The Iasi-Chisinau operation, which resulted in Romania’s exit from the war, had catastrophic consequences for Șerpeni village of Anenii Noi district. The village was turned into ruins and only one house remained whole, former history teacher from Șerpeni Petru Pasenco stated in a debate hosted by IPN News Agency. He noted that following the attacks between the Soviets and the Germans in Serpeni, the locality was destroyed and a large part of the population was deported to Siberia.
The Iasi-Chisinau operation launched by the Soviets on August 20, 1944 went down in history as one of the shortest, but it changed the balance of forces on the southern segment of the Soviet-German front and, consequently, in the Balkans. As a result of this battle, Romania withdrew from the war and took sides with the Allies, and Bessarabia was reannexed. Until August 20, 1944, Șerpeni was the target of attacks by both the Soviets and the Germans. It happened even when the Șerpeni bridgehead was just a bait for the Germans who were to believe that the offensive would start from there. In reality, the offensive was being prepared from Chițcani.
“On August 18, the Soviet command, in order to mislead the enemies, the Germans, and make them believe that the decisive offensive towards Chisinau would begin from the Șerpeni bridgehead, ordered to storm the village of Șerpeni and the Soviet artillery began to bombard the village, attracting a destructive fire from the German artillery too. For two days, the village was destroyed by the artillery from both sides, leaving only a whole house and a partially damaged one, the rest – only ruins. Subsequently, the church was damaged and the house of culture was built with the church stones, although around the village we have so much stone that a city could be built,” said history teacher Petru Pasenco.
He noted that the population of the locality was decimated. Some of the men were sent to war, while another part was deported to Siberia for forced labor.
“Many villagers were sent to the front, including my father, but an overwhelming majority were taken to Siberia. A grandfather of mine and a brother of my mother were taken to Siberia. They were mobilized right at the front, but they didn’t take them to the front, but they took them to Siberia. They were in concentration camps similar to the German ones, but the situation at the Germans was easier than the fate of the Bessarabians. Most of them died. The people were dying of hunger and hard work. They were cutting down trees. Some returned from the front, with no legs or no hands,” said Petru Pasenco.
According to him, the consequences of the Iasi-Bucharest operation for Șerpeni were the same as for the whole of Bessarabia. Famine, waves of deportations and forced collectivization were witnessed. Thanks to the Nistru water, the inhabitants of Șerpeni endured the famine of 1946-1947 more easily.
“For the people from Șerpeni, because the village is located on the banks of the Nistru, the hunger passed more easily. It was more bearable. As long as the Nistru was not frozen, the people fed on shells and fish. The people fed on products of the Nistru. The forced collectivization followed. Those who opposed it were taken to the white bears,” Petru Pasenco pointed out.
The public debate entitled “Effects of the Iasi-Chisinau Operation 80 years later” was the 40th installment of IPN’s project “Impact of the past on confidence- and peace-building processes”. IPN Agency implements the project with support from the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.
