Iancu Tucarman, Romanian Holocaust survivor, dies from COVID-19 at 98

Tucarman was among the 5,000 Jews brought to the police station, where nearly half were beaten to death or shot.

JANUARY 13, 2021 15:21

A man visits the entrance of the Holocaust memorial in Bucharest, Romania (photo credit: REUTERS/BOGDAN CRISTEL) — A man visits the entrance of the Holocaust memorial in Bucharest, Romania

(photo credit: REUTERS/BOGDAN CRISTEL)

Iancu Tucarman, a Holocaust survivor from Romania, was buried earlier this week after dying from coronavirus at age 98 during the week prior, according to an Associated Press report.

Numerous people gathered for Tucarman’s funeral in Bucharest, Romania, to honor his life and remember the enormous impact of the Holocaust in general. According to the AP report, the funeral was held in accordance with coronavirus restrictions and social distancing.

Romania has particularly been devastated by the virus, with some 16,000 deaths so far among a population of 19 million (30th in the world). When he was 18, Tucarman experienced extreme hardship after first encountering the Nazis and Romanian sympathizers in 1941. He was rounded up in what would become known as the “Iasi Pogrom,” where they rounded up Jews, crammed them into trains and drove them around Romanian until they suffocated or died of dehydration, which killed some 13,000 of them.

Israeli Ambassador to Romania David Saranga attended the funeral, saying that Tucarman was “a survivor of unimaginable horrors during the Iasi Pogrom, a man with an incredible will to live," but he "could not fight this unforgiving virus.”

US Ambassador Adrian Zuckerman also attended, saying that “the American flag at our embassy has been flying at half mast in honor of Iancu, a true Romanian hero.”

Through it all, he never lost his passion for life or music,” Zuckerman said.

Tucarman was among the 5,000 Jews brought to the police station, where nearly half were beaten to death or shot.

Describing his experience on the train, lancu said on the Holocaust Claims Conference website that “Because of the heat, most people remained naked. Inside the car, some would go crazy and jump from side to side like at the circus.”

“When there were only 10 or 12 of us left, the entire floor of the train car was covered with dead people. It was like a mattress they jumped on.”

After that experience, Tucarman later spent months at forced labor camps.