Holocaust

The Holocaust brought the near-total destruction of Jewish life in Vapnyarka (Vapniarka), a railway town in today’s Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. After the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, Vapnyarka came under Romanian administration as part of Transnistria. Most of the town’s local Jewish residents were deported, fled eastward, or were killed in the early months of occupation. In 1942, Romanian authorities established the Vapnyarka camp, which held several thousand Jews deported primarily from Odessa, Bukovina, and Romania, many of whom were accused—often without evidence—of political disloyalty.

Conditions in the Vapnyarka camp were especially brutal. Prisoners suffered from overcrowding, starvation, disease, and exposure, but the camp became notorious for the systematic feeding of fodder peas (Lathyrus sativus), a toxic legume normally used as animal feed. Prolonged consumption caused lathyrism, leading to paralysis, severe disability, and death among hundreds of inmates. Despite protests by prisoners and limited intervention by Jewish aid organizations, large numbers perished before the camp was closed in late 1943 and surviving inmates were transferred elsewhere.

The impact of the Holocaust on Vapnyarka was catastrophic and permanent. The prewar Jewish community, which had made up a significant portion of the town’s population and played a central role in its economic and social life, was effectively annihilated. After the war, only a small number of Jews returned or settled in Vapnyarka, and under Soviet rule religious and communal life remained severely restricted. Over time, emigration and assimilation further reduced the Jewish presence. Today, the Holocaust’s legacy in Vapnyarka is reflected in the historical memory preserved through survivor testimonies, research on the Vapnyarka camp, and local memorials commemorating the victims.

Dr. Arthur Kessler Collection

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has a collection which documents the Holocaust experiences of Dr. Arthur Kessler, originally of Czernowitz (Chernivtsi, Ukraine), including his imprisonment in the Vapniarka concentration camp and his efforts to treat and manage an outbreak of paralysis of fellow prisoners due to consumption of fodder peas. Included are artifacts, objects gifted to him, biographical materials, correspondence, research notes and samples related to Lathyrism, written testimony, writings, and a small amount of photographs. Also included is a copy of his memoir manuscript Ein Arzt im Lager (A Camp Physician). 

Below are drawings depicting daily prisoner life in Vapniarka concentration camp. The drawings were created by two Vapniarka prisoners (known only by their first names, Leibel and Ilie) based on original sketches by Dr. Arthur Kessler who commissioned the works.   

Courtesy of United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  “Dr. Arthur Kessler collection".  Gift of David Kessler. https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn688859. Accessed on 17 January 2026.