Pittsburgh Romanian
Studies
“Memory,
History & Identity in Bessarabia and Beyond”
University of Pittsburgh,
October 21-22, 2005
“History, Politics, and
the Holocaust:
The Annihilation of
Bessarabian Jewry during World War II
in Moldovan
History-writing”
Vladimir Solonari
Department of History,
University of Central
Florida.
vsolonar@mail.ucf.edu
Abstract:
Two historiographical traditions vie
for influence and funds in today’s Moldova: pro-Soviet and pro-Romanian. While
they are in conflict, they share certain methodological premises and treat in a
similar fashion certain important subjects, one of which is the Holocaust of
Bessarabian Jewry. This paper shows that the topic was taboo during the Soviet
time and even after the downfall of Communism Moldovan historians proved
unwilling to write about it. It explains why it was so and argues that while
recently this theme appeared in the public discourse, it was rather for
political purposes than broader academic concerns. In the meantime, the most
painful aspects of this story like the complicity of the local population in
the murder of Jews are truths that the Moldovans do not want to face.
Vladimir Solonari is Assistant
Professor in History at the University of Central Florida, Orlando.
A
graduate from Chisinau
State University (Moldova), he holds a Ph.D. from Moscow State University (1986).