Gheorghe Ion Munteanu

So in 4 years from Craiova you then... so from Craiova you went to Gherla. Yes. You did not stay long in Gherla, right? Yes. And then Stoeneşti, Salcia. Were you in Măcin as well? Yes, in Măcin. And how was it there, in Măcin? Pretty much like the others, there wasn’t that much of a difference among them. If you were honest they couldn’t find fault with you. They gave us even some books to read there, and stuff. What kind of books? Only books of... political books, that sort of thing. And there was the chess game they gave to us as well... to pass the time... I did play some chess. Where were you staying in prison... in...? In huts. In huts. What did they look like? They were wooden huts. So there was no fire.... there were many of us in there, truth to tell. How many? 600 in a hut. 600 you say. 600 in a hut. There was one who was... I think he was having fun with doing this to us so... that morning we even gave him a name… I don’t know what his real name was, we didn’t care about it, had no reason to care. But he was forcing us to go out through that door real quick. And did he beat you? With... or... Well, he had... the name we called him came from this... he had this cudgel, about 50, 60 cm long... but he did not hit us, he was just spinning it round his head. Where was this? In Brăila. In Brăila. There were many of us there and we couldn’t just go out the door like that, easily. So we were cramming together, what else to do. We tried to guard ourselves, but he did not hit us. You were released in... one moment, you were released on the 12th of April 1964. When, how did it all go? Well... umm... How did it all happen, that day? Of the release? Yes – how did it all happen? Well, we were notified... in the morning at breakfast, that we were not to go out to work that day and that we should come to the office. There they gave us these... they gave us a barber, all kinds... they gave us the clothing, it was ironed and all, gave us everything... and told us we were to be set free, and that we shouldn’t go talking about what happened to us.

Can you still recall how you got arrested? How did it all go? How did they arrest you? Well, they put me in a car in the station, took me from the station master’s office, as the station master remained in my place, because I was on duty, and they put me in the small car, took me home, searched my house. At home... they found this ID card... from the war. And because of this I was sentenced again... So you were in the war? Yes, I was, on the front. Which front? The... the Eastern one. In the East then... Since when, which year? Since 1941, then on June 11th 1942 I got wounded and was declared disabled and they sent me home, and then I didn’t go again, didn’t... ??? What was I doing there, he asked, and I said it wasn’t my choice. Either I went, I could get shot, but if I did not go... if I didn’t go... I’d still have been shot, so then I went, and I was lucky to escape with my life, what do I know, and all these... I was in the 41st brigade. I did it voluntarily in ’58, I was there two years before. So... Yes, at 20, I was 20 years old. So you were in war... and the reason why you got arrested was because you fought on the Eastern front? No, he asked me about that as well when he interrogated me. „Swear it. Have you been on the front?” „I have”, I say. „But they had it noted down that I took prisoners, what happened to me, he was a sergeant. After you were arrested, where did they take you? To Craiova. He had found my military card here. So he cooked up all sorts of reasons, that the king, and Antonescu, and all that... but they were the leadership at the time. I was just an ordinary man who had to carry out my duties. So they took you to Craiova and placed you in arrest? Yes. In Craiova. And for how long have they kept you there? How long were you kept there before the trial? From January they kept me, till... uh... april, or so. So from January 1959 to April. Yes. Yes? In interrogations. In interrogations? Yes. Up to the trial. Yes How did the interrogations go? Interrogations... The cross-questioning, how did it all go? They was asking me questions... but only during the night... So you were only questioned during the night? Yes, the questioning. It was never done during the day. Who was questioning you? Do you remember? Yes, I do... Do you still recall what the interrogator looked like? He was a senior lieutenant. And what sorts of questions did they...? I was... Were you beaten? Did they beat you during the questioning? Yes, I see... right, right. So, they took you in a room in Craiova. What sort of room was it, what did the prison cell where you were questioned look like? Yes, it was in the basement... In the basement. Yes, down there... I was alone. Alone in your cell? ...for a couple of months, then they brought in somebody else. Who was it? Do you recall? No, I don’t, I can’t remember...