Zguritsa

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ZGURITSA

ZGURITSA (Rom. Zgurita ), Jewish agricultural village in N. Moldova, in the region of Bessarabia. Zguritsa was founded in 1853 on an area of over 1,000 acres rented by settlers from Bessarabia. In 1878 the new owner, a Jew, canceled the lease of the estate and Zguritsa lost its status as a Jewish agricultural colony. Its residents were then registered as burghers. From 1890 to 1903 further Jewish settlement in Zguritsa was prohibited by virtue of the *May Laws issued on May 3, 1882. In 1897 Zguritsa's Jewish population was 1,802 (85% of the total population). In 1899, 36 families rented 370 acres in the area, mainly for growing vegetables. Agrarian reform in Romania in 1922 granted plots of land to 150 Jews of Zguritsa. In 1925 the 193 members of the local loan fund included 40 farmers, 25 artisans, and 113 tradesmen. In 1930 there were 2,541 Jews in Zguritsa (83.9% of the total population), supporting a kindergarten and an elementary school both of the *Tarbut organization.

[Eliyahu Feldman]

Holocaust Period

On July 3, 1941 after the outbreak of war, the village was shelled and houses were set on fire. Jews fled to the fields, where they were rounded up after two days by Romanian troops and kept under guard in the open. They suffered general maltreatment (especially the women), and in addition the soldiers practiced shooting, using Jews as their targets. A few days later the Jews were dispatched to *Transnistria and then sent back to Bessarabia, the sick, elderly, and the children dying on the way. Near Cosāuţi all the young men were separated from the group, ordered to dig graves, and shot. Jews died every day from disease, hunger, and thirst. In the fall of 1941 they were sent back to Transnistria, and before crossing the Dnie ster 200 men were removed, ostensibly for work, and shot. The remaining Jews were taken to Tiraspol and Balta. Only a few survived the war.

[Jean Ancel]