Dr. Jean Ancel

Professional Background

Dr. Jean Ancel received a Ph.D. in contemporary Jewry and an M.A. in history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During his fellowship at the Museum, he was an independent researcher affiliated with Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem. For his Charles H. Revson Foundation Fellowship for Archival Research, Dr. Ancel conducted research on “The Sherit Hapletah (Survivors of the Holocaust in Romania), 1944-1948.”

A world-renowned scholar of the Holocaust in Romania, Dr. Ancel was a Senior Archivist and Historian at Yad Vashem for over 36 years and has published extensively. He is best known for his work Documents Concerning the Fate of Romanian Jewry (Beate Klarsfield Foundation, 1986), 12 vols., a collection amassed over the course of 10 years and from archives across Europe and Israel. His book The History of the Holocaust: Romania (Yad Vashem, 2002), 2 vols., illuminates previously unknown facts about the role of Romania’s leadership in determining the fate of Romanian Jewry. Some of the material in this work of over 1,500 pages stems from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s archival holdings from Romania. Dr. Ancel is also the author of Transnistria, 1941-1942: The Romanian Mass Murder Campaigns (Tel Aviv University, 2003), 3 vols.; and Prelude to Murder: The Jassy Pogrom, June 29, 1941 (Yad Vashem, 2003), both of which have been translated into Romanian. He is also co-editor of Pinkas Hakehilot, Rumania [Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities in Romania] (Yad Vashem, 1969-1980).

Fellowship Research

While in residence at the Museum, Dr. Ancel researched Holocaust survivors in Romania. He examined issues surrounding Jewish resettlement in Romania after the Holocaust including old and new antisemitism in Romania, the postwar attitude of Romanian authorities toward Jews, the activities of Jewish and Zionist organizations, and external Jewish organizations trying to offer Romanian Jews assistance. Dr. Ancel presented three lectures on his research while in residence.

Residency Period: January 15, 2004 - July 15, 2004