Re: [Cz-L] 70 Years from the Liberation of Transnistria Camps

Talking about Tiraspol. The retreating forces set fire to the local prison.
I couldn't find information about the fate of the inmates.
 Yosef Eshet

----- Original Message -----
From: "Edgar Hauster" <bconcept_at_hotmail.com>
To: "Irene Fishler" <irenef_at_netvision.net.il>; "Czernowitz Discussion Group"
<czernowitz-l_at_cornell.edu>
Cc: "Marianne Hirsch" <mh2349_at_columbia.edu>; "Leo Spitzer"
<ls2307_at_columbia.edu>; "Yosef Eshet" <eshet1_at_netvision.net.il>
Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2014 6:17 PM
Subject: RE: [Cz-L] 70 Years from the Liberation of Transnistria Camps

Irene, Yosef...

Dennis Deletant is writing in his book "Hitler's Forgotten Ally - Ion
Antonescu and His Regime, Romania, 1940-44"

http://ehpes.com/blog1/2014/03/05/hitlers-forgotten-ally-ion-antonescu-and-his-regime-romania-1940-1944/

on Vapniarka and Rabnita as follows (see p. 197):

"On 8 September 1942, the deportation began of almost all the Jews – 407 –
among the Communists interned in Targu-Jiu to Vapniarka. They arrived on 16
September. [...] The callous disregard for the well-being of the detainees
which typified the behaviour of most of the camp commandants in Transnistria
soon became evident in Vapniarka. A month before the Jews’ arrival, one of
the inmates showed signs of paralysis of the lower limbs. Within weeks, many
of the other internees fell victim to the same condition. Jewish doctors
among the inmates examined the invalids and concluded that the diet was to
blame. They discovered that the commandant, Lt.-Col. Ion Murgescu, had
sanctioned the feeding of the prisoners with of a type of pea used for
feeding cattle, and that this had caused the paralysis in humans. They
called for an immediate halt to its use. According to a report of the
Ministry of the Interior at the time, 23 detainees died in the camp between
17 September 1942 and 15 December 1943. However, the doctors in Vapniarka
submitted their own findings to the Romanian authorities in two memoranda,
the first dated 20 January 1943, the second, 8 March. By the first date, 66
prisoners had paralysis of their lower limbs, and more than 400 showed
‘signs of advanced paralysis’. On receiving the first memorandum, the doctor
responsible for the Vapniarka, Lt.-Col. Gheorghe Tataranu, gave orders that
the peas should cease to be fed to the internees, but it was too late to to
stop or reverse the progress of the paralysis in those already affected. By
1 March, the camp doctors counted 139 cases of paralysis.

For the Communist Jews in Vapniarka death by paralysis was not the only fate
that awaited them. As the Red Army pushed westwards, about 70 Communists –
those considered most dangerous – were transferred to a prison in Rabnita in
October 1943. The other prisoners were sent to Grosulovo camp near Tiraspol.
Many of the prisoners in Rabnita were murdered by retreating German forces
on 18 March 1944."

Thank you both for your contributions!

Edgar Hauster
Lent - The Netherlands

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Received on 2014-03-23 23:28:12