>Village Name: Drăgășani (city, Vâlcea County)
Region, Country: Oltenia Region (Romania)
Deportation Date: June – August 1942
Excerpt from Testimony:
“When they arrived [in Transnistria], they realized they had been lied to. They didn’t find houses, just huts without electricity. There were already other Romani there. It was a field. It was towards the end of autumn [1942]. To eat, some ate meat from animals (dogs, cats). There was no water at all.
She remembered how her father had managed to hide a few gold coins, and later, he had to throw them into a river. She also recalled a mother who was forced to abandon her child in the middle of the road because she could no longer carry it. Everywhere there were dead bodies. The corpses
weren’t buried […].”
Romanian Archives (if available): N/A
Historical Note on the Roma:
Drăgășani is a city in Vâlcea County, located about 55 km from Râmnicu Vâlcea, where the Roma were attested since the Middle Ages. In 1832, 34 Roma were registered in Drăgășani (Barbu et alii 2004: 288), and by the 1900s, their number had increased to about 170 (35 families) (MDGR 1900, IIII: 238). The 1930 general population census recorded 227 Roma in Drăgășani out of a total of 7,002 inhabitants (RGP 1930, II: 496–497). The city was an important viticultural area and hosted various annual fairs, attracting many blacksmiths and other Roma craftsmen from the surrounding areas. The family of the interviewee was nomadic, traveling from village to village in carts to search for raw materials necessary for making tools and household utensils.
Historical Note on Deportation:
The Drăgășani police commissariat, subordinated to the Râmnicu–Vâlcea city police, reported on 05.06.1942 that no nomads had been identified in the area or the surroundings of Drăgășani (ANI, DGP fund, no. 187/1942, f. 230). It is possible that the nomadic Roma had moved to neighboring villages in search of work.
The interviewee’s family was taken by gendarmes from a nearby village (Vicna?), after being promised they would be taken to a place where they would receive a house. The deportees were escorted by gendarmes, traveling from post to post, until they reached the eastern border of the
country. After nearly two months of travel, the deportees arrived in Transnistria and realized they
had been deceived: instead of houses and land, they were forced to sleep in huts and work in collective farms (kolkhozes). The food rations were very small (some deportees ate dog and cat
meat), and there was no drinking water. The mortality rate was very high (many deportees were not
even buried), and violence was common (disappearances of girls, summary executions). Leana
Stănescu lost two grandparents, an uncle, and a brother in Transnistria.
In the spring of 1944, the interviewee’s family left Transnistria following the Romanian–German
army’s retreat before the Soviet troops. The family walked to an unnamed train station, where they
boarded a train destined for Romania.
army’s retreat before the Soviet troops. The family walked to an unnamed train station, where they
boarded a train destined for Romania.
A Brief Note on an Aspect of the Roma, for Example a Group:
The “caldărari” Roma from Drăgănești were involved in metalworking, crafting cauldrons, copper
vessels, household utensils, etc.
vessels, household utensils, etc.
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