositions mandated by <strong>the</strong> government <strong>of</strong>
Transnistria. The Roma’s situation also depended on <strong>the</strong> group or sub-group to which <strong>the</strong>y belonged. In
some places, Roma communities managed to secure <strong>the</strong>ir subsistence and survive almost two years <strong>of</strong>
deportation. Elsewhere, though, only a small number were able to survive.
Number <strong>of</strong> Victims. Under <strong>the</strong>se circumstances, many deported Roma died in Transnistria <strong>of</strong> hunger,
cold, or disease. There is no document indicating that <strong>the</strong> Romanian civil or military authorities in
Transnistria organized executions <strong>of</strong> Roma. Never<strong>the</strong>less, <strong>the</strong>re were instances when gendarmes shot
Roma, as in Trihati (Otchakov county) where, according to a May 1943 report, gendarmes shot <strong>the</strong> Roma
who had come <strong>the</strong>re from neighboring villages in search <strong>of</strong> work.
The exact number <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Roma who died in Transnistria is not known. On March 15, 1944, when
Romanian citizens—regardless <strong>of</strong> origin—were to be evacuated from Transnistria, <strong>the</strong> General
Gendarmes Sub-Inspectorate Odessa reported that it had on its territory 12,083 Roma. This number
represented <strong>the</strong> Roma who had survived <strong>the</strong> deportation. To this number must be added <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong>
Roma who escaped from Transnistria before <strong>the</strong> above-mentioned date. These include Roma who were
repatriated at different times for various reasons as well as those who escaped Transnistria illegally,
without being caught and returned. There were approximately 2,000 Roma who fit into <strong>the</strong>se categories,
which raises <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> survivors to approximately 14,000. This means that out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> over 25,000
deported Roma, approximately 11,000 died and 14,000 survived.
The 6,439 Roma recorded by <strong>the</strong> gendarmerie in <strong>the</strong> second half <strong>of</strong> July 1944, when it began to
register those who returned to Romania, are only part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> survivors. The Roma in urban areas,
supervised by <strong>the</strong> police, are not included in this number. Moreover, a considerable number <strong>of</strong> Roma
were able to escape registration due to conditions <strong>of</strong> war. The Soviet army already occupied part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
Romania’s territory by <strong>the</strong>n or was located in <strong>the</strong> vicinity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> front line. At that time, some Roma were
still traveling on <strong>the</strong>ir way home, while o<strong>the</strong>rs were stranded behind when <strong>the</strong> army and Romanian
authorities retreated. From <strong>the</strong> latter, some were repatriated at <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> war, while o<strong>the</strong>rs scattered
about on Soviet territory.