Craiova Prison

[1] Following the establishment of a communist regime in 1947, the number of political prisoners grew constantly; at first, these were mainly National Peasants' Party affiliates.

While conditions were relatively mild during the first wave of arrests in 1945–1947, when the communists had not yet fully consolidated power, they worsened sharply in the following years.

Underfeeding led to endemic hunger and advanced anemia; this was exacerbated by those who cooked and served the food, common criminals who would take part of the political prisoners’ portions for themselves.

They were interrogated by teams of Securitate secret police agents inside the prison, as the basements in their building had become overcrowded with detainees.

A relaxation followed the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953; this was reversed amidst the wave of arrests that occurred when the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was crushed, so that the number of detainees grew from a capacity of 1,100 to some 1,800. Notable inmates include Aurelian Bentoiu [ro], Nicolae Penescu, Mihail Romniceanu [ro], Radu Câmpeanu, Corneliu Coposu, Ioan Mocsony-Stârcea [ro], Ioan Carlaonț, Ioan Hudiță, and Richard Wurmbrand, most of whom were transferred to other prisons in due time.