Răducăneni:
 
A township in Moldavia,
 
previously in the County of Fălciu,
 
now in the County of Iaşi

Răducăneni

Jewish population

 Note: In the adjoining village of Bohotin there were 37 Jews in 1899

Before the Outbreak of World War II

Răducăneni was founded in the years 1838 – 1839 during the rule of Prince Mikhael Sturza who sought to promote trade in agricultural areas. To do so, he encouraged the settlement of traders from across the border, among them Jews probably from Galicia, so they could establish and develop commercial and business centers. Răducăneni was built on the estate of the landowner, Răducanu Roset,  hence its name.  During that period, Jews were obliged to pay a tax, "the tax on the Jewish nation." In 1846, the concession to collect the money was granted to two Jews, Saul Aronovici and Aharon Mendelovici. According to the sums that were collected that year, at that time, there were tens of tax-paying Jews in the township.

Galicia north west of Moldavia

The land owner Raducanu Roset 1762 - 1838 (Hatman in 1806) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Romanian_ranks_and_titles Lascar Rosetti 1816 - 1884 the third son of Răducanu Roset Lascar Rosetti built a school  Link  for beginners in Răducăneni with his own money. http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasc%C4%83r_Rosetti Pietroso Hemeiosu original location of the village Rosetti Court Rǎducǎneni in the Botanical Park Hatman Raducanu Roset The history says that the Rosets were from Genoa, Italy and they left to Constantinopole since XIII th century. The Rosets in Romania were the descendants of Lascaris Rosseto, who was married in 1620 with Bella Ioan Cantacuzino’s daughter. The name Rosseto was transformed since during the time: Rossetos or Russetos (the Greak influence) became Ruset, sometimes Roset in Moldova and finally Rosetti (German or French influence) since 1840. The blazon of Rusets still can be observed on the wall of his mansion in Raducaneni, near the front door. The device on this blazon is "SERENO AUT NUBILO SOSPES" meaning, "Healthy on sunny or cloudly times" Rosetti Court Rǎducǎneni Rosetti blazon                                   Photos courtesy of Madalina Carp After the fire on Easter Monday 9.4.2012 Photo by Ovidiu Bisog Hatman Raducanu Roset was born in 1762, as the son of Lascarache Roset and Ileana Dimache. The legend says that Raducanu and his sister, Zoe, were kidnapped when they were very little by some gipsy people and they were taken to Ardeal, a region in the North of Romania. Their father brought them back home after he has paid a reward. Rosetti Family tree: www.ghyka.com/Familles/Rosetti/Rosetti_01.pdf Courtesy of: Coca Codreanu Head teacher Liceul Teoretic Lascar Rosetti, Rǎducǎneni Link Photos courtesy of Coca Codreanu Link to History of the Rosetti family   & Aspasia Manos a Princessof Greece & Denmark was a decendent of Raducanu Rosetti - See link: http://www.enotes.com/topic/Aspasia_Manos Hatman Răducanu  Rosetti  In the book entitled The Rosetti family, published in 1938, general  Radu R. Rosetti specify that Răducanu Rosetti was born in 1762, son of  Lascarache and Ileana Dimachi. He married twice, first with Elencuţa  „Ileana” Iordache Balş (deceased in 1799) and from 1806 with Eufrosina  Manu. He spoke fluently Greek and Turkish and he understand German and  French, but he was not a literary man. After the death of his parents,  he was raised by his uncle, Manolache Dimache. Initially a very poor  man, Răducanu was taken in custody of Iordache Balş, who married him  with his daughter, Ileana, from where he received a significant dowry.  He was vel stolnic in 1783, comis in 1785, 1786 and 18792, căminar in 1786 and 1789 and ispravnic later on. His fortune increased during the  rule of Alexandru Moruzi, his brother-in-law. He received the domain of  Bohotin (Fălciu) from his sister. He was appointed hatman during the  second rule of Alexandru Moruzi in Moldavia (1802-1806). In 1790 he was  involved in the siege of Ismail by the Russian army, for witch he was  awarded with the Sfântul Gheorghe cross. Involved in the political struggle at the court of Ioan Sandu Sturdza  (1822/1828), he relocated himself with his family at Cernăuţi, where his  sons followed a public school. During the Russian occupation of 1828, he  became a member of the provisional government. In the last years of his  life, he lost most of his fortune, when he endorses a loan made by  another brother-in-law, Ioan Balş, witch was unable to pay. Forced to  foreclose, Răducanu Rosetti take a legal action against Balş, at the  courts in the province of Bessarabia, where the domains in question was  situated. Rosetti legal action was successful and the senate of  Petersburg places him in the possessions of Balş domains. But the late  was chamberlain of the Russian tzar; there so, he gained the  reinstatement by imperial decision, without any form of jugement. Răducanu Rosetti deceased during the night of 3-4 august 1838, in the  town of Iassy, from a liver disorder. He was buried on Friday, 5 august,  at Sfântul Spiridon church. Courtesy of: ŞEFUL SERVICIULUI ISTORIC AL ARMATEI  Comandor dr. Marian MOŞNEAGU Rosetti Family tree: Roumania & the Jews Radu D. Rosetti I.V. Socecu, 1904 Link to: Chronicle of Bohotin Radu Rosetti 1905

In 1859, there were 378 Jews in the township. Their numbers grew steadily so by the second half of the 19th century, they comprised the majority of the population.  In 1899, 1,190 Jews lived in Răducăneni.

On March 11, 1907, at the time of the Farmers' Rebellion, there were disturbances in Răducăneni. The farmers had demanded land but the anti-semitic propaganda exploited the unrest for its own purposes. Possibly as a result of anti-semitic incitement, gypsies from the neighboring village of Petrii http://www.maplandia.com/romania/iasi/pietris broke into Răducăneni with the clear aim of plundering the Jewish homes. The local farmers, in the main Catholics, equipped themselves with axes and pistols and under the leadership of their priest, Bernardin (Jacob) Just ¹,
(born 22 July 1867 - Raducaneni Parish Priest 1898-1907)

they came to the defense of their Jewish neighbors and repelled the marauders.  But, in contrast to the favorable treatment of the local population, the authorities were hostile. On December 30 of that year, the local council decided to expel 6 Jewish families on the pretext that they were causing a disturbance of the peace. These families even had their names erased from the list of Romanian nationals in order to prevent them from seeking legal defense. At the beginning of 1908, the local council tried to drive out all the Jews but the attempt failed.

In the year 1900, the Jews organized themselves into a community. In 1910, there were 989 Jews in the township of whom 72 were traders, Link 50 were tailors, 32 shoemakers, 5 smiths, 6 carpenters while 99 others worked in different occupations.

From the beginning of the 20th century, the numbers of Jews in the township began to dwindle mainly because of its rather remote, isolated position and lack of transport facilities.

Between the two wars, in spite of the reduction in the number of Jewish inhabitants, a branch of the Zionist movement was active in Răducăneni and in 1927 a branch of the Cooperative Bank from Huşi was set up with the help of the Joint.

In the cemetery we found the graves of two Rabbis:

Rabbi Asher Zelig Ben Yehuda Leib - Died 16th Adar 5629 = 1870.
Rabbi Chaim Ben Ha'rav Shmuel - Died 12th Tishrey 5634 = 1874.

In 1894 Rabbi Shalom Halpern, (Click for link to family album) a descendant of the well-known Roszhyn dynasty came to settle in Răducăneni  and stayed until 1909.  From there, he went to Vaslui.

Rabbi Manashe Rabinzon, (Click for link to family album) served the community in the years 1907 - 1911. He was born in Moineşti in 1833 and died in Iaşi  in 1935.  His son is the poet, Haim Rabinzon. 

Rabbi Moshe Gedalya Reines, (Click for link to family album) served the community between 1911-1920. He was born in Ştefăneşti in 1886 and passed away in Iaşi in 1946.

On the eve of the outbreak of World War II, there were 5 synagogues in Răducăneni, a mikveh, a cemetery and a  school.

The Holocaust period

In the summer of 1940, even before   Antonescu rose to power (in Autumn, 1940), the persecution of the Jews by the so – called national, anti-democratic party "The Iron Guard" began.  First, Jewish stores were closed down by the authorities, then  the local military governor ordered all the Jews to leave the township. Only 8 families were given permission to remain. They comprised the baker, the butcher, a dealer in iron tools, the owner of the tavern and  the owner of a newspaper stand as they were needed  to ensure a regular supply of necessities  to the troops there.   All the rest of the Jews were forced to leave the place and were allowed to take with them only a few possessions. Some  travelled by horse and cart while others journeyed on foot. They were led first to Vaslui then to Bacău, all the while being beaten and hurried along by blows and shots in the air by the gendarmes.

In September, 1940, General Antonescu came to power and joined forces with the "The Iron Guard", whose members were called "Greenshirts "or "Legionnaires".

After a while, the Jews were allowed to return to Răducăneni but when they came back, they found that their homes and businesses had been looted.  As if this were not enough, the legionnaires stationed in Huşi used to come frequently to the township to harass and beat the Jews. Some of the Jews were even forced to walk to Huşi (a distance of 40 - 50 kilometers) for interrogation. The situation of the Jews deteriorated to such an extent that they despaired and decided to leave the township and little by little they went, some to Huşi and the rest to Iaşi. When the war broke out in 1941, not a single Jew remained in Răducăneni. The synagogue was destroyed and the school premises were confiscated by the authorities.

After the war, only a few Jews of the original population returned to Răducăneni.

In 1947, there were 170 Jews in Răducăneni.  By 1995,  there were none.

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The information above was taken from texts in The Repository of Information on Jewish Communities in The Museum of the Diaspora and from Pinkasei Hakehillot in the Beth Ariella library.

The texts were translated from the Hebrew to English and combined by
Dr. Stella Statman.

¹  Until 1907, Rǎducǎneni did not have its own parish priest, the priest
used to come from Huşi - Courtesy of Ovidiu Bisog