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June 27: The Iasi Pogrom

lawrencebush
June 26, 2011

On this date in 1941, Romanian fascist dictator Ion Antonescu, an ally of Nazi Germany, ordered the commander of the military garrison in Iasi to “cleanse” the city of its Jewish population. This set in motion a week-long pogrom that killed more than 13,000. The pogrom followed the invasion of the USSR by Nazi Germany; the Jewish community, which dated back four centuries, was accused of sabotage and aiding the enemy. Christian houses were marked in advance with crosses. Thousands were killed in the initial massacres and nearly five thousand were robbed of their possessions and sealed into trains, which essentially ran the tracks until their passengers suffocated. During the Romanian People’s Tribunals of 1946, more than 150 survivors of the pogrom testified to scenes of harrowing violence. At Israel’s Yad Vashem museum, 54 Romanian gentiles are counted among the Righteous Among Nations for helping to rescue Jews.

“It makes no difference to me that ‘we’ll go down in history as barbarians.’ The Roman Empire performed a series of acts of barbarism according to our present standards, and nevertheless it was the most magnificent political establishment. There has not existed a more favourable moment in our history. If it is needed, shoot all of them with machine guns.” --Ion Antonescu