Based on American, German and Soviet sources, this book provides an in-depth study of the Romanian administration in Odessa and Transnistria. It draws a sharp contrast between the relatively more successful occupation policies of the Romanian administration in Odessa and Transnistria and those of the Germans in occupied areas of the Soviet Union. Alexander Dallin, formerly president of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, presents an essential text for anyone interested in the occupation of Soviet Territory during World War II and its consequences

Founded in 1794 as a frontier city on the Black Sea, Odessa soon grew to be one of Russia's busiest seaports. Settlers of all nationalities went there to seek their fortune, among them Jews who came to form one of the largest, wealthiest, and most culturally fertile Jewish communities in Europe. This history of Jewish Odessa traces the rise of that community from its foundation in 1794 to the pogroms of 1881 that erupted after the assassination of Alexander II. Zipperstein emphasizes Jewish acculturation: changes in behavior, attitude, and ideology as reflected in schools, synagogues, newspapers, and other institutions of the period. The patterns set then affected the community's cultural development well into the second decade of the twentieth century. More a modern metropolis than any other Russian city with a significant Jewish population, Odessa offers a window into the diversity of Russian Jewish experience.