On Wednesday, Romania commemorates the Day of Remembrance for the Martyrs of Communist Prisons, established by the Romanian Parliament in 2017, in honour of those who lost their lives due to inhumane treatment and torture in communist-era prisons.
Those arrested by the communist regime were not only former politicians but also wealthy peasants, intellectuals, students, and especially many priests—individuals who, by their very existence, contradicted the atheist ideology imposed across all state institutions.
May 14 was chosen as the official date of remembrance because on the night of May 14–15, 1948, mass arrests began: approximately 10,000 people were detained in a single night, often without their families knowing where they were held—or even whether they were still alive.
Numerous political prisoners perished in communist prisons, such as Pitești, Gherla, Aiud, Târgu Ocna, Sighet, Râmnicu Sărat, Arad, Jilava, and Văcărești.
Memorials Dedicated to Former Political Prisoners
Through the initiative of poet Ana Blandiana, the Sighet Prison was transformed into the Memorial of the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance.
In Aiud, at the site known as “Râpa Robilor” (“Slave’s Ravine”), the “Calvary of Aiud” monument was erected. The martyrs are represented by multiple crosses bearing the burden of the Romanian nation’s cross. Victims’ names are engraved in stone.
Inside the monument, Metropolitan Bartolomeu Anania, himself a former political prisoner at Aiud, consecrated a chapel in 2000. At its entrance is inscribed: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:10).
Appeal to Preserve Pitești Prison
A unique experiment took place at Pitești Prison, where inmates were tortured until they became the torturers of their own cellmates. Today, the former prison houses a memorial museum, and a chapel is being built in memory of the victims.
The foundation responsible for preserving the site is currently calling for the protection of the former prison building, which the municipality transferred from public to private ownership and traded to a company without considering the legal right of first refusal granted to historic monuments.
Although Pitești Prison is on Romania’s Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage Sites, this status does not provide legal protection.
“We must show that we care about this place—that the hundreds of students tortured during the Pitești Experiment will be remembered; that the memory of the many women abused here by the Securitate for supporting the resistance movement will be preserved; that the cold, wet concrete where political prisoners wept over their fate will be protected; that this history will not be erased,” representatives of the Pitești Prison Memorial Foundation said.
More information about the best-known martyrs of the communist prisons and a commemorative calendar can be found at Fericiticeiprigoniti.net.
Photo: Facebook / Memorialul Închisoarea Pitești
