Czernowitz (Chernovtsy, Cernauti) was the district center of the Chernovtsy Oblast and former capital of the Bukovina province. On October 11, by order of District Governor Corneliu Calotescu, all the Jews of Czernowitz—more than 50,000—were compressed into an area of several side-streets, and representatives of the Romanian National Bank confiscated their belongings and property.