April-May 1944 – British American bombardments in Bucharest – 5.524 dead, 3.373 wounded, 47.974 left without homes(source).
23-27 August 1944 – Nazi bombardments in Bucharest – 85 dead, 90 wounded, 69 houses destroyed (source).
Rare photo extracted from Romanian news article of the time
In April-May 1944, Bucharest was heavily bombarded by Allied planes (british and american). Other cities were bombarded until July. At the time, Romania was a Nazi ally and its main supplier of oil and cereals. The purpose of the German-Romanian alliance was the liberation of Soviet occupied territories and to stop the communist threat to Romania and Europe. Unknown at the time was that the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact signed by Hitler himself had allowed Soviet invasion of Romanian territories (and others) in 1939 (read more about the 1940 Soviet occupation of Romanian territories).
The bombardments targeted Ploiesti oil fields, Brasov factories, Turnu Severin port and train station. The capital city Bucharest and the cities of Pitesti and Craiova were also bombarded, despite the fact that they didnt represent military or economic targets, and as “open cities”, were not suppose to be attacked. Previous attacks had taken place against Romanian oil fields, however the results were modest, as Romanian fighter planes took down enemy planes – and more than anything, civilians had not been targeted.
Ploiesti oil refineries under attack
The first April attacks were handled well by Romanian fighter planes IAR-80/81 and by German planes, who took down dozens of enemy planes. However, the assaults were unexpected since Bucharest was an open city, the attacks were overwhelming and the planes were insufficient. The calls for additional military supplies remained unanswered. The attacks continued throughout the country until July 1944.
Civilian targets
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Bucharest represented an “open city”, situated 300 km from the war front, with no military targets. It was attacked repeatedly from April throughout May. The official justification was the attack on Gara de Nord Station to preventmilitary transportstothe front ineastern Romania (Iasi)wherethe Soviet army was advancing. However, the fighting had stopped in March and the only thing the train station was filed with were refugees from Soviet-occupied Moldova (read about the plight of Romanians in Soviet-occupied territories).
“Refugiati” – Trains filled with Romanian refugees from Soviet-occupied Romania
The train station was obliterated under carpet bombing and the refugees were all killed. The following attacks didnt include any military targets and were simply a terror campaign against civilians. As the attacks were unexpected and most of the medical personnel was on the war front in eastern Romania, the dead and wounded of Bucharest were left vulnerable, with insufficient medical assistance and with water and energy supplies cut off for days. The victims, many of whom were impossible to identify, were buried in a new cemetery named “4 aprilie” cemetery (the day of the first attack) near Calvin cemetery.
Boy in Bucharest. From those who found refuge underground, many often suffocated, as oxygen was pulled from the air to feed the blaze above them.
The aerial attacks specifically targeted civilian residences throughout every single city, the official purpose being “the demoralization of the civilian population”. The acts not only demoralized but terrorized the population, Bucharest being subjected to 15 attacks in a month. Such acts from the Allies against civilians were common during WW2, such as the Dresden bombing – german city filled with civilians and refugees, who died in a massive firestorm (fire tornado) caused by 3.500 tons of incendiary bombs. Or the bombing of Rome, Italy which used 60.000 tons of bombs on mostly civilian targets.
The acts of “demoralization” were meant to terrorize the population to such extent that they would accept any terms to end the ongoing assault; this happened in August same year (read more below).
German attacks
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A major complaint from both Romanian authorities and the local Nazi commanders was the lack of sufficient military support from Hitler towards the end. Suffocated by assaults from both the east and west, Hitler developed irrational plans that lead to uneven concentration of forces. Though the first aerial attacks were handled well by Romanian-German planes who took down dozens of enemy planes, the assaults had been unexpected and the planes were insufficient.
Iasi in eastern Romania (Moldova) was again assaulted in August by the Soviets in what was a coordinated plan to overtake Romania. The Palace of Culture in the background.
The major city of Iasi from eastern Romania was bombarded in August and eventually taken over by Soviets on August 22, 1944, and on August 23 the coup d’etat took place, planned by King Michael with the help of the Communists and the Allies. They were all part of a coordinated planned assault.
Soviet tanks occupy Bucharest in august 1944. The occupation was to last for more than a decade.
For more photos of the Red Army in Bucharest click here
Germans surrendering in August. In the background is the damaged Romanian Athenaeum. Later, Germans, together with Romanian soldiers, were taken prisoners to Siberia, where most died.
Soviet general Susaikov and King Michael of Romania. After the forged elections through which the communists won power, the king was forced to abdicate and leave the country.
The Nazis, who were taken by surprise by this sudden shift, answered by bombarding Bucharest between 23-27 august in an attempt to regain control. Cultural and especially royal targets were attacked (as an answer to the King’s betrayal), the number of victims standing at 89 dead. After 3 days, the attack stopped and the Nazis surrendered. They were taken prisoners by the Soviets and lead to Siberia, where most perished along with Romanian POW’s (who were also taken prisoners despite the so-called agreement).
The final days of “Little Paris”
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During the first stage of war, Romania kept a neutral position. Once Russia invaded and occupied Romanian territory following a secret pact between Russia and Germany, its Western guarantors territorial integrity (Britain and France) failed to intervene and Romania officially entered an alliance with Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union.
New York Times, June 30th 1940: “Russia limits Romanian invasion. Axis aid to Bucharest reported”
King Michael urged the population to accept Soviet presence, whose troops arrived in Bucharest on August 30, 1944. The king’s public declaration stated that the Allies had guaranteed through an armistice that no one will interfere in internal affairs and that the future holds nothing but freedom and democracy. In reality, no armistice has been signed until one month later, by time which the Romanian Army had been convinced to surrender, and the soldiers were taken prisoners to Siberia along with the Germans. Most of them perished. The entire army was dismantled – along with the taking of prisoners, the naval fleet, tanks, planes etc were stolen or destroyed, which left the country incapable of defending itself in front of the Communist takeover which followed.
The Soviet troops, who famously averted signing the Geneva convention, resorted to robbery, rapes and even murder, as reported by general Nicolae Radescu in Bucharest. His reports were ignored by the local Soviet representatives or the Russian embassy. The same behavior was reported throughout the country. In the decade that followed, the robbery continued on the highest level through the SovRom (Soviet-Romanian) companies, which ripped the country of its wealth and left behind a ruined economy.
Paris peace conference – Romanian delegation
In 1945, the prospects of freedom were officially signed away by the Allies through the Yalta agreement. The King, who had been used as a simple tool, was forced to abdicate in 1947 and he was expelled. Communists rigged the elections and started a reign of terror. The entire non-communist government was arrested. Since the Army had been quietly dismantled in 1944, there were no means for the government and population to defend itself.
“Little Paris” – never the same again
After the American bombardments and the subsequent occupation by the Soviet forces, the following decades brought on a new face to the city – that of Brutalist architecture, imposed by the Communist regime.
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Eye-witness excerpts include reactions from civilian population, who did not believe until last minute that they are under attack. Romania had never considered the US or the British a military target, its only preoccupation being the eastern front.
“Everything was goingwellon4 April1944.Butsuddenly, at 13.45, alarmsstart ringingthroughoutthe capital.Unfortunately,many of thecapital’sresidentsdidnt react properly, because theythought it wasan exerciseand so they didntreach the air-raid shelters on time.
The skysuddenlydarkenedandadeafeningnoise took over as if it was announcing the endof the world.Asolar eclipse? No!There are over200bombersready toattack the city. You close your eyes, openthem, andsuddenly, the beautiful capitalturns intoruins.A few hours later we beganto countthe victimsand the damage: thousands ofdeadand hundreds ofbuildingsdestroyed.”
Before and after – “Cartea Romaneasca”, some of the oldest printing workshops in Romania, reduced to rubble.
Mihai Sebastian diary: “When I went outin the yardI sawcountless of colored floating papersand I thought the airplaneshadthrownsomemanifests…The firstrumorscoming from thecity (a bomb on Brezoianu street, one on CarolStreet) – I thought they were exaggerations. When Iwentto the city center,a strangenervousagitationanimated the streets, thoughmoreof curiositythanofhorror. It was only later that werealized theextent ofthe disaster.”
According tothe archives,“the fundamental strategicobjectivewas the destructioninBucharest andinotherRomanian cities, of the railwaytransportsystem, warindustry, ultimately toeverything related tothe economy, includingthe civilian population.“
School half blown up
The Dimitrie Brândză Botanical Garden of Bucharest prior to the 1944 bombardments. Photo extracted from the official website, accompanied by the following commentary regarding the 1944 devastation:
“April 4, 1944 was one of the most unfortunate days for the Bucharest Botanical Garden. Over 90 bombs launched by the Allies fell on the area of about 17 hectares. The losses were huge. The Botanic Institute building burnt to the ground. It not only housed classrooms and laboratories, but also a very valuable herbarium and a botanical museum. The Old Greenhouse, built in 1891, was also destroyed. Its “twin sister” garden, the Botanical Garden of Liege, was almost completely destroyed. The water supply was also affected. Few know now that, for many months, glasshouse plants were doused with the water accumulated in the pits produced by bombs. Losses however were not limited to material ones. One of the most dedicated botanists – Aurelian Vladescu – died while trying to save some of the herbarium collection. There were also deaths among other employees. And sadly, next to the employees, there were also victims among the residents of the Cotroceni neighborhood, who had taken refuge in the Botanical Garden believing it was a safer place. The picture shows the Botanical Institute which once sitting on the Cotroceni hill, on Dambovita meadow. Ironically, 70 years later after the disappearance of the institute, the hill houses the Integrated Emergency Centre.”
Gheorghe Zane, economist:“You could see AthénéePalaceburning and smoke rising fromotherparts of the city. Me and Lena came out of the hotelwith a sense ofhorrorandwe headedtowardsAthénéePalacewhich was stillburning, flames coming out through eachwindow. Up on Victory Avenue, I saw the hotelSplendid burning, almost completelyknocked down. Thesidewalkswere filled withcrushed glassfrom thebombblasts. Behind the devastated Athenaeum lied thesmokingexhibitionsite of the Patronage Committee. Up on Victory Avenue, left and right, the buildings were demolished. On str. Frumoasa, all windows were made made to shreds; I walked with caution. From str. Voievozi toward the North Station, bombing had caused terrible havoc. North Station, the Railways on Basarab and Griviţei badly hit. I saw a tram caught by surprise; the dead driver sat down with his chest stuck on the control panel. I couldnt walk further.”
Princess Maria Cantacuzino: “The firstAmericanbombing– yes,American, as incredibleasit may seem–ofBucharest, the open citywithout connection toanyobjectof war; civilians, innocent, defenseless; eventwhichgave rise toa real apocalyptic show,which myself and GeorgeEnescu (husband and composer)witnessed from the top ofour terrace, amazedbythe terriblespectacle.”
Unexploded bomb in Bucharest
American bomb plot of Bucharest
“On Giulesti boulevard, there weremangledbodieswithinternal organs andintestineshanging in the trees, pools of bloodandcharredcorpsesand on Grivitei street (near Train Station), a horsefromabuggyhad been thrown into thefloorof aruinedbuilding. There weremanyold houses andbuildingsdestroyed, and people who didnt have enough roomin the sheltershidin the basements, many beingcrushedbetweendebrisorasphyxiated.“
Victim in Bucharest suburbs, which were devastated by carpet bombing. The body is layed outside as there are no structures left intact in the neighborhood.
IonHudiţă, University professor: “It was not until I goton the tram– it wasquarter past one–that I heardthe alarm.When we got to BrătianuSquare, sergeantsandstreetcommissioners were stoppingalltrams, asking peopleto take shelterwherever possible.I made it Rosetti market and seeingeveryonerunningterrified, Ihidinan old buildingcorridor. “
Mircea Eliade:“I spent the entire month of April terrorized byAnglo-Americanbombardment,which startedthe cultural and scientificdestructionof Bucharest. I think aboutthecultural institutionsthatwe hadand thatthe liberatorsdestroyed. I cannot help but observe theimbecilityofAnglo-Americans –andthe ability of Soviets to compel the Alliesto bombthecitieswhile they’recontent withstrictmilitaryvictories“.
“InGara de Nord Stationwereseveral hundredsMoldovanrefugees who had ran fromSoviet occupation, they were waiting to be sent to different locations inBucharestandin other counties.They weremostly women, children and elderlyin astate of totaldepressionandconfusion, because they had left behind theirhouseandentire belongings, and were now waiting, hungryand tired, in a train station.When thealarm was given, almost all remained inwagonsbecausethey had nowhere else to go.”
The final insult for the refugees came when they all fell under the overwhelming waves of carpet bombing, which left no chance of survival.
News article tells of the damage assessed until May 8th. The final number of victims was not yet counted. The toll (up to this point) had been 14.000 homes, 18 hospitals, 21 enterprises with no military value, 47 cultural institutions, 14 churches and cemeteries.
The National Theatre, built in the XIX century. Though the building could be restored (according to an expertise made after the bombing), the communists razed it to the ground.
“YesterdayafternoonI wasin theGriviţaneighborhood. FromStationAvenueBasarab, no house–none–escapeunscathed.The viewisheartbreaking. You canstillhearcriesfrom underneaththe rubble.Ona street corner, three womenwere crying and screaming, tearing out their hair, their clothes near acharredcorpsethat they hadjustpulled outfrom under the rubble.It had raineda littlein the morning andthe atmosphere was filled with smoke and the smell ofmud. It was like anightmare. I was notable togo beyondBasarab–I returnedhome witha feeling ofdisgust, horrorand helplessness.“
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American news report after August 1944. It magnifies German aerial attacks but no mention of the victims and the destruction caused by the Allied bombing.
The following document – SECRET july ’44- (PDF format) details the missions across “enemy positions” including Romania. It also mentions the fighter planes that were taken down by Romanian pilots. The pilots were awarded with the “Distinguished flying cross” and other medals.
German commander Killinger suicide. His secretary Hella Petersen, with whom he had a relationship, died with him (though the term murder is questionable). Suicide was a common option for Nazi officers, who were resentful of surrendering to the enemy.
Distorsion – the “masters” of Bucharest were never considered nor they acted like it, as they were an ally not an occupying force.
Today, a monument stands in Cismigiu park in the center of Bucharest, in the memory of the 378 American pilots who were taken down by Romanian planes. While the graves of the bombardment victims – the 4 aprilie cemetery – lays forgotten in the city outskirts, covered by weeds and the dust of time, so it doesnt bother the political sensitivities of our time.
The monument states “for the American pilots who died for the liberation of Europe and for the glory of the United States”. A sentence at which we can only look at with bitterness, as liberation was not what awaited Romania and half of Europe for the next 50 years. As the U.S. had force-opened Romania’s gates to communism.
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Mircea Eliade’s words, after leaving Bucharest and his country behind due to the communist takeover: “I belonged to one of the luckiest generation so far in Romanian history.Neither before,norafterour generation, didRomania ever experience thefreedom andrichnesswe enjoyed.We hada freedomobtainedwitha lot of blood,and we were always aware ofthe immensesacrificesmade for it.”
” I’d like everyone to learnwhat we went throughand what wereour conditionsand the chancesof victory overcommunism.We already reconciled withthe thought thatwe’re going to die.”
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www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Declaration_on_European_Conscience_and_Communism – the Prague Declaration called for the study and publication of materials that show the full history and brutality of early communism. The initiative was opposed by political and media groups which insist on the Holocaust being the single most devastating regime in Europe.
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Communism and WW2
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Drawing depicting the 1921 Polish-Romanian alliance against the Communist threat. “The Bolshevik: I’m going to have to dance along to your songs since you won’t dance along to my song”
The first decade after the end of the WW2 in the east of Europe was marked by mass arrests, executions and confiscation of all private property. It was a time when the new communist authorities, most of them lead by alien elements, were teaching society how to give in and obey in order to create a new society and a new man.
Lithuania: anti-communist partisans tortured and executed by the KGB were displayed in public as an example (source)
Estonia: Execution of anti-communist resistance group lead by Paul Maitla.
Poland: Edward Taraszkiewicz, Stanisław Torbicz and Kazimierz Torbicz – anti-communist fighters photographed after their hideout was surrounded and attacked by the communist intelligence services.
Max Goldstein
Communist terror in Romania had begun with the 1920 bomb attacks perpetrated by Max Goldstein against the Romanian government. Max Goldstein’s anarchy attempt, though killing major government officials, did not succeed in causing a revolution. After the 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia, communist activists tried to spread their ideology beyond Russia into Europe, resorting even to terrorist attacks (see also the Sofia 1925 attacks).
Romanian cities, including its capital Bucharest, were heavily bombarded by the Allies from April until July 1944, during which civilian targets were repeatedly attacked to “demoralize the population”. A coup d’etat organized by the Communist regime with the help of King Michael, brought down the Romanian anti-communist government in August 1944. The Allies and the King urged the population to accept the Soviet troops on Romanian territory, guarantying a free future. Morally exhausted by the bombings, the civilian population didn’t show opposition. The Romanian army was dismantled, the Romanian soldiers were taken prisoners to Siberia and Romania was left vulnerable. The Soviet military resorted to acts of robbery, rape and murder against the Romanian population. The Romanian military reports of such acts were ignored by the “liberators”. The entire Romanian government body and the Romanian military were arrested and/or executed.
The new communist authorities resorted to arrests, executions and various intimidation methods.
Teachers, lawyers, priests etc – anyone who had formal education or material possessions, was arrested and their goods confiscated. A hard-labor system was developed similar to the Soviet Gulag, where political prisoners were used as slave labor (the most infamous project was the Danube–Black Sea Canal). Malnourished and forced to work beyond their physical capabilities, many prisoners died in the camps.
In the words of Gavril Vatamaniuc in Memorialul Durerii “The generations of today need to know what happened, they are not aware and cannot imagine the full scale of it.”
One of Toma Arnautoiu’s notes written in his mountain hideout, later discovered by Securitate police, said: “I am the metal from a world turned to dust / I am the eternal echo of a world long gone”
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The partisans
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In popular culture, the word “partisan” is often associated with French or Italian resistance against the Nazis; although often times, these groups were made up of communist activists.
The anticommunist partisan movement started to develop in 1946-1947. The anti-communist resistance or partisans were people who fled the arrests and abuses, and who engaged in organized military movements in hope of a revolution that will overthrow communism. With the Romanian army dismantled after August 1944, the partisans became the only armed opposition. Aware that they couldn’t overthrow the new government on their own, they tried to create connections with other partisan groups (including foreign groups), and more than anything – they were certain that the war had not ended, and that the world governments would not allow communism to take over.
Unaware of the Yalta agreement signed by Stalin and the Allies in 1945, they continued to hope that the communist occupation was temporary. Their hopes started to fade towards the late 1950’s, especially after the fail of the 1956 Hungarian revolution, when Soviet tanks invaded a rebellious Hungary while the world stood-by and watched.
The communist authorities referred to them as “bandits” and “terrorists”. In order to stop and limit the partisans’ actions, the secret police used violent retaliation against the partisans’ families and against local communities.
The bodies of the “terrorists” were never returned to their families, being buried in common graves or incinerated. Centrul de Investigare a Crimelor Comunismului is actively searching for victims’ graves in order to confirm their cause of death and to bury them accordingly.
Together with their lives, their memories were erased as well. All personal photos were confiscated from their families, the only surviving photos being those found in Secret Police files after 1989, or photos carefully hidden by family members (Gheorghe Hasu’s sister sewed his photo on the back of a Saint Mary icon).
A common accusation brought by the communist police was “conspiracy to disintegrate the unity of the (communist) state”; any opponent was categorized as an “enemy of the people”.
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The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes – governmental body which analyzes, investigates and supports public awareness on the history of communism in Romania through publications, studies and works – Official Website
Centrul de Investigare a Crimelor Comunismului – actively involved in forensic work – Official Website
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Maria Cenusa’s testimony, wife of Constantin Cenusa (4 months pregnant at the time of the arrest): “They beat me up so badly to make me confess about my husband’s whereabouts. But no matter what they did to me, I didn’t tell them anything because I loved my husband so very much.” (for more on the story see the documentary below)
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After 1989, the Securitate (communist secret police) archives were desecretized. The following are a few stories out of many.
Gavrila group – from upper left to right:
Olimpiu Borzea – sentenced to hard labor for life for assisting the partisan group.
Andrei Hasu – shot in 1952.
Georghe Hasu – captured in 1955, executed in 1957.
Ion Chiujdea – captured through betrayal in 1955, executed in 1957.
Remus Sofonea – wounded during an ambush and saved by a local in 1955. He shot himself together with Laurean Husea in desire to spare the villagers from harassment by authorities, left a note thanking them for support.
Ion Gavrila – the only fighter who managed to escape for 30 years. He was captured in 1976.
Marcel Cornea – a medical student, he’s shot in the house of a local teacher in 1950.
Ioan Mogos – killed during a fight with the secret police in 1950. His remains are found in 1994 when he is buried near Craiova.
Nicolae Mazilu – killed with Ioan Mogos in 1950.
Victor Metea – captured through betrayal in 1955. Executed in 1957.
Ion Ilioiu – severely wounded in 1954 during a fight. He was captured and interrogated under torture despite his wounds.
Laurean Hasu – shot himself together with Remus Sofonea in the house of a local after they had been ambushed in 1955. He survived but was captured and executed in 1957.
Gelu Novac – son of a teacher, he was shot in 1952. His sister Gema died shortly after being released from prison (families were often imprisoned and treated to inhuman treatment to reveal the whereabouts of their relatives).
Nelu Novac – captured through betrayal in 1955. Executed in 1957.
Gheorghe Sovaiala – shot by the secret police in 1954.
Ioan Pop – captured through betrayal in 1956, executed in 1957 in unknown location.
Toma Pirau – killed during fight with the secret police in 1950.
Silviu Socol – wounded and captured in 1950. Executed in 1951.
Gavrila group in undated photo – some members were as young as 18
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Susman family – a well-established family of Huedin “country of moti” (romanians native of Apuseni mountains, western Carpathians). In the 1920’s he militated for the rights of locals to own the land and forests surroundings them – which had been under austro-hungarian rule. He became a mayor and was well-respected figure within his community. When he refused to sign up for the Communist party in 1946, he and his sons were blacklisted. Aware that they wont be having a fair trial, Susman senior and his sons chose to escape in the mountains.
Teodor Susman senior
Susman junior
Susman senior was shot in 1951. Though ruled a suicide, it was proven to be an execution-style killing when his remains were found in 2010.
Susman’s sons continued to hide for 7 more years and always escaped from numerous ambushes and confrontations with the secret police. In 1958, they were surprised by an unexpected attack when the shed they were hiding in was set on fire. They were incinerated and their remains were publicly exposed in the village. All relatives and neighbors were arrested by the authorities, who were aware of the support the Susman’s had received from their community.
1958 – the shed where Susman brother were incinerated. Their bodies visible on the right.
Susman brothers’ cremated remains GRAPHIC CONTENT
The cremated remains of the young Susman brothers were left exposed for a few days for the villagers to see, and then were thrown into a pit. They have yet to be found to this day (click photo for full view – graphic content).
Their father’s remains, Teodor Susman senior, were found in 2010. Officially ruled as a suicide by the communist authorities, the 9 pistol bullets and the gunshot wounds proved that it was an execution.
Traian Susman, the third son of Susman, was captured, interrogated and severely tortured which left him physically disabled.
Shepeherd sheds were common hideout in Fagaras mountains
Gavril Vatamaniuc, sergeant major, fought in WW2, a native of Bucovina (region divided by the Soviets in 1940). He was excluded from the army for openly expressing anti-communist views. He was arrested but managed to escape and retreat in the mountains where he became one of Bucovina’s partisans.
Gavril Vatamaniuc
He was captured in 1955 and sentenced to hard labor for life. Released in 1964 due to an international amnesty, he lived until 2012. Intelligent and with a clear sharp mind well into old age, he gave off detailed descriptions of his experiences – both on video and in writing.
Extract from movie made on Fagaras partisans
Elisabeta Rizea – her uncle was executed in 1948 for being a political party member. She supported the partisan movements, for which she was arrested, tortured and spent 12 years in prison. After release, she continued to help partisans despite the risks.
Dumitru Opris – supported the partisan groups of Fagaras and spent 3 years in prison for it, after which he returned home weighing 45 kg.
Alexandru Macavei – native of Rosia Montana where his family owned a goldmine. Highly educated and a member of political party; in WW2, he served as a second lieutenant. Alexandru and his three brothers opposed the arrest attempt and therefore a shooting erupted during which they managed to escape.
Alexandru Macavei died in 1949 during a shootout after he and his brother were surrounded by police forces. He managed to escape but received a head wound and, aware of his limited possibilities, he shot himself. He was buried in an unknown location by police forces and his body has yet to be found. His brother was captured one month later.
Macoveiciuc group, with over 40 members. They ambushed Soviet troops which had occupied their native Bucovina. When fighters were captured and deported to Siberia, the leader Vladimir Macoveiciuc attempted to form a solid partisan movement by getting in contact with partisans from Romania and Ukraine.
Vladimir Macoveiciuc, leader of the group. Attempted to form a solid partisan movement by getting in contact with partisans from Romania and Ukraine. He was tracked down following a betrayal; wounded during ambush, he committed suicide in order to avoid capture.
Body of “bandit” Gelu Novac, shot on August 6 1954
Vasile Motrescu, a peasant from Bucovina turned partisan. Described as “a tall man always dressed in national clothing”. A lonely partisan, Vasile left behind a short diary.
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Excerpts from his diary
“To call oneself apartisanmustgive upeverything, youhave to give uplife andput itinservice of the nation, forthe conquest offreedom for the Romanian people“
“I did not bring the Communist Partyto Romania, nor canI remove it.Thisis not inmy power, I cannotbreak you down, but neither will I help you.”
“Your policyis likeaspider’s web, youcollaboratein the beginning with slogans,stages,periods, etc, until you reachtheage ofmaturity, then youshow your teethof beast…”“Sinceyou started using the Sovietmethods, the countrylacks in everything: thecountry of wheat had nobread…”. “The Communistsare the patriots without a home.“
“Bucovina is crying, bathed in blood…”
“Every night I fall asleep alone and cold. And every single night I dream that I am at my father’s place.”
During the war, Vasile fought on the Eastern Front in the Mountain Hunters division. Once northern Bucovina was invaded by Soviets, he became part of Constantin Cenusa’s group. After the war, he built a family and tried to live a normal life but from 1949 onward he was pursued by the authorities due to his anti-soviet convictions. He escaped to the mountains but he was captured with his two colleagues. He agreed to collaborate with the secret police (Securitate) and infiltrate a partisan group as an informer. He broke his promise by turning against the secret police agents once he infiltrated Ion Gavrila Ogoranu’s partisan group. The secret agents were shot in a spontaneous shooting. After this episode, Vasile could not (and did not wish) to return to the authorities, nor was he trusted by the villagers, being now suspected by both sides. Motrescu spent long periods alone in the mountains, surviving with the help of a few friends.
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Ion Gavrila Ogoranu’s recollection of the episode: “Motrescu was sitting in my back and his two colleagues in front of me. He was sitting so closely to me, I could feel his breath in the back of my head. I was uncomfortable, I felt cornered. I noticed the man in front of me was playing with his gun, it looked like he wanted to shoot me. But he couldn’t because Vasile, his man, was sitting too close to me.”
“You thought I’d betray my brothers?” Ogoranu described Motrescu’s famous words when he turned against the secret agents.
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Vasile briefly joined forces with Gavril Vatamaniuc but was left alone again when their hideout was discovered by soldiers, from whom they escaped after a violent shooting episode. Gavril was later captured. He survived until 2012 and recalled Motrescu in Memorialul Durerii “This man had no flaws. He only had one problem – he couldn’t bare loneliness.”
Though initially hopeful in an overthrow of the communist regime, despair and hopelessness had finally gotten to Motrescu, as seen in his diary:
“Whycan’t I havethe happinessof livinginthe village,or to at least havesomeonewith me, to not be alone, sittinginthe wildernesswiththe beasts ofthe forest, leadingthe lifeof a hermitat the age of 32, living bypartisan’ rules…It’shard to imagineallthe shortcomings, suffering, painof body and soul, I don’t even have time to get sick.Cold,hunger, lack of clothingandeverything that a manneeds…whatdo I suffer for?“
In 2005, the Romanian Academy published his diary in a book called “Diary of a partisan: Vasile Motrescu and the armed resistance in Bucovina”
Motrescu’s mother was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor and his brother was tortured leaving him paralyzed. His 2 children were not allowed to further their education past 4th grade.
April 3rd – Easter Day
“Bitter andfull ofthoughtsI spentthis day. As soon asI got up, I went out in the sunandreadtheBibleandI realizedthe Easter is coming and I’m still here. Easter spent in trouble.I’m desperate,livingwithouthope, andIliveby the graceof the Lord untilGodwill have mercy and I will take me away from theland of the living. I sitin the sunandthink aboutloved ones back home; atEaster, every soul, regardless of how poor they are, theystill get to enjoyat leastfreedom andbeing around people. I sitaloneand Icrywithoutcomfort, hungry, sad, hopeless, tenseminded, accusing and forgivinglifecompanionsandall the enemiesof my soul.
How muchtrouble,how muchtoil,pain,fatigue, andthoughtsunnecessarilywe encounteredinthese years ofpersecution, imprisonmentandcaptivity.My body isexhausted and my soul is tired. There is nocreatureon earthable toimagine the dog lifethat I livedthese years. In the eveningIwentaroundthe hut, I wentup in the tree. On topof the tree I found myname writtensince the autumn of 1944, when I was a runawayin these placesfor fear ofthe Russians.Ilivedhard back then too, butnot as hard as now.
Back thenI waspersecutedby the Russians, now I’m persecuted bymy own brothers. Yes, persecutingbrothersaretraitorswhohave soldtheir souls and countryfor akg of sugaranda poundofoilandbroughtthe country into so much sufferingthat even the babyin the budnowfeelswhat theBolshevik heaven is like.”
Vasile Motrescu was captured in January 1958 and he was executed in July same year. The photos above were found in his secret file, they were taken during the investigation, shortly after his capture.
Among his writings was also poetry, a will (where he talks of his love of country and sacrifice) and the sketch of a house he dreamt of living in one day. His brother built the house in Vasile’s memory. See more about Motrescu’s final days in a documentary produced in the mid-1990’s “Recurs in cazul Motrescu”.
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Ion Duicu was part of a strong Banat partisan group, made up of well-trained military men, extremely active in offensive actions.
Ion Duicu death certificate – he was killed in a 1950 surprise ambush by secret police forces.
Nistor Duicu, brother of Ion Duicu. He escaped the 1950 ambush which killed his brother, but was killed 2 years later.
Gheorghe Hasu‘s note to his wife Eugenia, which was discovered by her 60 years later. “Dear wife, I havent seen you and the children in such long time, I really miss you. And I can not see you. However, God is watching over us all …” Hasu was executed in 1957.
Maria Andreescu and her husband Nicolae, a priest, assisted the Arges partisans with food, clothing and information. Nicolae was executed and Maria was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.
Constantin Cenusa, leader of Bucovina partisan group from which Vasile Motrescu was part of, allegedly said “Look at all the mountains around us, all its trees are wet with the tears I shed.” He surrendered after his pregnant wife was arrested and beaten. Sentenced to 25 years of hard labor, he died in a suspicious suicide 2 days after his release.
Sighetu Marmatiei political prison turned into Memorial of the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance
Sighetu Marmatiei political prison turned into the Memorial of the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance
Ion Ilioiu joined the partisan movement as an 18 year old in 1948. In 1954, he was wounded and captured.
He was released in 1964 due to a special international amnesty. He lived until 2012.
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Vasile Lupu High School students – sentenced to death for developing anti-Soviet slogans after the 1940 Soviet occupation of eastern Romania (when territories were invaded and annexed after the secret Nazi-Soviet pact). Their ages were 18-19. The participants younger than 18 were condemned to 25 years in prison and deported to Siberia (most died in detention). (more here)
Their biggest offense was considered the replacement of the red Soviet flag with the Romanian flag on public institutions in Orhei on Christmas day.
“All we wanted was a free happy life, not one crushed under the occupant’s boot and Soviet tanks.”
NKVD office in Orhei. According to witnesses, the students were buried in the courtyard, one only half-dead. Due to the fact that Moldova is still under Moscow’s political influence, forensic work is made difficult.
Students photos retrieved from NKVD files
Spiru Blanaru – lawyer by profession, he became leader of the partisan movement in Banat area.
Though initially engaged in offensive actions, Spiru’s group resumed itself to defense when the authorities retaliated through punishing actions against the population. When a few members were captured, they attacked the Teregova police station and freed them. A massive operation was developed, especially designed for Blanaru and his group. Dozens of arrests were made in surroundings villages, and, under torture, the secret police obtained information from civilians about partisans’ whereabouts.
Three units surrounded them in February 1949 and, after a long exchange of fire which lasted the whole day, the partisans escaped. The harsh winter had weakened them and, while trying to get supplies in March, they were wounded and captured. They were executed in June.
Memorial risen in front of mayor offices in Teregova, where bodies of dead partisans had been exposed.
In April 1950, 13 members of a partisan group in Cluj were executed. Their bodies were never found.
Names of the 13 members were: Emil Dalea, Ioan Bedeleanu, Mihai Angheluta, Mihai Florinc, Petru Margineanu, Emil Olteanu, Florian Picos, Victor Vandor, Ioan Robu, Nicolae Nitescu, Simion Moldovan, Alexandru Maxi, Alexandra Pop. Photo taken while in detention.
The Cluj group included a woman, Alexandra Pop, whose grandfather, Ioan Andresel, was also executed in August same year. Photo taken while in detention.
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Oliviu Beldeanu (sitting down in middle), a Romanian sculptor who was living a tranquil life in Switzerland, away and safe from communism. Unable to bare the situation back home, he militated for the liberation of political prisoners from communist prisons. Aware of the passive attitude of western authorities, he resorted to desperate methods like the Berne incident.
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During the Berne incident, they seized the Romanian embassy in Switzerland and requested the release of political prisoners. During the siege, an altercation occurred during which the driver was hurt. When the team surrendered, the documents they had obtained from embassy for the release of the prisoners were returned by Swiss authorities to the communist authorities. Beldeanu was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
After his 1957 release from prison, the communist secret police tracked him down, lured him into a trap by making him walk into East German land (under communist control), where he was kidnapped in broad daylight and taken to Romania. Secret archives uncovered by Georg Herbstritt şi Stejãrel Olaru revealed the kidnapping episode in east Berlin. After a kangaroo trial, Oliviu was executed in Jilava prison. Beldeanu’s attempt to attract attention to the abuses taking place under communist rule faded into forgetfulness, while the western authorities proved a disappointing compliance with the new communist governments of eastern Europe.
Mihai Tantu – founder of the Romanian Commando Units (created during WW2). Native of Bessarabia (eastern Moldova) which fell under Soviet occupation and became part of USSR.
In 1946, Mihai was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison for “conspiracy to disintegrate the unity of the (communist) state”, common accusation brought to all military men and to all anti-communist (from politicians to ordinary peasants).
He managed a miraculous escape from prison and fled to Vienna, but chose the risky return to Romania as a secret agent with the help of French authorities. He attempted to help the anti-communist partisan groups but was captured and imprisoned again in 1950. Released in 1964 due to an international amnesty agreement for political prisoners, he died in poverty and anonymity in 1979 due to health problems developed in prison.
Toma Arnautoiu – lieutenant in the Mounted Guards Regiment. Together with colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu, they formed a communist resistance movement made up of 16 people, including 4 women. A part of them were arrested or killed during confrontations, leaving Toma as the sole leader.
Toma Arnautoiu resisted for 9 years in difficult conditions. After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution when the west showed total passivity towards the anti-communist movements, Toma gave up hope of regime change and prepared for prolonged life in isolation, refusing to give in to communist authorities.
Partisans Maria Plop and Toma Arnautoiu became a couple and had a daughter, born in their mountain hideout in 1956.
Toma and one of the female members of the group, Maria Plop, became a couple during their partisan years and had a daughter. Retreated in a mountain hideout – a high cave, they were impossible to track down.
They were captured through betrayal in May 1958, when Toma Arnautoiu and his brother were drugged with drinks by a collaborator of the secret police. The mountain hideout was encircled by police forces, where Constantin Jubleanu, Maria Plop and her daughter were located. Maria surrendered with the little girl in her arms but Jubleanu refused to be captured and a fire exchange started until he eventually used the last bullet on himself.
Maria Plop and daughter coming down from the hideout.
Constantin Jubleanu laying dead after the shooting episode. Constantin had retreated with his parents and brother, the entire family being on the black list of the authorities. After a confrontation with the police forces, his parents were killed. Jubleanu senior was asked to dig his wife’s grave before being executed himself (according to official records from Securitate archives).
Maria Plop and 2 year-old daughter after 1958 capture. Maria is visibly weakened by the difficult isolated 9 years in the mountains. The little girl was sent to an orphanage, Toma was executed in 1959 toghether with 20 other family members and friends, and Maria died in prison due to the unbearable conditions.
Raluca Voicu Arnautoiu – the little girl born in the mountain cave, pictured here as a young student. Her identity was changed and she was adopted. Her cousins, left orphans after the executions, remained in the orphanage.
The daughter of partisans Maria and Toma became a musician (violinist). She learned about her biological family after 1989 when communism collapsed.
Toma and Maria’s daughter went to court in order to officially receive her biological father’s name of “Arnautoiu”.
Ioana Arnautoiu requested access to all Secret Police files and became an activist and spokesperson for her parents’ partisan group and for anti-communist movements in general.
Ioana Arnautoiu sitting next to her father’s photo, taken after his capture.
Money and notes written by Arnautoiu group partisans
One of the notes written by Toma Arnautoiu said:
“I am the metal from a world turned to dust.
I am the eternal echo of a world long gone.”
“Pine trees break but dont bend” book by Ion Gavrila Ogoranu, partisan who escaped for over 30 years. After his colleagues were executed, a poor widow with children hid him in her house. She later became his wife. Captured in 1976, he escaped the death sentence when his wife sent a plea to the American authorities for intervention. Because the political system was more relaxed from the late 1960’s onwards, Gavrila was spared.
Ion Gavrila Ogoranu as a young partisan. Before passing away in 2006, he made every effort to release his memoirs (wrote 7 volumes) and to promote knowledge on the anti-communist partisan struggle.
“For Romanians, communism wasalwaysa strange thing aliento their soul, bothas an ideologyand as apolitical regime. TheCommunist PartyofRomania, before 1944, had only few members, almost allof them of foreignethnic background.“
In 2006, he wrote an official letter to the minister of Justice, accusing the authorities of marginalizing and neglecting the anti-communist activists, and also the war veterans and their widows. One month later, he passed away.
Fagaras partisans as students
Ion Ogoranu
Though the 1989 revolution was supposedly against communism and had gained the Romanian people the freedom that they had been waiting for since 1946, those who came to power were in fact members of the old communist party, which may explain the marginalization of the surviving anti-communist fighters and the lack of patriotism and national interest in the post-communist leadership.
The daughter of partisans Toma Arnautoiu and Maria Plop accused the authorities of the same neglect and took it upon herself to promote their cause to the public.
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Victor Metea with mother
Victor Metea – “They’re not content with just killing us, they want to compromise us morally as well“
Victor Metea came from a family of affluent farmers, which made them a target of the secret police. Victor refused to join the communist party which was mandatory after 1947. After his neighbors were arrested, Victor ran away with his father and later joined the partisan group lead by Ion Gavrila Ogoranu.
“We were hoping intheoutbreak of a war, whenwe couldfightto overthrowthe regime.Forthis, we had to remain aliveat any cost. Andthis wasquite difficult. Our conditions were impossible, from all pointsof of view“
Victor was preparing to study medicine, and despite becoming a partisan, he still carried books of chemistry and physics in his kit.
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Victor’s little brother Ioan was arrested 18 times and tortured to pressure him to reveal his family’s whereabouts. After 1990, he recalled:
“In Sibiu, I waslocked ina small wet cell, withoutwindow. I couldnt seeanything, butI felt that when I took off my shoes, rats were biting my feet. I had abunk, a plankandthats it. Theinvestigatorwas acoloneldressed ina whiterobe whothreatened to castrateme with a knife if I didnt giveinformationaboutmy brother.When Iwent toFagaras, it waselectric shocks. Theyconnected myhands and feetwithelectricwiresandused it until I had nostrength left. They were also beatingthesolesof my feet, after theytiedmy hands and feetovera wood. Another timethey covered me witha boardandhit it witha sledgehammer.“
Partisan Ion Gavrilă Ogoranu, the leader of the group from which Victor was part of, described in his memoirs:
“For 3 monthsthey livedin the snow,drivenfrom one place, in another placenot expected bynobody. They found somefrozenpotatoesand ate them but that made themvery sick. Theyenduredthirst, as waterfrom snowdoes not stopthirst. They sleptin the woods orin deserted places. Sometimesthey made a firewhenthey had somethingto roastorboiled, but never to warm up,to notget used to comfort. For weeks, thewolveshowledall around themat night.For 10 daysthey hid in a foxes den.All winterthey dreamt of a piece of polentawithcheese.They crossed Olt river seeking a shelterwithfood, butthe beartook it ahead of them.Staggering on their feet from hunger, at the beginning of Aprilthey made a fireat the foot ofthe mountain. Thats where I met them.“
After another harsh winter when Victor had had pneumonia and had only found a single dose of penicillin, they stopped in Daffodil Glade to rest after 2 days of walking. Unaware that the communists had changed the Flower festival celebrations to a different date, they found themselves surrounded by secret police forces as public celebrations were underway. Gavrila described how they tried to blend in:
“I took the prayer bookand tried to actlikeI’m casually reading.ButI was not reading, I was praying. Victor was pretending to be fishing. You could hearrumbleof drums, songs of fanfare, shouting.Ina scene, rural youth was singing andplayingto entertain secretaries, activists, MPs, officers, presidents seatedamidstthe seaofdaffodils. Young people were competing toentertain those who sent their theparentsto the Channel (romanian synonymous of a Russian Gulag)or eventhe firing squad, symbolic imageof a nationof serfs, trainedforcenturiestolick thehand of those whoputthe chain around them andbeat them.
People came from time to time near our place.Once,apolicemancame. Two childrenwenttoVictor, fascinated with his fishing rod, and hetaughthow tofish. Theirparents called the children to come eat andGod, how we were craving theroastedmeat! We lookedat the clock butminutes werestandingstill.Two girls whopickingflowerssawa pretty boy (Victor)fishingandkept walking in his front, trying to get him to talk to them.Wedidnt want anyone to cometo us, especially Victor– since his villagewasonlytenmiles fromhere. The whole day we sat shirtless, so they couldnt see our dirty tornclothes. In the evening, wetuckedourselves under the coversand we fell sleep exhausted. At lastI sawthem leave together with the police trucks. We were saved.“
Victor is captured through betrayal in 1956. Aware of the inevitability of his death, he defied his captors until the end by criticizing how they cannot speak Romanian properly during interrogation and by correcting their grammar mistakes during declarations. He was executed in 1958.
Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu lead a resistance movement in Arges until 1961, when he was captured and later executed. Photo and document, named “Criminal transcript sheet”, taken from the Sighet Memorial of Victims of Communism and Resistance.
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When Arsenescu tried to open a business in 1947, he was accused of economic sabotage and was put under surveillance. An experienced military man, he became resilient of communism and formed a partisan group. His capture was impossible for over a decade, when he was finally arrested through betrayal. He was executed in 1962.
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Bodies of Ioan Leonita, Ioan Burdet and Toader Dumitru uncovered in 2009. The 3 men were executed without a trial on June 24, 1949 in Dealul Crucii. Toader Dumitru (mayor of Rebra village) and the other 2 men were blacklisted after not allowing the falsification of the 1946 elections. The executions without a trial were hidden behind accusations of attempts to escape, which are often dismantled by forensic work at the crime scene. Photo courtesy of CICC (Center for the Investigation of communist crimes)
The final resting place after the 3 men had a proper burial