Viorica Agarici (1886–1979) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n nurse, the chairwoman of the local

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

in the city of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and the Ion Antonescu regime. A protector of the

Jewish population As of 2020, the world's "core" Jewish population (those identifying as Jews above all else) was estimated at 15 million, 0.2% of the 8 billion worldwide population. This number rises to 18 million with the addition of the "connected" Jewish pop ...

during the implementation of the

Holocaust in Romania The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...

, she is one of the Romanians among the

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...

commemorated by the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i people at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

. Eva Galambos
"Pentru prima dată, Comunitatea Evreilor din Roman a comemorat victimele «Trenului Morții»"
, in ''

Realitatea Evreiască ''Realitatea Evreiască'' ( Romanian for "The Jewish Reality") is a Romanian cultural and news magazine, based in Bucharest, and addressed to the local Jewish community. The magazine was founded in 1956 under the name ''Revista Cultului Mozaic d ...

'', Nr. 233-234, June–July 2005, p.4; retrieved October 4, 2007 Petre Iancu
"«Drept între Popoare»"
in ''

Dilema Veche ''Dilema veche'' (English: "Old Dilemma") is a Romanian weekly magazine that covers culture, social topics, and politics. It was founded in 2004 as the successor to the magazine ''Dilema'', which was founded in 1993. Both magazines were founded by ...

'', October 7, 2005; retrieved October 4, 2007

Family

Viorica Agarici was the daughter of a former mayor of Roman, himself noted for intervening on behalf of the Jews, and who helped establish the local synagogue and modern school.

Helping Jews on the 1941 "death train"

On the night of July 2, 1941, after caring for the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

wounded coming from the Eastern Front, she overheard people moaning from a train transporting Jewish survivors of the

Iași pogrom The Iași pogrom (, sometimes anglicized as Jassy) was a series of pogroms launched by governmental forces under Marshal Ion Antonescu in the Romanian city of Iași against its Jewish community, which lasted from 29 June to 6 July 1941. Accordin ...

. The crowded deportees were being transported to

Călărași Călărași (), the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Danube's Borcea branch, at about from the Bulgarian border and from Bucharest. The city is an industrial centre f ...

without water or food.Ion C. Butnaru, ''Waiting for Jerusalem: Surviving the Holocaust in Romania'', Praeger/Greenwood, Westport, 1993, p.204 Many of them had died before reaching Roman, on the trip from Iași, which normally took two hours. The transport they were on, supervised by the Gendarmerie, has been described as a "death train".''Final Report'', p.287 The Gendarmes, instigated by Second Lieutenant Aurel Triandaf and the non-commissioned officer Anastase Bratu, prevented passengers access to water and shot several of those who attempted to procure it.David Cesarani, ''Holocaust: Critical Concepts in Historical Studies'',

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

, London, 2004, p.498-499 In parallel, various local people and soldiers made attempts to sell the victims water at exorbitant prices, while troops, both local and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, attacked the prisoners with stones. Taking advantage of her position, Agarici asked and received permission to give food and water to the passengers, to allow them to wash, and to remove the dead bodies. This

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...

operation was accomplished with assistance from

Romanian Red Cross The Romanian Red Cross (CRR), also known as the National Society of Red Cross from Romania (''Societatea Naționalǎ de Cruce Roșie din România''), is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relie ...

and local Jewish volunteers, and effectively stalled the transport a full day. According to one account, Agarici actually ordered the authorities to obey — a Colonel Eraclide possibly complied due to the respect he may have had for Agarici's son, military pilot

Horia Agarici Horia Agarici (; April 6, 1911 – July 13, 1982) was a Romanian aviator and World War II flying ace. Early life Agarici was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in the family of Constantin and Valeria, née Russo ( Alecu Russo was a relative of hers). ...

. On July 4, all Jewish prisoners were moved to another train, where they received some food and water (despite the improved conditions, 75 died during the subsequent trip and 69 shortly after). Of 2,530 people forcefully embarked in Iași, only 1,011 were still alive in Călărași. It is possible that the original number was higher, and that losses were under-counted by officials, who did not keep evidence of all the bodies thrown out of the train. Agarici's actions were strongly condemned by the community of Roman, and she subsequently had to resign and move to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. Reportedly, she was instantly seen as a hero and rumors about her actions spread throughout the country. In 1947, three years after the 1944 Romanian coup d'état toppled Antonescu, Aurel Triandaf was sentenced to life imprisonment and hard labor for war crimes and

crimes against peace A crime of aggression or crime against peace is the planning, initiation, or execution of a large-scale and serious act of aggression using state military force. The definition and scope of the crime is controversial. The Rome Statute contains an ...

Recognition

Alongside her Yad Vashem recognition, Agarici was the recipient of several local tributes: Roman train station houses her

bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...

and a memorial plate, and, in summer 2005, her memory was honored through a ceremony hosted by local authorities and representatives of the Jewish community. She was also publicly praised by ''

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Alexandru Șafran Alexandru Şafran (or Alexandre Safran; 12 September 1910 – 27 July 2006) was a Romanian and, after 1948, Switzerland, Swiss rabbi. As chief rabbi of Romania (1940–1948), he intervened with authorities in the Fascism, fascist government of Ion ...

, the Jewish community leader during World War II, who cited her among the "humane people in inhumane times" (Șafran's list also included Queen-Mother Elena). Carol Iancu
"Alexandru Șafran: o viață de luptă, o rază de lumină"
in ''

Revista 22 ''Revista 22'' (''22 Magazine'') is a Romanian weekly magazine, issued by the Group for Social Dialogue and focused mainly on politics and culture. History and profile ''Revista 22'' was started in 1990. The first edition of the magazine was prin ...

'', Nr. 857, August 2006; retrieved October 4, 2007

Notes

References

''Final Report''
of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania; retrieved October 4, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Agarici, Viorica Female wartime nurses Red Cross personnel Romanian Righteous Among the Nations Romanian nurses Romanian women in World War II Romanian philanthropists 1886 births 1979 deaths World War II nurses 20th-century philanthropists