Name of synagogue "AHAI VEREAI" SYNAGOGUE
Street address 4 OITUZ ST.; coordinates (longitude/latitude): 27.18616128 /45.70159129
City and postcode FOCȘANI
Website of Jewish community or synagogue (if they have one)
http://www.jew-focsani.com/ro/istoria_evreilor.html
Website of Federation of Jewish Communities from Romania www.jewishfed.ro
Contacts
Contact at Jewish community (if different from above) MIRCEA ROND
Street address of Jewish community: 4 OITUZ ST.
Telephone number 0237.623.959 and email: ce_focsani@yahoo.com
Street address of Jewish cemeteries in Focșani
(1) 18 Bălcescu St.
(2) 69 Cuza Vodă St.
Condition of the cemetery? – In need of some repairs
Synagogue facts—you will not find all the answers, but it’s important to ask
When was it built? 1827
Year(s) when it was remodeled or expanded: Reconstructed in 1854, and brought to the current form in 1896 (1889 in some sources).
Name of architect(s) – unknown to us
Other synagogues that this architect built – unknown to us
Is it known who designed the brass candelabras etc? – N/A
Is it known who was the artist who painted on the walls? – N/A
How would you describe the condition? Good.
Jewish statistics
How many Jews lived in this city before the Holocaust? In 1930 there were 4,301 Jews out of a total population of 32,481.
What was its peak year of Jewish population? 5,954 in 1899 (25.2%)
How many synagogues were in the city then? 8 synagogues in 1940.
How many now? 1.
Are the others used as synagogues? – N/A
If not, what are they used for? – N/A
If possible, give their addresses. – N/A
Holocaust related
What was the fate of the Jews of this city during the Holocaust?
In June 1941, all Jewish men aged 16 to 60 were imprisoned in the Jewish schools; they were freed several weeks later, with the exception of 65 prominent figures (among them the rabbi and the president), who were declared hostages. The men were sent to forced labor in the camps of Vidra, Piteşti, Vulturi Doaga, and Panciu. In 1941, Jews who had been expelled from the neighboring towns of Nămoloasa, Sascut, Mărăşeşti, and Panciu arrived in Focşani.
How many were murdered? -
How many were living in the city from 1945 – 1948? After World War II, some 2,000 Jewish refugees settled in Focşani, and the community totaled 6,080 members in 1947.
How many emigrated? - The vast majority.
How many live there today? In 2004, there were 43. Still fewer today (2016).
What are the social services for Jews in the city, if any? N/A
Sources:
Congresul Mondial Evreesc. Secțiunea din România, Populația Evreească in cifre. Memento statistic (Bucharest, 1945): 46
FCER, Memoria cimitirelor evreiești (Bucharest, 2007): 42
Arh. Aristide Streja, Arh. Lucian Schwartz, Sinagogi din România (Bucharest, 1996: 80)
http://lacasedecult.cimec.ro/RO/Documente/asp/detaliu.asp?k=32852-1
http://www.jewish-romania.ro/monumente.php
http://www.jew-focsani.com/ro/istoria_evreilor.html
The Romanian Synagogue Documentation Project
Underwritten by the David Berg Foundation
Grant recipient: Centropa, Vienna, Edward Serotta, Director,
Organizing Partner: The Center for Hebrew Studies and the Goldstein Goren
Center for Israel Studies, University of Bucharest, Felicia Waldman, Coordinator
Researcher: Anca Tudorancea, Center for the Study of the History of Romanian Jews
Photography: Daniel Gruenfeld, Oliver Beck Assistant
Web coordinator: Dragos Parasca