Following the war between Russia and Ukraine: A huge mass grave from the time of communist rule was found during excavation work done at an old base in Moldova. Throughout the excavations, large pits were discovered one after another, filled with thousands of corpses that were killed there in the years between 1917-1930 under the rule of the dictators Lenin and Stalin. Most of the dead found were Jews who were accused of opposing the communist regime.Communist rule existed over 100 years ago under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin. Throughout the years of rule, millions of people were murdered and tortured. Now the mass killing ravine was found unintentionally in Transnistria, Moldova, during work done at a military base near Tiraspol, the capital of the district, following the war in Ukraine. Documents documenting the names and details of those killed in each of the killing pits and the reason they were killed were found there.

The Jews under communist rule

The documents describe the life of the Jews under the communist rule, the Jewish schools that operated in hiding, the attempts to establish contact with Jewish organizations in the world and the Jewish activities that took place in secret. On one of the murdered it appears that he was a teacher in a Jewish school, on another name that he was in contact with officials in Palestine.

The President of the Republic of Transnistria Vadim Krasnoselsky recently addressed Rabbi Pinchas Saltzman, the Rabbi of Moldova. He informed him about the discovery and that the administration wants to give the murdered people proper respect. As part of this, the president wants to take care of their burial properly and erect a monument in memory of those who perished. “The land is soaked in the blood of innocents, Jews and non-Jews. During that time, terrible acts were committed on our land that deserve all condemnation and our job is to make sure that such acts do not happen again, God forbid,” Krasnoselski told Rabbi Salzman in a conversation.

“The plays were shocking,” describes Rabbi Pinchas Salzman. “It is unfathomable to the human mind, how the communist government treated people just because of their religion and belief. The pits were full of bones, alongside personal items such as shoes, remnants of clothing, wallets, and even mugs. Thanks to the brave connections with the local government, which goes out of its way for the Jewish community, we started To take care of a dignified and proper burial for those thousands who were killed for the sanctification of Hashem. In the coming period we hope to map the rest of the killing pits and turn the place into a burial site without shaking the bones and disturbing the rest of the murdered, in accordance with Jewish law.”

To date, 3 killing pits have been dug, and according to estimates there are six or seven more killing pits. According to local experts, the number of those murdered is between thousands and tens of thousands, most of them Jews.