religious life and traditional institutional organizations with synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, Israeli hospitals and primary schools, craft guilds, charity societies, ritual baths, Hevra Kadishah etc. Galați was also a renowned Zionist center, hosting until 1919 the Central Committee of the Federation of Zionists in Romania.
During the First World War, Galați was close to the front line and suffered heavy losses. Many Jews from the city enrolled in the Romanian army and died for their country. The interwar period marked a vibrant chapter in the history of the community. In the 1930s, in the harbor-city lived over 19,000 Jews (almost 20% of the city’s population), representing one of the largest communities in Moldavia.
Being active in all socio-professional branches, some prominent members of the community held functions in the local administration. The tragic events of World War II marked the fate of the city and its Jews. Anti-Semitic policies have affected the Danube Jewish communities, facing numerous restrictions, the plundering of goods, pogroms, deprivation of citizens’ rights, internment in camps, compulsory labor etc.
Soon after the establishment of the post-war political regime, the Jewish life in Galați began to recover. Some have tried to adapt to the new power, but most of the Jewish population has migrated to Palestine or other destinations. The number of Jews in Galaţi decreased dramatically: at the beginning of the 1990s, there were still 180 Jews in the city, while the last census (2011) recorded only 100 people.