Graves of political prisoners opened in Aiud
Archaeologists from the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania (IICCR) started digging in the area known as the Steep of Slaves in Aiud, where political prisoners, killed during communism, were buried.
09 Iunie 2011, 11:08
This is the place where political prisoners, killed during communism, were buried, after having done time in the prison built during the reign of Maria Theresa.
The location was converted into one of the toughest prisons during the days of Stalinism.
According to official documents, about 450 prisoners died in Aiud due to the cold, the starvation or the torture they endured, archaeologist Marius Oprea said.
‘They are all martyrs from a literary point of view.’
‘They are all martyrs because they suffered greatly in this prison’, Marius Oprea said.
Warning: Images of an emotional impact.
On Thursday the Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Cluj, Alba, Crişana and Maramureş, Andrei Andreicuţ will arrive to Aiud.
He will bless the archaeologists and the graves of the former political prisoners, arranged in rows of four on the steep full of clay.
The ones killed in Aiud represented the Romanian inter-war elite, for instance, great philosopher Mircea Vulcănescu, but also priests, lawyers, journalists or officers of the Romanian Royal Army.
Translated by: Anca Toma
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University
