The famine of 1946-1947 from Moldova in official documents and testimonies of survivors Cover Image

Foametea din anii 1946-1947 din Moldova în documente oficiale şi mărturii ale supravieţuitorilor
The famine of 1946-1947 from Moldova in official documents and testimonies of survivors

Author(s): Elena Postică
Subject(s): History, Oral history, Recent History (1900 till today)
Published by: Muzeul Naţional de Istorie a Moldovei
Keywords: requisitions; famine; dystrophy; memory;

Summary/Abstract: The famine of 1946-1947 was one of the most dramatic and secreted episodes in the history of the Moldavian SSR. All information on the scale of this social calamity has been classified. The true proportions of postwar famine became known only after the fall of communism. The first interviews, autobiographical stories, memoirs that revealed the size of the scourge and the human drama appeared in the mass media from Chişinău in the late 1980ies, with the beginning of the national rebirth movement and the irreversible collapse of the empire. Even if there is no official document containing a direct order on the organization of the famine in the former Bessarabia, the archival documents discovered by the researchers and the testimonies of the survivors prove this conclusion, that the famine was an organized genocide against the inhabitants of Moldova. Besides, these documentes have shown that the famine was only a facet of the complicated historical process which the Moldovan village experienced at that time. An important source of reconstruction of the tragedy experienced by the Moldovan village in the first post-war years is made up of the testimonies of the survivors of the famine of 1946-1947 recorded in the beginning of the 90s of the 20th century and which are stored in the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova. Valuable details about the causes and proportions of the tragedy are found in the memoirs signed by Maria Manole from Teleneşti, Tudor Covalciuc from Mărculeşti village, Floreşti district, Tudor Chiriac from Slobozia Mare, Cahul district, Maria Mircoş from Mingir village, Hânceşti district, Petru Ivaşcu from Cahul and many others.

  • Issue Year: XIV/2020
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 233-242
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Romanian