The Poisonous Pulse of Vapniarka: Grasspea, Lathyrism, and the Holocaust’s Forgotten Horror

During the Second World War, amidst the atrocities of the Holocaust, a little-remembered but harrowing chapter unfolded in the Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria. Here, under the command of Colonel Ioan Murgescu, over 1,000 Jewish detainees were subjected to a cruel experiment in survival: they were fed almost exclusively on Lathyrus sativus, or grass pea, a legume typically used as livestock fodder. This seemingly innocuous pea became a weapon of biological torment, inducing a debilitating condition known as lathyrism, which caused paralysis and neurological damage among the prisoners. Vapniarka stands as a grim reminder of how even food can be weaponized in genocide.

Vapniarka: A Camp Built on Death and Despair

The Vapniarka camp was established in 1941 by Romanian authorities under Ion Antonescu’s fascist regime. Initially used for Ukrainian convicts and religious minorities, it became a detention center for Jews deported from Odessa, Bukovina, and Romania. By September 1942, it housed over 1,000 Jewish prisoners accused of communist sympathies or arrested arbitrarily. The camp was surrounded by triple rows of barbed wire and consisted of dilapidated barracks with no windows or heating. Conditions were appalling: starvation, disease, torture, and forced labor were daily realities126.

When Colonel Murgescu took command, he made his intentions clear: prisoners would leave Vapniarka either crawling on all fours or walking on crutches. True to his word, he implemented a starvation regime that included feeding prisoners grass pea as their primary sustenance56.

Grasspea: From Food to Poison

Lathyrus sativus is a hardy legume often used as animal feed due to its ability to thrive in poor soil conditions. However, it contains β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (ODAP), a neurotoxin that can cause neurolathyrism when consumed in large quantities over time. Neurolathyrism manifests as spastic paralysis of the lower limbs, degeneration of the spinal cord, and kidney damage. While livestock can tolerate grass pea in limited amounts, humans consuming it as a staple food risk severe neurological impairment13.

At Vapniarka, prisoners received daily rations consisting of 400 grams of grass pea alongside barley bread adulterated with straw. Within six weeks of this diet, symptoms began to appear: weakness in the legs, difficulty walking, and eventually complete paralysis in many cases. By early 1943, hundreds of inmates were afflicted with lathyrism36.

Medical Heroism Amidst Horror

Amidst this nightmare emerged an extraordinary act of medical heroism. Dr. Arthur Kessler and other doctors among the inmates meticulously studied the disease ravaging their fellow prisoners. Using limited resources and their combined knowledge, they identified grass pea as the culprit behind the paralysis epidemic. Their findings were groundbreaking; they documented one of the first large-scale outbreaks of neurolathyrism caused by ODAP toxicity.

Dr. Kessler’s team organized efforts to mitigate the effects by rationing food differently when possible and advocating for external aid. Eventually, their pleas reached Jewish aid organizations outside the camp. Under pressure from these groups, Romanian authorities ceased feeding grass pea to the prisoners13.

A Weaponized Diet

The use of grasspea at Vapniarka was not an accident; it was deliberate cruelty disguised as necessity. Romanian officials justified its use by claiming food shortages made it impossible to provide proper sustenance for Jewish prisoners. However, historical accounts reveal that stocks of grasspea had been abandoned by Soviet forces during their retreat in 1941 and were repurposed as cheap fodder for human consumption45.

This calculated decision turned food into both sustenance and poison—a slow-acting weapon that incapacitated prisoners without immediate violence but with devastating long-term effects.

Survival Against All Odds

By late 1943, as Soviet forces advanced toward Transnistria, Vapniarka was evacuated. Survivors were transferred to other camps or ghettos; many perished along the way or were executed by retreating Axis forces. For those who survived lathyrism-induced paralysis and escaped death through starvation or execution, their suffering did not end with liberation—many lived with permanent disabilities caused by ODAP toxicity68.

Legacy and Lessons

The tragedy of Vapniarka is a stark reminder that genocide takes many forms—not just bullets or gas chambers but also diets engineered to destroy bodies from within. The story of grass pea at Vapniarka highlights how even something as mundane as a legume can become an instrument of oppression when wielded with malice.

The story of Vapniarka is one not just of suffering but also resilience—of how human ingenuity and solidarity persisted even under unimaginable cruelty. It reminds us that history’s darkest chapters often contain glimmers of light through acts of courage and resistance against dehumanization.

Today, Lathyrus sativus remains a staple crop in parts of the world facing food insecurity due to its resilience in harsh conditions.

Bibliography:

1. Wikipedia contributors. “Vapniarka Concentration Camp.” Wikipedia, last modified August 17, 2016.
2. Shapiro, Paul A., “Memory of Vapniarka and the Interface of Antisemitism.” Deliberatio, July 2024.
3. Cambridge University Press (2011). “Neurolathyrism in Vapniarka: Medical Heroism in a Concentration Camp.”
4. Yad Vashem Shoah Resource Center (2024). “Vapniarka.”
5. Benditer (1995). Holocaust Studies on Transnistria.
6. Bowdoin History Department (2020). “Vapniarka: A Romanian Concentration Camp.”

Other Notes (Wikipedia)

During the Second World War, on the order of Colonel I. Murgescu, commandant of the Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria, the detainees – most of them Jews – were fed nearly exclusively with grasspea. Consequently, they became ill from lathyrism.

•  isurvived.org: The Holocaust in Romania Under the Antonescu Government, by Marcu Rozen.

A team of doctors among the inmates, led by Dr. Arthur Kessler of Cernăuţi, reached the conclusion that the disease presented all the symptoms of lathyrism, a spastic paralysis caused by the oxalyldiaminopropionic acid present in the pea fodder. Within a few weeks, the first symptoms of the disease appeared, affecting the bone marrow of prisoners and causing paralysis. By January 1943, hundreds of prisoners were suffering from lathyrism. The inmates declared a hunger strike and demanded medical assistance. As a result, the authorities allowed the Jewish Aid Committee in Bucharest to supply them with medicine, and the prisoners’ relatives were allowed to send them parcels. It was only at the end of January that the prisoners were no longer fed with the animal fodder that had caused the disease, but 117 Jews were paralyzed for life.

• “Dr. Arthur Kessler (1903-2000)”, in Lathyrus Lathyrism Newsletter, Vol. 3, pp. 3–4
• Dennis Deletant Hitler’s Forgotten Ally: Ion Antonescu and His Regime, Romania, 1940-1944. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2006, ISBN 1-4039-9341-6, p. 197; Kornis, pp. 228–229