Căzănești, Deportation of Nomadic Roma – Translated

Village Name: Căzănești (city, Ialomița County)

Region, Country: Muntenia Region (Romania)

Deportation Date: June – August 1942

Excerpt from Testimony:

“After crossing the border into Transnistria, they were placed on a field. It was a ‘camp,’ where the
interviewee was forced to abandon their parents and siblings. The interviewee’s parents, who had arrived earlier with another group, told them that before their arrival, the place had been occupied by Jews, all of whom were shot. The Russian guards confirmed this. They were told they had been shot face down in a common grave. From this place [the camp], the Bug River could be seen, with sentries standing guard on the opposite shore.

There were no huts in the camp. The deportees lived in tents. The area was surrounded by barbed
wire. Whenever someone approached the wire fence, the guards would chase them away with baton strikes.”

Romanian Archives (if available): N/A

Historical Note on the Roma:

The city of Căzănești (formerly a commune until 2004) is located in Ialomița County, about 32 km
from Slobozia. At the end of the 19th century, the commune had a population of 1,098 (MDGR
1899, II: 208). The population doubled by 1930, when 2,037 inhabitants were recorded, of which 14
were sedentary Roma (RGP 1930, II: 240–241). In addition to these Roma, nomadic “caldărari”
caravans would pass through the commune at certain times of the year, collecting metals and selling household utensils and cauldrons to locals.

Historical Note on Deportation:

The interviewee and their family were stopped by gendarmes while in Ialomița County and escorted
to Brăila. In this city, a long convoy of carts was formed, and the nomadic Roma were sent, under
strict guard, from post to post by gendarmes, until reaching Galați, and then across the border into
Transnistria. The interviewee’s family hid their gold in the wheel axle of their cart and thus avoided
the forced conversion of their gold coins into Reichsmarks.

Once in Transnistria, the deportees were placed in a camp by the Bug River, surrounded by barbed
wire and guarded by gendarmes. They were allowed to sleep in tents and were given minimal rations of water and food (a cup of grain for the entire family). Some deportees died from hunger, typhus, and the brutality of the local Ukrainian guards (rapes and summary executions). After a few months, the interviewee and their family were transferred to a new location. Approximately 500–600
deportees were crowded into huts that could barely protect them from the harsh climate (many Roma died from the cold). The interviewee’s in–laws, brother–in–law, and mother died in Transnistria.