The Prefect of the District of Storojineti, Major Chirescu, who is a son-in-law of the Prime Minister, Professor Jorga, issued an order several months ago to clear away a number of refugee barracks which are situated in the town of Wiznitz, in Bukovina. The barracks are inhabited by 144 Jews belonging to the poorest section of the population, and owing to the congested state of the town there was no possibility of finding other accommodation for them. On intervention being made last October by the Union of Roumanian Jews and the Jewish Parliamentary representatives, the evictions were ordered to be suspended till the spring, so that the people should not be turned out into the streets in the winter.
The Wiznitz town authorities have now notified the owners of the barracks that they must leave by the 20th. April, which coincides with the first day of Passover. Deputy Dr. Diamant, one of the members of the Jewish Parliamentary Party, has lodged a protest with the Government against the threatened evictions.
The barracks date back to the end of the war, when the inhabitants of the twon who had been scattered by the war operations returning from various parts of the then Austrian Empire found their homes destroyed, and the authorities erected a number of barracks for their accommodation. Gradually houses were built, but the poorest section of the population had to remain in the barracks. Most of them are unemployed, or old people, living on the charity of their neighbours. The site on which the barracks are situated is said to be wanted by the local director of schools, a certain Popescu, who wishes to erect a house there. The Municipality, to whom the site belongs, refused to evict the present occupiers, but the Prefect, M. Chirescu, overruled the Municipality, and ordered the barracks to be removed. The Mayor of Wiznitz, who is himself a Jew, Wiznitz being almost entirely inhabited by Jews, refused to obey the order and said that he would rather resing his office.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
