Deported Roma from Burila Mică – Translated

Name of the village:

Burila village, Gogoșu commune (previously part of Burila Mică commune)

Region, country:

Mehedinți County, Oltenia region (Romania)

Date of deportation: September 1942

Excerpt from testimony:

“[…] A year later [1942], all family members were taken [to Transnistria]. The village gendarmes, along with those from the city of Drobeta and the mayor, came looking for the family and told them they were going to be taken to the Bug, where they would work the land and become rich… They were not allowed to take anything with them — not animals, furniture, gold, or any valuable objects.

Everything happened very quickly. They left in carts. The carts belonged to Romanian villagers, who also drove them. All the carts departed from Burila and met the other Roma in Drobeta. The gendarmes, the mayor, and Prefect Băculescu compiled lists of the  [deported] Roma. They stayed in the fields around the city of Drobeta for three days, waiting for the train. The peasants felt sorry for them and gave them bread and tomatoes for free.”

Romanian archives (if they exist):

A significant part of the information provided by the interviewed persons is corroborated by archival documents. In September 1942, the local gendarmes compiled a nominal list of Roma families from Burila Mică commune who were to be deported. This list included Janeta and Mița Șerban, néeIancu (the interviewed persons), along with the rest of their families (father, mother, two brothers, and three other sisters). Other relatives mentioned in the interview (uncles, aunts, and grandparents) also appear on this list (ANR, IGJ fund, file no. 127/1942: f. 45).

Historical note on the Roma:

The village of Burila Mică is located in Gogoșu commune, Mehedinți County, about 40 km from Turnu–Severin. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was part of Burila Mică commune and included the villages of Bistreț and Burila, where several dozen Roma families lived (MDR 1902, II:80–81). According to the 1930 general census, Burila Mică commune had 879 inhabitants, including 99 sedentary Roma (most of whom spoke the Romani language) (RGP 1930, vol. II.1: 278–

279).

According to the testimonies of the interviewed persons, both Romanians and Roma lived in Burila; some of the Roma were farmers, owned houses, and had livestock.

Historical note on the deportation:

A brief note on an aspect of the Roma, for example, a group.