Memorial for the Jews of Craiova

62 Records

Military Records · Deaths · Romania · Sephardic

Background

While browsing material at the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People in Jerusalem, Mathilde Tagger discovered a photograph of a monument erected in Craiova, Romania in memory of the local Jews who fell in the Balkans Wars and World War I.

Craiova, situated in southern Romania close to the Danube — the border with Bulgaria — is an important Romanian commercial center. Its geographical position enabled continuous movement of Jews across both sides of the border. The small Sephardic community (alongside the Ashkenazi one) had its roots in the capital Bucharest or in Bulgarian communities along the Danube. Sephardic surnames such as ALVU (for ALVO), BENVENISTI, FARCHI, FRANCES, and LEON are especially found among the Bulgarian Jewish community.

For each casualty the index includes the surname, the given name preceded by an initial belonging to the father’s name, and the army rank. Six were officers (all physicians), seven were noncommissioned officers, and the list ends with three corporals and forty-six privates — a total of 62 out of the 300,000 Romanian casualties during World War I.

Location: The memorial is on the outside wall of the only remaining synagogue in Craiova, located on Str. Horezului.
Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the tremendous contributions and lifelong dedication of Mathilde Tagger, z”l, who made this index available. For many years, and right until her untimely death, Mathilde Tagger was a close friend and collaborator with Jeff Malka. Together they worked to promote Sephardic genealogy research and educate the public about its enormous potential.

We also express our grateful appreciation to Dr. Jeff Malka for his monumental ongoing effort to collect and make accessible Sephardic genealogical information, and for his generosity in contributing his extraordinarily valuable collection to JewishGen.

Searching This Database

This database is searchable via the JewishGen Romania Database, the JewishGen Jeff Malka Collection, and the JewishGen Sephardic Collection.

Databases like this one are made possible entirely through volunteer effort and generous donors. Your contribution helps fund transcription, research, and preservation of Romanian Jewish records.

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For questions, contact the JewishGen Romania Research Division.