National Archives Agency digitized seven volumes of Book of Memory containing lists of about 56,000 Bessarabians who fell in World War II

The National Archives Agency (ANA) has digitized seven volumes of the Book of Memory, published by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Moldova in 2002–2005, which contain lists of about 56,000 people born on the territory of today’s Republic of Moldova, recruited into the Red Army, who fell on the battlefield in the years 1944–1945.

According to ANA, the lists are not complete, as they include, only very rarely, those who fought on the Eastern Front between 1941–1944, either on the side of the Red Army or in the Romanian Army, and they do not contain data regarding the districts on the left bank of the Dniester. Thus, the figure of 56,000 dead refers only to the Bessarabian part of today’s Republic of Moldova.

In these circumstances, ANA has recommended that those who do not find their relatives in these lists contact the district military centers (commissariats), which hold the archival files of those mobilized into the Red Army and the Romanian Army (for the latter, information must be requested from the Romanian Military Archives in Pitești).

The volumes are organized by districts and localities and contain the surname, first name, patronymic, year of birth, date and place of death, as well as the corresponding military unit.

The sixth volume of the book includes data on localities with a predominantly Bulgarian population (Taraclia district) and Gagauz population (Gagauzia Territorial Autonomous Unit). Each volume can be downloaded in PDF format and can be searched by name, locality, or other keywords.

ANA data show that, in total, about 260,000 Moldovans/Romanians, Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, Gagauz, Bulgarians, and others originating from the Republic of Moldova fought against Nazi Germany and its allies, being awarded about 250,000 orders and medals for their courage on the battlefield within the Red Army. Therefore, according to these data, every fifth person from the Republic of Moldova who fought in the Red Army fell on the battlefield.

The project was carried out by the National Archives Agency, with the support of the Agency for Military Science and Memory of the Ministry of Defense and in collaboration with the National Library of the Republic of Moldova.