Murder Story of Telenesti Jews in Itta Shteimann's Courtyard

…In July 1941, he [Vasilii Podolianu] took part in reprisals against the Jews [of Teleneşti]; he beat the wounded Jews with a stick during the shooting of Jews by the Romanian soldiers [i.e., gendarmes]. In 1941, Podolianu [also] personally carried out reprisals against the Jews near the village of Ineşti, killing children and throwing their bodies into the [nearby] ravine, while taking the clothes [of the victims] for himself….

[Vasilii] Karaman lived in the town of Teleneşti, in the territory temporarily held by the German-Romanian occupiers. Being hostile toward Soviet rule and the Soviet Jewish civilians, he took part in arrests, shootings, and the brutal mistreatment [of the Jews] during the mass shooting of the Jewish civilians in July-August 1941, together with the [Romanian] Gendarmerie of the town of Teleneşti. He was involved in the arrest of five individuals, including three women. The latter ones were escorted by him to the assembly point, where a mass shooting would later be carried out. While escorting them, he expressed his intention to shoot them.… Following the mass shooting of the Jewish residents in the courtyard of the civilian Itta Shteimann, where about 300 people were killed, Karaman was present as the bodies were being taken to the pits [on the outskirts of Teleneşti] for burial. He stood near the pits alongside the [Romanian] gendarmes and, when the [still] living [Jewish] civilians were brought to the [burial] site, he would shoot them on the spot….

[Vasilii] Podolianu, a resident of the village of Ineşti…, together with the Romanian gendarmes, was directly involved in the killing and plundering of the Jewish residents of the town of Teleneşti in July 1941. He personally killed children aged 6-9, as well as elderly individuals and women, with a stick. After the killing, he threw the bodies [of the victims] into the pits, having first removed their clothes and shoes. He also raided the houses of the murdered Jewish civilians, helping himself to many of their clothes and utensils….

Sometime in 1941, I don't remember the exact day or month, following the retreat of the Red Army from our region and its occupation by the Germans and Romanians, I walked from the village of Veregeni to the windmill in the town of Teleneşti… to grind some maize. As the windmill was not working, I headed back home. On the outskirts of the town of Teleneşti, I saw the arrested Jews, about 100 in number, who were guarded by [Romanian] gendarmes or soldiers. Passing near the village of Ineşti, which lies 3 kilometers from the town of Teleneşti, I looked into a ravine by the road and saw Vasilii Podolianu from the village of Veregeni and Micheil Movylo, both of whom were killing Jews with sticks and throwing them into the ravine. They stood not far from the road, and I personally saw both Podolianu and Movylo kill a child aged 8-9 and throw the body into the ravine. I also saw [a pile] of the clothes [of the victims] near the lip of the ravine, and heard shouts coming from the ravine. Seeing this, I became frightened, and hurried away toward the village of Veregeni.

…In July 1941, after the withdrawal of the Red Army from the villages of Ineşti and Teleneşti, my former husband Vasilii Podolianu and my son Feodor went to the windmill in the town of Teleneşti.… Several hours later, my son Feodor Pirog returned home alone… and told me that Vasiliy Podolianu had gone with the Romanian authorities to shoot the Jewish civilians. Later that night, Vasiliy Podolianu came home to the village of Ineşti and brought various clothes - a nice dress, a suit, rubber overshoes, and some other articles of clothing - and told [me] that he had personally buried the bodies of the murdered Jewish civilians - men [sic] and women with children - and that some of the children had been buried alive, as had many civilians who were badly wounded. Vasiliy Podolianu stripped the bodies of the Jews before the burial and brought the clothes home….

I personally witnessed the reprisals against the Jewish residents [of Teleneşti] in 1941. It was as follows: Sometime in July 1941, I don't remember the exact day, I went to the windmill in Teleneşti. By that time, the Red Army had withdrawn from our region, which was now occupied by the Germans and Romanians. The remaining Jews [of the town] – elderly individuals, women, and children – were assembled in the courtyard of a certain Jew, whose last name I have forgotten [i.e., Itta Shteimann]. It was located not far from the windmill, and was fenced off. I don't know who had rounded up those Jews. Near the windmill, I [suddenly] heard shots. Together with some other people who were at the windmill, I approached the courtyard where the Jews had been assembled. As I came near, I saw four Romanian soldiers [gendarmes] and two Germans. The Romanians were firing their rifles into a crowd of about 100 Jews, while the Germans were shooting them with machine guns. Many of the women were [only] wounded, not killed. Then, the Romanian soldiers addressed the assembled locals, urging them to finish off the wounded Jews and giving them permission to take the victims' clothes for themselves. Vasilii Podolianu, a resident of the village of Veregeni, who was present at the site, took up a stick and entered the courtyard where the shooting of the Jews was taking place. I personally saw him swing the stick at a Jewish woman and hit her on the head. When I saw this, I ran away… to the windmill, and didn't see anything else. Later, I heard that Podolianu was selling off the clothes that had been taken from the murdered Jews.