Danube.E2.80.93Black Sea Canal Reeducation in Communist Romania

location of forced labor camps on danube–black sea canal site

work on danube–black sea canal started in summer 1949, following route marked black valley, stretching across northern dobruja east toward west. idea originated letter addressed stalin gheorghe gheorghiu-dej in 1948, , purpose far more economic reasons. first of all, meant social engineering project, declared aim of creating new technical , political staff. communist regime in bucharest not finance such massive undertaking; politically driven project, meant build new man”, defined marxist–leninist doctrine.

laboratory meant provide – during four-five years planned project – qualified personnel, disciplined, elevated consciousness level, politically trained, experienced designers , site managers.”

on other hand, meant final destination old political , social elite. political prisoners forced work under extremely harsh conditions, subjected extermination regime , targeted next stages of reeducation process. while emphasis set more on work-driven reeducation rather violence, 2 functioned in parallel, , great number of prisoners ended in mass graves.

twelve labor camps set alongside canal route: cernavodă (columbia), kilometer 4 (saligny), kilometer 23, kilometer 31 – castelu(castle), poarta albă(white gate), galeș, 9 culme(9 ridge), peninsula, năvodari, midia, constanța stadion și eforie nord. poarta alba labor camp prisoner distribution center, located halfway between danube , black sea. general rule, sentences shorter 5 years kept there, while sentences above threshold sent peninsula labor camp. according remaining documentation constanța regional prosecutor s fund, between 1949 , 1955 (the period when vast majority of labor force constituted of political prisoners), number oscillated following:

1949: 6,400 (1 september), 7,721 (1 october), , 6,422 (30 october).
1950: 5,382 (30 june), 5,772 (30 july), 6,400 (30 august), , 7,721 (30 september).
1951: 15,000 (6 june) , 15,609 (1 september).
1952: 11,552 (february), 14,809 (march), 14.919 (april), 17,150 (may), 17,837 (july), 22,442 (august), , 20,768 (september).
1953: 20,193 (april), 17,014 (june) , 14,244 (july).


danube-black sea canal @ murfatlar

peninsula labor camp set in june 1950, 12 kilometers away poarta alba, on shore of siutghiol lake, opposite mamaia town. consisted of several h -shaped, template shacks, made of wooden frame , battens plastered clay, covered tar paper; shack extremities reserved brigade bedrooms, while transverse, close entrance, used lavatory. people slept on fir bunks, covered mattresses filled straws. camp accommodate maximum number of 5000 detainees. during existence, several wardens succeeded in command: lieutenant ion ghinea, first warden, followed dobrescu – november 1950, ilie zamfirescu – march 1951, Ștefan georgescu – may 1951, mihăilescu – november 1951, tiberiu lazăr, former warden of gherla prison – february/march 1952, petre burghișan – november 1952 , eugen cornățeanu – july 1953. detention regime harsh. generally, wake-up @ 5:00, while program started around 6:00 or 07:00, depending on distance labor camp work site. lunch break lasted half hour , work continued earliest till 15:30. quantity , quality of food varied. in morning, soup of roast barley ( coffee ) served, alongside 250 grams of stiff, old, black bread. in afternoon , evening, tin of mashed barley or pickles soup accompanied quarter bread. food had such low caloric content, prisoners had supplement in possible way, eating captured snakes.

peninsula consisted of 6 labor sites:

the regular work site – peninsula – in proximity of camp.
mamaia, main task loading/unloading mine carts excavated gravel.

mine carts loaded in fast winded , dusted madness – tools persistently growling hell -, patchily loaded, hastily driven pits fastly emptied over, returned loading point , hastily loaded again , fastly driven again , again , again, uninterrupted twelve hours, minus lunchtime. wagon , forth fast-paced spectacle seamed take place in eerie underworld, walking dead, in colorful dressing, driving – driven unseen demons – ghostly mine carts.”

mustață ( mustache”) work site, gravel , rocks other work sites brought filling valley, targeted agriculture.
canara work site, rock excavated, broken down, crushed , loaded.
ring-creastă, soil excavated.
năvodari work site, sea shore sand loaded trucks.

in parallel, work undergone level terrain rail road , roadway flank canal. work quota 1 prisoner 3 m³ per day. had excavated, loaded wagons, transported, rolled on , leveled. detainees transferred pitești in may 1950 had load 150 kilogram able wagons , transport dirt on 100 meters. quota 3.5 m³ per day – 40 wagons necessary fulfill – being 3–4 times greater quota meant free canal workers.

those not able fulfill quota persecuted, starting reduction of food quantity, assignment additional labors after program, denial of family contact of kind , solitary. @ end of july 1950 disciplinary brigades established (brigades 13 , 14), composed of former pitești prisoners, headed iosif steier și coloman fuchs. violent reeducation initiated there. prisoners transferred form pitești , gherla, not considered reeducated, or canal workers actively opposing camp regime, transferred these brigades, tortured until unmasked themselves. 1 of violent manifestation occurred in night of 21 june 1951 (later referred – prisoners – st. bartholomew’s night) when 14–15 inmates brutally beaten in brigade 14 s shed reeducated brigadiers such maximilian sobolevschi, constantin sofronie, pompiliu lie, ion lupașcu, simion enăchescu, ion bogdănescu , others.

abuse started tudor anghel, mechanic bucharest, <<tall, dark-haired, rather skinny and, since missing teeth, hissing voice>>. bogdănescu grabbed hair left hand while right 1 started hit him rubber club, continuously swearing. [...] prisoners musical instruments started playing, , on bogdănescu’s order, newcomers tortured during unmasking session: @ first, in desultory way, while more methodical in later stage: 2 reeducated prisoners 1 person. lost consciousness, medical team – made of former medicine students, led anton (toni) nisipeanu – called. using bucket of water , towel, nisipeanu wiped blood off faces, , others moved them on bunk. <<they did not out of sympathy us, rather torturers morale. feared soften on sight of blood, , not punch sufficient vigor.>> then, tortures resumed.”

medication smuggling practiced in labor camp. drugs confiscated inmates packages , sold desperate ones on black market. pillory addressed people tried escape , refused work. there recorded cases guards framed escape scenarios , fatally shot prisoners. such achievement rewarded 15-day leave.

one of events had major influence on both canal detention conditions , reeducation process death of doctor ion simionescu on 12 july 1951. 67-year-old prisoner repeatedly tortured reeducation team, beaten up, starved registered exhausting tasks until – under claim had go toilet – headed towards camp fence, shot security guards. following this, prisoners cicerone ionițoiu , constantin ionașcu wrote , managed sneak out of camp , country series of papers reached radio ankara, via constanța. forced labor on canal site ceased on 18 july 1953. of peninsula labor force transferred aiud , gherla prisons. remaining prisoners had dismantle railroad lines , shacks , hand on towards civilian teams unfinished buildings.

due inhumane work , detention regime, death toll high. in summer of 1951, behind camp medical facility, 4–5 bodies lined on daily basis, while same death rate registered in 1952–1953 winter. investigations conducted association of former political prisoners of romania (afdpr) constanța, based on death records villages found along canal route, indicate number of 6355 canal workers (a euphemism detainees) deceased during 1949–1953 period.