Deportare rromi din Simian

Name of the Village/Town: Șimian (commune)

Region, Country: Mehedinți County, Oltenia Region (Romania)

Date of Deportation: June–August 1942

Excerpt from the Testimony:
“[The Roma deportees] left in carts pulled by donkeys and traveled all the way to Transnistria. They stopped several times to water the donkeys. They were guarded by numerous gendarmes, who escorted them from one post to another. At each stop, more Roma joined them. The gendarmes from one village would escort them to the next, where they were taken over by local gendarmes. The journey lasted the whole summer.

All their tools were confiscated, so they could no longer work. However, his family had all their valuables in the cart.

Once they arrived in Transnistria, they were relocated to the stables of kolkhozes. The Germans shot and killed newborns […]”

Romanian Archives (if available):
Unfortunately, no archival documents referring to the Roma deported from Șimian have been identified.

Historical Note on the Roma:
Roma are documented in Șimian as early as the 17th century. At the beginning of the 1900s, the commune of Șimian had about 1,000 inhabitants (MDG 1901, V: 468). During the interwar period, the population was 870, of whom 81 were Roma, according to the 1930 general census (RGP 1930, II.1: 278–279). Many of them were căldărari Roma, who worked with metals and traveled seasonally.

Historical Note on the Deportation:
The căldărari Roma from Șimian were deported between June and August 1942 by local law enforcement. The deportees traveled in their own carts, escorted from post to post by gendarmes, until they reached the border with Transnistria. Along the way, other convoys of Roma deportees joined them. Their belongings (tools, money, and animals) were confiscated at the border, although some families managed to hide valuable items from the gendarmes’ greed.

Once in Transnistria, the Roma deportees were relocated to several localities in Golta County and subjected to forced labor. They lived in stables and worked on kolkhozes, suffering not only from hunger, cold, and disease but also from mass executions carried out by the Germans (likely Volksdeutsche troops). According to the interviewee, these troops executed several newborns by gunshot.

A Brief Note about One Aspect of the Roma, e.g., a Group:
A significant portion of the căldărari Roma from Șimian gave up their nomadic lifestyle and settled in houses.