More than 65 years have passed since the townies Focsani, Panciu and Odobesti experience the horrible night of the earthquake, on the 9th to the 10th of November 1940.

In the first days of November 1940, a board was affixed to the shops owned by the Jews, saying: “Jewish shop”, so that the Romanian population knew from who they buy. On the evening of the 9th of November, some light quakes occurred which passed almost unnoticed. But at about midnight a powerful earthquake shook the town, its epicenter being located in Vrancea; this seism resulted in many victims and significant damages. The earthquake ravaged our town. Houses and shops were destroyed, people became homeless in the cold November night.

Focsani, a town with a long-standing Zionist tradition (the first Zionist Mondial Congress took place in Focsani) lived through many hard and unhappy periods over the course of the years. I wish to relate only to the period following World War I, when in Focsani the anti-Jewish sentiments, promoted by the League of National-Christian Protection (Liga Apărării Naţional-Creştine) and then by the "Iron Guard" (Garda de fier), became more intense.

Tita Pavelescu, through her journal “Sentinela” , was very active on the anti-Semitic front.

The process of Zelea Corneliu Codreanu was held in Focsani, and was followed by the planned pogrom in 1942. In 1940, under the regime of Antonescu and the Iron Guard, Atanasiu, a well-known member of the Guard, became the Chief Commissioner of the district.

And what the earthquake failed to achieve, was achieved by the members of the Iron Guard who demolished the dilapidated houses, as being dangerous. We already began to think abou rebuilding our homes that were destroyed by the quake. But for this we needed the authorization of the Technical Dept. From the Capital City Bucharest a few students of the Faculty of Architecture were sent, as “specialists”. We asked to be given a authorization for ercetiing some temporary platter walls, but were not granted it, on the grounds that “the flat is owned by a Romanian officer who let it to a Jew”.

A commission sent by the Ministry of Interior to assess the damages helped only the Christian population. This was in 1940, six months before Romania entered the war. For us, the survivors, these are sad and painful memories. I owned a pharmacy in Piata Moldovei, where I worked together with my wife, Reta, who is also a pharmacist.

I’ve been living in Israel since 1965 (Hertzelia).