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How My Family’s Survival of Romanian Pogrom Resonates Today

How My Family’s Survival of Romanian Pogrom Resonates Today

Last updated on: March 5, 2025 at 10:12 pm by Dana Shemesh

How My Family’s Survival of Romanian Pogrom Resonates Today 2025-03-05T22:12:43-05:00 Dana Shemesh

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family photo

My father Michael (center) with parents Fritzi and Jacques Rosenblatt, in Bucharest, Romania

Shock and Awe: An Existential Moment

For many Jews around the world, the events of October 7 and its aftermath – were an existential wake-up call.

Suddenly, we realized that humans have not evolved since the Holocaust and that antisemitism is alive and well, and brewing out in the open for the whole world to see – and even support.

Growing up in suburban Atlanta, I had never really encountered blatant antisemitism.

There were a few instances where ignorant people made ignorant comments “Don’t Jews have horns?” and one time when a swastika was spray-painted on our driveway.

Other than this, I never imagined in my wildest nightmares the events of October 7 against Jewish people in Israel, and the worldwide support (even in the U.S.) for the perpetrators of the worst attack against Jews since the Holocaust.

Like most Jews, I had been living in a comfortable suburban shell thinking, ‘Those kinds of events are only of the past; we are a civilized people now, and this could never happen again.’

And happened, it did.

Painful Chapter of Romanian History

My father, who was born in Romania and emigrated to Israel at age 12, had always told us stories of antisemitism he and his family suffered when living in Bucharest, which was home to some

Iasi Pogrom

Jews assembled by Romanian police and soldiers during the Iasi pogrom sit among corpses in the courtyard of the city police headquarters.

756,000 Jews before WWII.

“It was part of the thread of society, written in school textbooks, ” he would say, the intrinsic hatred of Romanians, and even most non-Jewish Europeans, towards Jews.

It was hard for me to believe, Romania’s horrific role pre and post-Holocaust.

Over the years, I befriended several young Romanians, who considered themselves true patriots of their homeland. When I brought up my father’s antisemitic experiences, they were in total denial.

I was in denial too, until I read one of my father’s published memoirs.

A Pogrom in Iasi

In it, he talks about the Iasi Pogrom – a brutal attack against instigated by Romania’s Iron Guard – against the Jewish population of Iasi. Over 13,000 Jews were brutally murdered – many were taken to a slaughterhouse in Bucharest where they were butchered and their bodies hung from meat hooks and mutilated, a mockery of kosher slaughtering practices.

Leading up to this slaughter, angry mobs crowded the streets of Bucharest shouting “Kill the Jews!”. My father’s mother covered her hair and walked alongside the murderous crowd, joining their chants in an effort not to be noticed.

Legacy of Antisemitism Alive and Well

Before October 7, I would have found this story to be too brutal to believe. But after viewing the filmed atrocious acts on civilians from Hamas, the beheadings, burning of children’s bodies, mutilation and rape of women and elderly, the stories of the past had come back to life.

To honor my grandparents and other family members who suffered and bore witness to these atrocious pogroms, I plan to further explore our family’s story using RootsTech – a unique (and free) resource that may shed more insight on my family’s history.

RootsTech is hosting a free online conference over the next several days billed as “The World’s Largest Family Discovery Event” featuring various speakers and interactive events.

After the conference, I’ll be digging around FamilySearch — a deep trove of billions of historical documents including birth records, obituaries and census records, for more clues to my family’s history and hopefully pass down those painful yet insightful findings to my own children.

Editors Note: This article is written in conjunction with RootsTech’s “World’s Largest Family Discovery Event,” which will be held March 6-8. Learn more about it here. Family Search, which is sponsoring the event, invites anyone who is interested in researching their family history to participate in free online sessions.

History and Religion

About Dana Shemesh

Dana Shemesh is a writer and journalist residing in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and two growing boys. She and her husband were born in Israel and strive to share their cultural heritage with their children. You can read more about the author here.

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