The Rigetheous Among the Nations Square

In June 2016, on the 75th commemoration of the Pogrom in Iași, at the crossroads of Arcului and Gării streets, the „Elie Wiesel” National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania, together with Iași Municipality inaugurated the „Righteous Among the Nations Square” in the memory of those who did not remain indifferent to the atrocities, and endangering their one lives, saved Jews persecuted during the Pogrom.

„To act or remain passive depends, in the last resort, on the decision to accept or reject the participation in the commission of an abominable crime, even when, or especially when, the crime has legal cover ” (The International Commission for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania, the Final Report).

During a turbulent period when Romania joined the war with the stated goal to recover its lost territories and when the public and media discoursed stimulated antisemitism, the Romanian society ignored the actions taken against the Jewish population. The acceptance of the crime met the intrigue and compassion as there were Romanians that didn`t stay passive, saving Jews.

Yad Vashem Institute recognized their courage by awarding them the title „Righteous Among the Nations”. So far, seven Romanian citizens who helped Jews during the Pogrom were awarded the title mentioned above. Acts of solidarity may have been many more without being recorded in documents, remaining in the memory of those saved in extreme situations.

The Romanians who received the title of „Righteous among the Nations” for saving Jews during the Iași Pogrom were: Viorica Agarici, Dumitru Beceanu, Elisabeta Ștrul-Nicopoi, Nona Pântea, Grigore Profir, Simionescu Constanting, Mircea Petru Sion.