Mapping the Ghetto
The project «Mapping the Ghetto» uses innovative methods to measure the Chișinău Ghetto, which existed in the center of this city between 1941 and 1942, and pursues the goal of sharing this knowledge with young people while raising awareness of this tragic side to Chișinău’s history. The concept of the presentation took the form of a two-part video, beginning with an interview on the streets of Chișinău and showing that the citizens know very little about the Ghetto.
In the first part of the movie, the authors present the main events surrounding the formation of the Ghetto by Romanian troops in July 1941. Utilizing documents from the era and contemporary maps of the city, they created a digital map of the former Ghetto, established its boundaries, documented its streets and houses and filmed its territory using a drone.
In the second part, the movie addresses the issues that explain how the Jews lived in this Ghetto. Through archive photos and an interview made with Irina Shikhova, an expert on the history of Holocaust, the horrible conditions of superpopulation and the lack of supplies and elementary hygiene are presented. At the same time, attention is drawn to the modest role played by the Jewish Committee in the Chișinău Ghetto.