Ionela Ana Dascultu, PhD Candidate, University of Haifa, "Jewish Children in Orphanages in Transnistria (1942-1944)"

I completed my MA in Jewish Culture and Civilization at the University of Bucharest, Romania and I am now a PhD Candidate in History at the University of Haifa, Israel.
In my doctoral thesis, I will look at the history and memory of the Jewish children sheltered in the orphanages established in Transnistria between 1942 and 1944. It will focus especially on the children`s experiences in the orphanages, from their own perspective. It will also discuss the attitude of both Romanian and Jewish officials towards these orphans.

During my stay at USHMM, I will work on my EHRI project: A Database: An Essential Step in Reconstructing Jewish Childhood Experience in Wartime Transnistria. This database will facilitate students and researchers` access to the archival materials found at USHMM, on the topic of Jewish children in Transnistria. My project is an attempt to bring together the dispersed and fragmented archival materials in the following languages: Romanian, English, Yiddish, Hebrew and German.
This will be my second EHRI experience after being a participant at the Summer School in Munich in 2013.