The victims of the tragic 1903 pogrom were commemorated by officials and members of the Jewish community in Chisinau on April 11. They laid flowers at the monument situated in the Park “Alunelul”, IPN reports.
Prime Minister designate Vlad Filat said he approves of the Jewish community’s initiative to stage a number of events in memory of the sad events of April 6-7, 1903. “The pogrom took place with the consent of the Tsarist authorities,” he stated.
“We must never forget the violent pogrom 110 years ago that became a precursor to the heartbreaking Holocaust of the 1930s and 1940s in which tens of thousands of Moldovan Jews lost their lives or were forcibly deported. It is important to remember these events, so that they are never repeated,” said U.S. Ambassador William Moser.
Israeli Ambassador to Moldova Sa Dl Oren David said the people who suffered as a result of the 1903 pogrom were not forgot in Israel and their memory will live on.
The 1903 pogrom in Chisinau killed nearly 50 Moldovan Jews, and injured or displaced countless others. The conflict started after a child of Ukrainian origin was found dead. Russian publicist of Bessarabian origin Pаvel Krushevan said the crime was committed by the Jews. Leaflets appeared in the city, saying Tsar Nicolas II allowed attacking the Jews. The pogrom lasted for two days.
