# Odessa Massacre (22–24 October 1941)

URL: https://allhistories.com/moldova/timeline/1941-odessa-massacre
Location: Odesa
Themes: Key Events

Before the war Odessa had about 200,000 Jews, roughly a third of its population, and was one of the great centres of Jewish culture in Europe. When Romanian troops entered on 16 October 1941, between 80,000 and 90,000 Jews remained. The Romanian command installed its headquarters and that of the 10th Infantry Division in the former NKVD building on Marazlievskaya Street. On 22 October 1941 a radio-controlled mine planted by Soviet sappers before the evacuation exploded in the building, killing 67 people, including the city's military commander, General Ioan Glogojeanu, and 16 officers. Marshal Antonescu ordered immediate reprisals, and responsibility was placed on Jews and communists. Over the next two days Romanian troops, supported by German units, hanged and shot hostages in the streets and marched thousands of Jews to the outskirts. At Dalnyk, thousands were herded into warehouses that were then set on fire or blown up. Historians estimate that between 25,000 and 34,000 Jews were killed on 22–24 October. The massacre was the largest single act of mass murder carried out by Romanian forces. It was followed by the deportation of the surviving Jews of Odessa to Berezivka district, where most were killed in early 1942. After the war Romanian people's tribunals convicted Antonescu, Governor Alexianu and others for crimes in Odessa.

## Why it matters
The Odessa massacre was the single worst atrocity committed by Romanian forces during the Holocaust.

Ruler at the Time: [Michael I (1941–1944)](https://allhistories.com/moldova/rulers/michael-i-1941-1944)

Conducător and Prime Minister of Romania: Ion Antonescu (Military)
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Moldavian SSR: Tihon Konstantinov (Communist Party of Moldavia)
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Moldavia: Pyotr Borodin (Communist Party of Moldavia)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 1941 Odessa massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1941_Odessa_massacre)
- [United States Holocaust Memorial Museum](https://www.ushmm.org/)
- [Yad Vashem](https://www.yadvashem.org/)
- [Wikipedia — Second World War (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldavian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic)