The jews of bessarabia the holocaust period

 

 

One of the most popular occupations at the time for Jews, especially young ones, was 

teaching.  The new regime made great efforts to develop the educational system 

without omitting any village and hamlet.  There was a great need for qualified teachers.  

Hundreds of young Jews, among them even those who had not completed their 

studies, participated in a short course of study of several weeks.  Upon completion 

they were sent to different educational institutions in Bessarabia.  Those who did 

obtain teaching positions felt their lot was better than that of their unemployed 

brethren. 

The lack of employment and the need to use up meagre savings forced the educated 

people, especially those who had once taught, to look for teaching positions. 

Jewish young men and women also found employment in factories and public service 

such as transportation and health.  Families with many children were fortunate since 

their adult offspring could help with income.  However, not all young Jews were able to 

find work either because of lack of skills or due to competition from the Soviet clerks 

brought in or simply because there were not enough positions in a lagging economy. 

The young Jews who could not find employment had no choice but to deal in the black 

market and price gouging.  This caused clashes with the authorities and led to trials in 

the Public courts.  These people were severely punished.  The dire economic situation 

brought even admirers of the Soviet regime to a conflict with it. 

One of the solutions offered by the authorities to the unemployed was to go to other 

areas in the Soviet Union, in particular the industrial center of Donbas in Ukraine.  Only 

a few young singles and couples were absorbed in new places.  However, they were 

thus saved from the Holocaust that soon befell the Jews of Bessarabia which was 

conquered by the Germans and the Romanians. 

EDUCATION, CULTURE AND ATMOSPHERE 

EDUCATION:  The Red Army entered Bessarabia during summer holidays so the 

authorities had enough time to reorganize the school system before reopening.  There 

two aspects to the reorganization:  one was to broaden the system and the other was 

force Sovietisation.  About 5000 people, mostly young educators (some of them Jews), 

were sent to special speeded-up courses.  An additional 1000 were brought from 

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Ukraine and Russia.  Experienced teachers, except for those who were fired for political 

and other reasons, also underwent a preparatory course before they entered the 

classroom. 

On August 12, 1940 when the new school year began, an announcement was made on 

behalf of the government (local Commissars committee) of Soviet Moldova and the 

Communist Party, about the reorganization of the schools of Bessarabia according to 

the Soviet system.  There was special emphasis on free tuition for those 8-14 of age.  

In the school year of 1940/41 there were 1833 elementary schools (1183 Moldovan, 

400 Russian, 227 Ukrainian and 23 others).  ”Other” must have included 11 Jewish 

schools.  In 1939/40 before the Soviet annexation there were 37 Hebrew schools with 

4803 students and they represented the majority of Jewish institutions.  With 

annexation the teaching of Hebrew was cancelled in the new schools.  Supposedly, 

pupils were spoken to in their preferred language, but everything was really 

prearranged without any chance of change.  Even schools where Yiddish was taught 

had to follow government curriculum.  Also, Jewish parents did not always want to 

send their children to Jewish schools.  They preferred schools where the local 

language, be it Moldovan or Russian, was taught so their futures would be easier. 

For the above mentioned and other reasons it is a fact that the number of Jewish 

educational institutions decreased considerably.  For example. Jewish schools were not 

established in areas where there had previously existed schools in which Hebrew had 

been taught such as Lipcani, Bricheva, etc.  On the other hand, there were, in Kishinev, 

4 Jewish schools- 2 elementary and 2 high schools.   Among them was a technical 

school where Yiddish was used.  In Balti there was also a Jewish high school that 

accepted so many new students (many of the students came from poor homes) that it 

had to be enlarged.  In these schools there were sections for music and technology. 

In Romanovka two Russian schools and one Jewish school were opened.  (The Jewish 

school replaced the Hebrew school).  There were also Jewish schools in Kalarash, 

Teleneshti and Orhei.  In Edinets there was only one school replacing the three 

previously there.   

As a rule, the principals of these schools were brought from the other side of the 

Dniester, mostly Ukraine.  They had great professional experience and the appropriate 

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political outlook.  This was especially true of those who were in these positions in the 

school in Kishinev.  They supervised curriculum and its content so it would follow the 

official lines.  They also carefully watched the veteran teachers and their integration 

into Soviet norms.  Sometimes they required reports from the teachers about their 

colleagues and turned them into tattle-tellers. 

The textbooks, in Yiddish, were brought from the Soviet Union. Many had been 

translated from Russian.  The translation was poor and the books were thus difficult to 

read.  Some original texts came mainly from Tiraspol and other places where there had 

been Jewish schools in the past.  There were some books written by well-known Jewish 

Soviet authors such as Kipnis, Brednitsky, Epstein and others.  However, there was very 

little Jewish value in these books. 

The major changes in curriculum and in the language of learning caused many 

problems among the students and the veteran teachers.  They all had difficulty writing 

in the Yiddish-Soviet script.  There was no mention of Jewish history or Jewish holidays 

and this caused anger among the students, especially the seniors.  Many of them had 

been members of Zionist movements and they suffered when during history classes 

there was emphasis on the need to fight against Zionists and Bundists.  This was a 

problem for the students. 

It often happened that the veteran teachers – especially who had been active in Zionist 

and Bundist movements- were forced to cut themselves off from their former followers 

in the movements at least outwardly.  It was very hard for them to deny their previous 

beliefs.  There were some teachers who stood up against this –such as the teacher who 

refused to teach her students about Khmelnitsky in a positive way. 

The Jewish teachers also had to–together with their non-Jewish colleagues- take part 

in elections propaganda and in anti-religion campaigns. 

In spite of these difficulties the teachers tried to instill Jewish cultural and literary 

values in their students as they felt this was very important. 

At the end of the academic year 1940/41 there was a rumor that the Jewish schools 

were to be closed.  The Hebrew and Yiddish teachers feared the worst.  At the same 

time Jewish parents were more interested in sending their children to non-Jewish 

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