The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance on the Southern Slope of the

Fgra Mountains and the Iezer Mountains. The Groups Led by Colonel
Gheorghe Arsenescu and Lieutenant Toma Arnuoiu (19481960) (I)
Dorin Dobrincu
The southern slope of the Fgra Mountains together with the Iezer
Mountains were largely part of Muscel County by the end of 1940s. These mountain
ridges, particularly the first one, comprise the highest mountain peaks of the
Romanian Carpathians, and at the installation of the Communist regime they were
covered with forests and pastures, while the communication means hardly existed.
The inhabitants of the villages settled in the valleys of these mountains almost
exclusively Romanian ethnics earned their living by exploiting wood and rearing
cattle.
Politically speaking, the County of Muscel had been an elective reservoir for
the National Peasant Party (NPP) in the inter-war period, but also in the aftermath of
World War II, Ion Mihalache being a prominent figure in the region. The instauration
of the Communist regime after 1945 led to the escalation of tensions between NPP
members and the Communist Party members who had been recruited from the
insulated people of that district, especially from the former prisoners held in USSR
and returned in the country by Tudor Vladimirescu Division. The hostilities between
the members of these two parties ended with human losses 1 . The Liberal Party was
also well represented in the area, mainly in the town of Cmpulung. The repression
measures taken by the Communist authorities had similar consequences in different
parts of the country: the political persecuted became clandestine creating resistance
groups.
1

For example, on August 9, 1946, the local NPP leaders went to the Court House of Piteti to
present their candidate lists for parliamentary elections. The school teacher Popescu, from a village
near Piteti, was shot dead right in the premises of the Court House. A similar fate had the solicitor
Gheorghe Mihai, from the village of Vlsneti, the County of Arge, who was shot dead at
daytime in an area between the Court House building and the Tax Administration building of
Piteti (Povestea Elisabetei Rizea din Nucoara. Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi (ed. by Irina Nicolau
and Theodor Niu; foreword by Gabriel Liiceanu), Bucharest, 1993, p. 107. I will further quote
from the two separate testimonies: Povestea Elisabetei Rizea, and Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi
respectively). Gheorghe ua from Domenti, a small entrepreneur and local NPP leader was lifted
by the Communist Security in 1946 (it seems this happened right in the middle of the November
parliamentary elections) or in 1947 and assassinated (Mrturia Elisabetei Rizea [rud cu Gheorghe
ua], in Roland Ctlin Pena, Cuminenia pmntului. La Nucoara, martiriul adevrailor
lupttori anticomuniti continu, Dreptatea, no 660, 15 august 1992, p. 3; Povestea Elisabetei
Rizea, p. 17-18, 25; Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi..., p. 107; Alexandru Marinescu, Pagini din
rezistena armat anticomunist. Zona Nucoara-Fgra, Memoria, no 7, 1992, p. 47).

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

The armed anti-Communist resistance on the southern slope of the Fgra

Mountains and in the Iezer Mountains has been widely debated by the media and
relatively studied after the demise of the Communist regime. There were printed
several volumes of documents, studies and articles, as well as documentaries. In this
study I am approaching the micro-history of the groups led by Colonel Gheorghe
Arsenescu and Lieutenant Toma Arnuoiu. My research is based on records
unpublished (from the Archives of the Romanian Intelligence Service) or published
in memoirs and testimonies.
1. The Gheorghe Arsenescu Group from Dragoslavele (1948)
1.1. An innate military: Gheorghe Arsenescu
Gheorghe Arsenescu was born on the 31st of May 1907, in the town of
Cmpulung-Muscel 2 , in the family of a career officer who had taken part in World
War I, had been wounded in the battles of Mreti in August 1917, and apparently
died in a campaign hospital. His three sons embraced the military career, and his
three daughters married militaries 3 . The young Gheorghe Arsenescu attended Dinicu
Golescu High-school of Cmpulung, No 2 Military School of Infantry Officers of
Sibiu, graduating with highest honours (he distinguished as a sharpshooter among
others). After training in a frontier guard regiment, he was assigned on his request to
the 30th Dorobani Muscel Regiment. From there he left to the War Superior School.
After graduation he was sent to Trgovite in order to perform his military duties as

Maria Arsenescu-Buduluca, Sunt soia teroristului Gheorghe Arsenescu, Memoria, no 8, [c.

1993], p. 50; Corina Caramete, Acesta a fost tatl meu, interview with Melania Boriceanu, daughter
of Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu, Romnia liber, no 1086, 23 octombrie 1993, p. 6; Ion
Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, Un erou de legend: colonel (rezerv) Gh. Arsenescu, Memoria,
no 49, 2/2004, p. 82. The text has been previously published in a slightly modified form under the
title Un erou de legend. Colonelul Gheorghe Arsenescu, Analele Sighet, 8, 2000, p. 565-571. I
will further use the version published in Memoria; Lupttorii din muni. Toma Arnuoiu. Grupul
de la Nucoara. Documente ale anchetei, procesului, deteniei (ed. by Ioana-Raluca VoicuArnuoiu), Bucharest, 1997, p. 18 (records from the Archives of the Romanian Intelligence
Service (furthet, ASRI), fonds P, file 1238, vol. 50).
3
M. Arsenescu-Buduluca, op. cit., p. 50; C. Caramete, op. cit., interview with Melania Boriceanu,
p. 6; O mrturie: cum s-au falsificat alegerile n armat, interview with captain (in reserve) Petre
Cojocaru, brother-in-law of Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu, Dosarele istoriei, no 11(51)/2000, p.
43; I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit., p. 82. One of Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescus brothers,
Nicolae Arsenescu, a professor at the War Military School, was promoted general in reserve (C.
Caramete, op. cit., interview with Melania Boriceanu, p. 6; O mrturie: cum s-au falsificat
alegerile n armat, p. 44).

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D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

officer in the general staff (the 3rd Infantry Division) 4 . Gheorghe Arsenescu married
Maria Buduluca from Cmpulung, a graduate from high-school. They had a son 5 .
As an officer Gheorghe Arsenescu proved to be honest, self-determined and
energetic. During the uprisings of January 1941 he had a prompt intervention as chief
of a tank division banishing the iron-guardists who had seized the Prefecture of
Trgovite and other buildings 6 . According to an account, when Romania entered
WWII, the general staff officer Gheorghe Arsenescu voiced his views before some
Romanian military commanders, among whom general Ion Antonescu, declaring that
Romania would lose the war, being crashed between Nazi Germany and Soviet
Russia 7 . His conviction was that Nici alturi de nemi, nici alturi de rui, nu avem
nici o ans. Vom fi sacrificai / Neither with the Germans nor with the Russians we
would stand a chance. We shall be sacrificed 8 . Arsenescu, however, was a
professional military and Romanian patriot, which explains why, according to certain
information, he left to the front on his own request 9 . He took part in the battles on the
East front as general staff commander of the 2nd Mountain Corps Division. During
the battles of Crimea he was severely wounded, being taken back to the country for
recovery. He returned to his troops and reached to the Caucasus. In August 1944 he
was promoted major 10 , and further on he became lieutenant colonel 11 . After being
decorated in 1940 with the Steaua Romniei clasa a III-a / 3rd class Romanian
Star, in 1941 he was given the Vulturul german / German Vulture, and in 1942 he
was recommended for the Mihai Viteazu order 12 .
After August 23, 1944, Gheorghe Arsenescu was designated representative
of the Romanian party in the local Commission for the Implementation of the
Armistice Convention. In this position Arsenescu strived to defend the Romanian
4

M. Arsenescu-Buduluca, op. cit., p. 50; I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit., p. 82-83. See also
Dan Ctnu, Gheorghe Arsenescu (1907-1962), Arhivele Totalitarismului, no 2/1995, p. 186;
Lupttorii din muni cit., p. 18 (records from ASRI, fonds P, file 1238, vol. 50).
5
M. Arsenescu-Buduluca, op. cit., p. 50; Excerpt from the Sentence no 11/February 12, 1962,
given by the Military Court of the Military Region of Bucharest; The request addressed by Maria
Arsenescu-Buduluca to the Commission Asserting the Combatant Capacity in the Anti-Communist
Resistance. We thank for these documents to the Memorial of Communism Victims and of
Resistance, Academia Civic Foundation, in particularly to Miss Ioana Boca.
6
O mrturie: cum s-au falsificat alegerile n armat, p. 43; I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op.
cit., p. 83.
7
M. Arsenescu-Buduluca, op. cit., p. 50-51. This account should be given reserved consideration
since it is not confirmed by other sources.
8
C. Caramete, op. cit., interview with Melania Boriceanu, p. 6.
9
D. Ctnu, op. cit., p. 186.
10
O mrturie: cum s-au falsificat alegerile, p. 44; M. Arsenescu-Buduluca, op. cit., p. 51; C.
Caramete, op. cit., interview with Melania Boriceanu, p. 6; I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit.,
p. 83; D. Ctnu, op. cit., p. 186.
11
ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 37.
12
Lupttorii din muni, p. 18 (records from ASRI, fonds P, file 1238, vol. 50); I. ConstantinescuMrcineanu, op. cit., p. 83.

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D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

interests, which he partly succeeded 13 . Another function he performed was that of

commander deputy of the Muscel Territorial Recruiting Centre 14 . All of these
explain why Gheorghe Arsenescu held an influent position in Cmpulung and the
County of Muscel 15 .
1.2. The settling and activity of the Gheorghe Arsenescu Group from
Dragoslavele
In the critical post-war context, Gheorghe Arsenescu considered the option
of settling a resistance movement. He established ammunition stores in Dragoslavele
and Rucr 16 . The subordination of government organisations by the Communists,
including the army, led to the discharge of Arsenescu on November 2, 1946, with the
rank of lieutenant colonel 17 . On August 18, 1947, he was to be put in reserve as
colonel 18 .
Gheoghe Arsenescu owned a farm in the village of Mioarele, County of
Piteti 19 . Due to his friendship with Nicolae Enescu (former NLP deputy), Ion
Constantinescu and others leading Cmpulung Branch of Ttrscu National Liberal
Party, Gheorghe Arsenescu became a member of this political group after the war.
He proved to be an active member particularly during the parliamentary elections of
November 1946, when he was accredited to a polling station in Cmpulung 20 .
Being pursued for sabotage by the Economic Service of the Security of
Muscel County, and receiving a penalty of 6 months imprisonment, Colonel
Gheorghe Arsenescu disappeared from his residence in the summer of 1947. He hid
for a while in a small convent named Cetuia/Cetue, in the village of Ceteni,
where he had also taken his ammunition 21 .
13

O mrturie: cum s-au falsificat alegerile, p. 43.

Lupttorii din muni, p. 18 (records from ASRI, fonds P, file 1238, vol. 50).
15
O mrturie: cum s-au falsificat alegerile, p. 43.
16
C. Caramete, op.cit., interview with Melania Boriceanu, p. 6.
17
ASRI, fonds D, file 10762, p. 1 bis; I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit., p. 83; C. Caramete,
op. cit., interview with Melania Boriceanu, p. 6; D. Ctnu, op. cit., p. 186-187. A witness argued
that Arsenescu had left the army of his own accord (O mrturie: cum s-au falsificat alegerile, p. 43).
18
D. Ctnu, op. cit., p. 187.
19
ASRI, fonds D, file 10762, p. 1 bis; I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit., p. 83.
20
ASRI, fonds D, file 10762, p. 1 bis; Excerpt from the Sentence no 11/February 12, 1962, given
by the Military Court of the Military Region of Bucharest. In an interrogatory record, of February
4, 1960, Gheorghe Arsenescu stated that in 1946 he had become a member of Ttrscu National
Liberal Party, assisting in a polling section of Cmpulung-Muscel (Lupttorii din muni, p. 18
(record from ASRI, fonds P, file 1238, vol. 50)).
21
ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p.437; Ibidem, file 10762, p. 1 bis; Excerpt from the Sentence no
11/February 12th, 1962, given by the Military Court of the Military Region of Bucharest. The
request addressed by Maria Arsenescu-Buduluca to the Commission Asserting the Combatant
Capacity in the Anti-Communist Resistance. We thank for this document to the Memorial of the
Victims of Communism and of Resistance, The Civic Academy Foundation, and to Ioana Boca; M.
14

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D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

In spite of him being pursued by authorities, Gheorghe Arsenescu kept

relations with Nicolae Enescu, Ion Constantiescu, Ion Purchinescu, etc., land-owners
and industrialists, who had been NLP members. In the context of the totalitarian
transformation of Romania, they decided to fight for the ousting of the Communist
regime. They were hoping for the outbreak of a war between the democratic states
and USSR 22 . In the spring of 1948, Gheorghe Arsenescu, Longin Prediou (a close
relative of Arsenescu), Constantin Greculescu, Gheorghe Greculescu, Pimen
Brbieru (a former member of the Iron-Guard Movement and the abbot of a small
convent in the village of Ceteni), Petre Cojocaru (from the county of Iai, former
officer, and brother-in-law of Gheorghe Arsenescu) had a meeting at the residence of
the Purchinescu brothers, in the village of Ceteni. As far as one can notice, they
were people coming from different social environments and sharing different
political inclinations. Those taking part in the meeting decided to continue their
political activity clandestinely, to set up an anti-Communist organisation, to arm
themselves, and to prepare a combat in order to defend liberty and property.
Moreover, they decided to create an armed group in the mountain region of the
county of Muscel, meant to take open offensive against the Communist authorities.
Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu was appointed leader of this armed group. On the same
occasion, the participants drafted and made an oath of allegiance to the monarchy,
engaging to fight for its restoration and the banishment of the Communist regime 23 .
A former member remembered how the partisans had taken an oath that as long as
the Russians lingered in the country, the Romanian tricolour would fly all above the
Carpathians 24 .
Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu recruited in his armed group different people
pursued by the Communist authorities for political reasons: Gheorghe Hachentelner
(or Hachentzelner or Hachensenler, former mayor), Vasile Sndescu, Petre
Diaconescu, Constantin Banu, Traian Marinescu (all registered as iron-guardists by
the Securitate), Ion Purchinescu, Gheorghe Purchinescu (members in NLP), Grigore
Miron (discharged militaries), Ion Vasilescu, Sever Vasilescu (former industrialists),

Arsenescu-Buduluca, op. cit., p. 52. See also Lupttorii din muni, p. 18 (record from ASRI, fonds
P, file 1238, vol. 50).
22
ASRI, fonds D, file 10762, p. 1 bis-2.
23
Ibidem, file 2168, p 437-438; see also p. 317; Ibidem, file 9585, p. 4, 79; Ibidem, file 10762, p. 2;
Excerpt from the Sentence no 11/February 12th, 1962, given by the Military Court of the Military
Region of Bucharest. See also the testimony of Longin Predoiu, in Vera Maria Neagu, Eroii
anticomuniti n-au dreptul la o cruce sfinit?, Romnia liber, no 681, June 26, 1992, p. 4; I.
Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit., p. 83. Members of the same group were Elena Cojocaru, the
sister of Colonel Arsenescu, married to Petre Cojocaru (C. Caramete, op. cit., interview with
Melania Boriceanu, p.6), Gheorghe Chiri, Florian Potcoav, the teacher Dumitru Burtea, etc. (I.
Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit., p. 83), Gheorghe Zechil (M. Arsenescu-Buduluca, op. cit., p.
52).
24
The testimony of Longin Predoui, in V. M. Neagu, op. cit., p. 4.

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etc. 25 . From the perspective of the Securitate, the political inclinations and social
strata featuring the above mentioned men placed them directly in the enemy of the
people category.
The location for the settling of the camp was found by Arsenescu on Mount
Rou, 5 km eastwards from the Cmpulung-Rucr road, near the village of
Dragoslavele, county of Muscel. A cabin was built storing great amounts of
ammunition and food. A part of the ammunition was provided by lieutenant colonel
Gheorghe Duteanu. Colonel Arsenescu gave military ranks to the men under his
command, instructed them on how to fight and so on 26 . In order to support the group
in the mountains, Arsenescu and his men recruited other people. At the same time
they carried out an intense propaganda against the Communist regime, with emphasis
on the idea of war outbreak inevitability. Through the Purnichescu brothers, Colonel
Arsenescu maintained his connections with the former local leaders of NLP Dumitru
Alimniteanu, Nicolae Enescu, Ion Constantinescu, and others 27 .
In the vicinity of Cmpulung, Gheorghe Arsenescu met major Ion
Dumitrache, from the Romanian army, giving him instructions on how to create a
subversive group within the militaries of the Cmpulung garrison. Dumitrache set up
an organisation, which was discovered and annihilated by the Securitate in 1952 28 .
Major Dumitrache was to be sentenced to death and executed on May 11, 1952, in
Jilava prison 29 .
Arsenescu also received support from his father-in-law, Gheorghe Buduluca,
a veteran in the two world wars. Buduluca provided money, food, clothes,
medication, and a ZB rifle, and thus became some sort of a courier for the
organisation 30 .
In the summer of 1948, the Arsenescu Group planned to take punitive
actions against the zealot Communist activists in the region. Petre Diaconescu was an
agent of the repressive services, which enabled him to inform the higher authorities
of the location where the partisans were hiding. The latter ones learnt about

25

ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 437-438; also see p. 317; Ibidem, file 9585, p. 4, 79; Ibidem, file
10762, p. 2.
26
Ibidem, file 2168, p. 437-438; also see p. 317; Ibidem, dos. 9585, p. 4, 79; Ibidem, file 10762, p. 23; I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit., p. 83. According to certain information, other members in
the group on Mount Rou were: Constantin Stnescu, former officer, from the village of igneti,
county of Muscel (ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 59); Victor Suicescu, accountant, from the town of
Cmpulung, graduate from the Superior School of Commerce, former manufacturer, sympathizer with
NPP (Ibidem); Ioan Roca known as Auric, from the village of Ceteni, county of Muscel, worker,
owning 4 hectars of land, former chief of cell in the Iron-Guardist Movement, then sympathizer with
Maniu NPP (Ibidem, p. 58).
27
ASRI, fonds D, file 10762, p. 3.
28
Ibidem, p. 4. See also I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit., p. 84.
29
ASRI, fonds D, file 7805, vol. 1, p. 46; Ibidem, file 10762, p. 4.
30
The request addressed by Maria Arsenescu-Buduluca to the Commission Asserting the
Combatant Capacity in the Anti-Communist Resistance; M. Arsenescu-Buduluca, op. cit., p. 52.

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Diaconescus denunciation from Petre Alexiu, chief of Security of Muscel County,

they seized him on Mount Rou and killed him 31 .
Dumitru Apostol, the leader of the iron-guardist group from the uici region,
County of Arge, arrived in September 1948 near the village of Suslneti, Muscel
County, where the group of Gheorghe Arsenescu was settled at that moment.
Although the discussions lasted six days, the two leaders did not come to terms on
the unification of the groups they were leading, each of them choosing to take action
remotely 32 .
The partisans of the Arsenescu group did not stay in the shanty permanently,
but they would go to the town (Cmpulung). They left the mountain shelter in
September 1948, and were to come back in the following spring when they
thought/hope the war would break. In that case they could have started to take action,
which was to block the road linking Bucharest to Braov. It was later on inferred that
Arsenescu had built a different shelter else where, but it was not identified by the
Securitate 33 .
Arsenescus organisation and other armed groups from the country shared
many similarities: they were made of discharged militaries, former members of NPP,
iron-guardists, priests, wealthy peasants (kulaks); all these groups intended to take
action in case of armed conflict. The discrepancies between them were however
interesting: apart from Colonel Arsenescu, the other members of his group were not
people pursued for their political activities in NPP or the Iron-Guard, for war
crimes or penal offences. For the first time the partisans counted people coming
from the landed gentry (the engineer Radu Rosetti, son of General Rosetti) or having
landed gentry roots (the engineer/technician Gheorghe Bosie), as well as the
nationalised industrialists (the Purchinescu brothers and Andrei Gheorghe). Again,
for the first time an armed group counted members of Bejan National Liberal Party
(former Ttrscu), people of a particular importance in this political group: Nicolae
Enescu, solicitor and former Bejan NLP deputy, Ion Constantinescu, solicitor and
former Office Director of Alexandru Alexandrini, Gheorghe Chirita (or Chiri),
pharmacist and member of Bejan Cmpulung NLP Committee, who had strong
connections with the leader of the party (Petru Bejan). Meanwhile, no relationship
was noticed between the Arsenescu Group and the peasants in the region. For this
reason, the Securitate considered it as a mere izolare de rnime / isolation from
the peasantry 34 , a rather strange statement given that the politic police registered
31

ASRI, fonds D, file 10762, p. 3.

Ibidem, file 9585, p. 3-4; Ibidem, file 10762, f. 3-4; Idem, fonds P, file 1238, vol. 14, p. 217. We
thank to Mrs. Ioana-Raluca Voicu-Arnuoiu for this last document (but aslo for others from the same
file, which are to be quoted further on). See also Rzvan Ciolc, Claudia Cpn, Rezistena
anticomunist de pe Valea Topologului. Interviu cu Dumitru Apostol, Arhivele Totalitarismului, no 2223, 1-2/1999, p. 221-222.
33
ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 437-438; see also p. 317; Ibidem, file 9585, p. 4, 79.
34
Ibidem, file 2168, p. 438; Ibidem, file 9585, p. 4. See also I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op.
cit., p. 83; Povestea Elisabetei Rizea, p. 108-109.
32

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D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

itself the existence of a certain number of kulaks (4) and poor peasants (8) among
these partisans 35 .
According to some 1949 data of the Securitate, the Arsenescu Group had
registered 41 members, with the observation that unlike other armed groups, there
was not a specific distinction between the real partisans and sympathizers 36 . In
1951, in a document issued by the same repressive organisation it was specified that
the group counted 100 members in the mountains and the villages down the
mountains 37 .
The Arsenescu Group was eventually discovered by the Securitate. 26
arrests were operated (many of them on March 30, 1949), including the discharged
captain Petre Cojocaru, lieutenant colonel Gheorghe Duteanu, the abbot Pimen
Brbierul, the solicitors Nicolae Enescu and Ion Constantinescu, the pharmacist
Gheorghe Chiri 38 . The age of the arrested men could have been distributed into the
following categories: three of them were aged from17 to 25, six were aged from 25
to 35, 14 were aged from 35 to 50, and three were over 50. The social structure
looked as follows: four were wealthy peasants (kulaks), eight were poor peasants,
five priests, three tradesmen, two workers, two were retired clerks, one discharged
military, and one freelancer. From a political point of view, one was a member of
Brtianu National Liberal Party, two of Bejan National Liberal Party, two were
members of the Romanian Labour Party, while their majority (21) had no
affiliation 39 . The Securitate succeeded in capturing from the Arsenescu Group the
following ammunition materials: four weapons, 10 machine guns, three pistols and
revolvers, 220 cartridges and 50 grenades 40 .
1.3. The trial of the Arsenescu Group (Dragoslavele)
The interrogation of those arrested for being members of the Arsenescu
Group took place in Piteti, and it was led by Ion Crnu (former cabman). The
accused refused to acknowledge before the Military Court the statements made
during the inquiries, and for this reason they were crossed-examined again on
December 22, 1949. Together with Dumitrescu, the prison governor, Captain Crnu
35

ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 423.

Ibidem, p. 441.
37
Ibidem, f. 317.
38
Ibidem, f. 437-438, 442; I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, Refulri din nchisoare, Memoria, no
30, 1/2000, p. 120; Cicerone Ionioiu, Victimele terorii comuniste. Arestai, torturai, ntemniai,
ucii. Dicionar C, Paper revised by Mihaela Andreiovici and Florin tefnescu, Bucharest, 2002,
p. 179; C. Caramete, op. cit., interview with Melania Boriceanu, p. 6. In a report by the Securitate
of 1949 it was mentioned that in the mountain region of Muscel County there was an armed group
led by Ioan Purchinescu, a former member of the Arsenescu Group, which counted 9 people:
kulak peasants, students and former tradesmen (ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p.408). In further
reports of the political police this group is no longer mentioned.
39
ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 423.
40
Ibidem, p. 444.
36

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D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

revenged on the arrested (54 in total) locking them in a damp narrow room at the
basement of the prison, when there were -15 degrees Celsius outside. The prisoners
were subjected to a regim de teroare i subnutriie / terror and malnutrition regime:
they were cudgelled and cursed by the wardens; the meals consisted of soi de lturi
calde cu iz dezgusttor / some sort of warm disgusting slops, ap fiart, cu cteva
bucele de cartofi n coaja lor murdar, parte chiar stricai, sau fire de varz i
gogonele murate / boiled water with few pieces of unpeeled muddy potatoes, some
even rotten, or cabbage stalks and pickled autumn tomatoes 41 .
Ion Constantinescu was one of those brutally beaten by Captain Crnu and
his assistants, Zanfirescu and Onea. Slapping was nothing compared to sole lashing:
Cei doi torionari [Zanfirescu and Onea, D. D.] m-au fixat cu faa n jos pe
canapea. Mi-au scos pantofii, m-au legat fedele cu minile la spate. Mi-au pus
n gur un prosop ca s nu urlu. Cpitanul i fuma nervos igara inndu-m
strns de picioarele legate ca s nu m zvrcolesc./ Clare pe mine, Onea mi
strngea minile la spate n timp ce Zamfir, frizerul, m lovea la comanda
cpitanului cu vna de bou. Operaia a fost de scurt durat. N-am putut scoate
nici un scncet. Cu prosopul n gur, abia respiram. O uvi de spum alb mi
se scurgea din gur. Dup 10-12 lovituri, n-am mai simit nici durere, nici
fierbineal. Prile lovite mi amoriser. Sngele mi zvcnea n tmple / The
two torturers had me face the couch. They took off my shoes, bound my hands
tight at the back. They stuffed a towel in my mouth so that I dont wail. The
Captain was nervously smoking his cigarette holding my feet tight so that I
dont struggle./ Onea had mounted me squeezing my hands at the back while
Zamfir, the barber, was cudgelling me under the Captains order. It didnt last
long. I couldnt even wail. With that towel stuffed in my mouth I could barely
breathe. A small stripe of foam was streaming out of my mouth. After 10-12
cudgels, I couldnt feel any pain and any fever. The beaten parts had become
numb. The blood was pumping up in my temples. 42

Scenes similar to the one described took places for days (especially for
evenings and nights) 43 . Captain Crnu, Lieutenant-Colonel Trziu, and Lieutenant
Iordache even framed an execution to Constantinescu, who had been taken out of the
town one night. The ride was meant to destroy the prisoners spirits, but not to kill
him 44 .
Other apprehensions took place by the end of 1949 or in 1950. For example,
Elena Cojocaru, the sister of Gheorghe Arsenescu was apprehended in November
1949 45 . Longin Predoiu, from the village of Dragoslavele, was arrested in 1950. He
41

I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit., p. 119-120.

Ibidem, p. 121.
43
Ibidem.
44
Ibidem, p. 122.
45
C. Ionioiu, op. cit., p. 177; C. Caramete, op. cit., interview with Melania Boriceanu, p. 6.
42

257

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

was severely beaten for two weeks. Forced by the Securitate, the abbot Pimen
Brbieru, of Ceteni, tried to make him talk (Longine, taic, spune tot, c au trdat
ceilali! / Longin, my dear boy, tell them everything, tell them that the others
betrayed!) 46 .
The first lot of 42 convicts from the Arsenescu Group, trialled twice, was
cross-examined for the third time before court, after the action for cancellation
lodged at the Supreme Court by Alexa Augustin, the Public Prosecutor of the
Peoples Republic of Romania. After 17 extenuating sessions, the court increased the
penalties of the accused 47 .
Captain Petre Cojocaru was sentenced to 20 years of hard labour and was
released in 1964. Elena Cojocaru was imprisoned for 7 years. They had a daughter
who was raised by their relatives 48 . The solicitor Ion Constantinescu was sentenced
to 16 years of imprisonment, changing 12 detention camps: the Ministry of Interior,
Piteti (the Securiate and prison), Uranus, Jilava, Aiud, lead mines of Baia Sprie and
Valea Nistrului, Vcreti (the prison-hospital), Gherla, Galai and Botoani. He was
released by a grace-decree on June 24, 1964 49 . Other convicts of the Arsenescu
Group included: Nicolae Enescu, Ioan and Gheorghe Purchinescu, Gheorghe Chiri,
Florian Potcoav, Ionel Dumitrescu-Lazea, Gheorghe Cotenescu, the priest Iosif
Muatescu (brother of the writer Tudor Muatescu), Radu Rosetti; we do not know
the total of their penalties 50 . Sentenced by the Communist justice, Longin Predoiu
spent 15 years in the Communist prisons 51 .
2. The Gheorghe Arsenescu-Toma Arnuoiu Group in the region of Nucoara
(1949)
From the group of Dragoslavele 15 people were not arrested, including two
of the subversive group founders, Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu and Quarter Master
Grigore Miron 52 . From mid-December 1948 to March 1949 Gheorghe Arsenescu hid
in Bucharest where his wife had rented an apartment. During this period, the Colonel
met Nicolae Enescu, Ion Constantiescu, Gheorghe Purnichescu, General Gheorghe
Mosiu, pursued for his activity in the organisation named Haiducii lui Avram IancuDivizia Sumanelor Negre / The Outlaws of Avram Iancu-The Black Coats Division,
Nicu Nicolae, former industrialist and member of NPP, Ion Dumitrescu called Lazea,
former landowner and member of NLP, Gheorghe Andrei, former iron-guardist and
industrialist, Iosif Vioianu, iron-guardist, Toma Arnuoiu, son of kulaks and
46

V. M. Neagu, op. cit., p. 4.

I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, Un erou de legend, p. 85.
48
C. Ionioiu, op. cit., p. 177, 179; C. Caramete, op. cit., interview with Melania Boriceanu, p. 6.
49
I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, Refulri din nchisoare, p. 120-121.
50
Ibidem, p. 120; Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 109.
51
V. M. Neagu, op. cit., p. 4.
52
ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 437-438, 442.
47

258

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

former officer 53 . Together with these men, Arsenescu decided to form a new antiCommunist armed group. During several meetings they came to terms on the
structure and action plan of the group: it had to be military; the members had to be
instructed and armed according to military rules; the recruits had to be known for
their anti-Communist stance (probably to avoid the Securitate penetrations); the
group had to start guerrilla warfare 54 . Concomitantly, by the end of 1948 beginning
of 1949, Gheorghe Arsenescu and Toma Arnuoiu contacted (or attempted to
contact, the records show contradictory information) with the help with Gheorghe
Bosie the US and French legations in Bucharest, revealing their plan to form a
resistance organisation. The two diplomatic agencies ensured them that a war
between the democratic and Communist states was to break at any time, and the first
ones were to provide material support (ammunition and money) to the Romanian
resistance 55 .
The region of the village of Dragoslavele could no longer be considered for
the settling of the organisation action location. Colonel Arsenescus group used to
operate in that region, but it was now controlled by the Securitate 56 . The camp and
action location were therefore settled in the mountain region of the village of
Nucoara, Muscel County, which gave the possibility of deploying vast actions 57 .

2.1. The geographic, social and political radiography of Nucoara (the spring
and summer of 1949)
Nucoara is a village on Doamnei River, on the southern slope of the
Fgra Mountains, with the houses scattered in orchards and forests. In the late 40s
it used to be part of Muscel County. The region was afforested and extremely broken,
being a good place to shelter and operate for the partisans 58 .
The most important families in the villare seroa/MCTw re.0686 Tw 10.5 0 )4(a (t682Td<0

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

Ion Arnuoiu also known as Iancu was born on October 11, 1887, in the
village of Nucoara. He was a priest and became a member of NPP before 1944, but
he distinguished for his activity in this party particularly during the elections of 1946,
when his party accredited him to a polling station 61 . Iancu and Lucreia Arnuoiu
had five children: Nelu, Elena, Toma, Petre and Anton. The eldest son, Nelu
Arnuoiu, was a cavalry officer and died on the battle-front in1944, in Baccisarai,
Crimea. He was promoted captain post-mortem 62 .
Toma Arnuoiu was born on February 14, 1921, in the village of Nucoara,
Muscel County. Like his elder brother, Nelu, Toma pursued a military career. In
1944 he graduated from the Officers Military School with the rank of sub-lieutenant,
and on September 3, 1944, he left for the battle-front with the 3rd Roiori Regiment.
He distinguished on the battle-field and was awarded the Coroana Romniei order
(5th rank with swords, and Virtutea Militar ribbon with oak leaves) on November
1, 1944. He was wounded during the battles of December 26, 1944, near Budapest.
After a three months hospitalisation he was sent to Regina Elena 9th Guard
Regiment.
He was discharged in 1946 and was appointed secretary of NPP-Youth
organisation in the village of Nucoara, distinguishing himself particularly during the
elections of 1946. In 1947 he was put in reserve as lieutenant 63 .
Anton Arnuoiu was an officer in reserve and his lungs were severely
wounded during the battles against the Germans in Bneasa, near Bucharest, on
August 24/25, 1944. He was declared disabled (1st degree) and he would spend a
great part of his life in Romanian sanatoria. In the first post-war years he attended the
Law School of Bucharest, being concomitantly the president of NPP-Youth in the
village of Nucoara. Since he was suffering from tuberculosis, he settled in the town
of Sighioara, where the climate was appropriate for him. Due to this reason he was

61

ASRI, fonds D, file 9585, p.90, 111; Lupttorii din muni, p. 757 (records from ASRI, fonds
P, file 1238, vol. 72). In other records, Ion Arnuoiu was remembered as a former member of
Averescu Peoples Party, but also of the National Liberal Party, as well as an outstanding member
of MNPP [Maniu National Peasant Party] (Ibidem, p. 243, record from ASRI, fonds P, file
1238, vol. 14).
62
The testimony of Elena Ion (born Arnuoiu), in C. Caramete, Ne vrem pmntul napoi!,
Romnia liber, no 1022, 11 august 1993, p. 7; Rzvan Ciolc, Claudia Cpn, Haiducii
Muscelului, Arhiva, supliment de istorie al ziarului Cotidianul, no 4 (64), 18 aprilie 1997, p. 7
(interview with Elena Florea, born Arnuoiu). We thank Mr. Cristian Vasile for this material;
Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 109-110.
63
ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 37; Ibidem, file 9585, p. 11, 70; Ibidem, file 10764, p. 2;
Banalitatea rului. O istorie a Securitii n documente. 1949-1989 (ed. by Marius Oprea;
introductory study by Dennis Deletant), Iai, 2002, p. 285 (records from ASRI, fonds P, file
1238, vol. 43) and footnotes 2-4. See also D. Ctnu, Toma Arnuoiu (1921-1959), Arhivele
Totalitarismului, no 3/1995, p. 210.

260

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

not much involved in the hora / dance (this expression belongs to Cornel Drgoi)
his family and village had to dance 64 .
Petre, the youngest of the Arnuoius sons, was born on January 16, 1926,
in the village of Nucoara, Muscel County 65 . The Securitate would report about him
during his trial of 1959 that when he had been a student attending the Commercial
High-school of Cmpulung a fcut parte din organizaia legionar FDC / he had
been a member of the FDC iron-guardist movement 66 . We do not know whether this
information is somewhat true. At any rate, during the elections of 1946 he made
propaganda for NPP, being further on considered a member of this party 67 . He was
married to Victoria Nstase, a native of the village of Corbi 68 .
The priest Ion Drgoi was born on October 20t, 1900, in the village of
Vlsneti. He attended both the Seminary and the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of
Bucharest. He settled in Nucoara in 1926 and became a member of NPP in 1932. He
was devoted to his community and was deeply involved in its social problems 69 . One
of his sons, Cornel Drgoi, was 22 in 1949 and a student in the 2nd year at the Faculty
of Letters University of Bucharest. His dream was to become a philologist 70 .
Another important family in Nucoara was that of the teacher Virgil
Marinescu, married to Ecaterina Marinescu. They had two children, Ion and
Alexandru Marinescu 71 . Titu and Maria Jubleanu were registered in the Securitate
records as a family of poor peasants 72 . This family was to play an important role in
further events. One of their children, Constantin Jubleanu, would distinguish along
his parents.
Maria Plop was born on September 14, 1927, in the village of Prisecani, Iai
County. By the end of the war, when a part of Moldavia was supposed to be cleared
out, the young woman of Prisecani arrived in the village of Nucoara, in the spring of
1944, and became a servant for the Arnuoius 73 .

64
The testimony of Elena Florea (born Arnuoiu), in C. Caramete, op. cit., p. 7; R. Ciolc, C.
Cpn, op. cit., interview with Elena Florea (born Arnuoiu), p. 7; R. Ciolc, Anton Arnuoiu
(1924-2000), Arhivele Totalitarismului, no 28-29, 3-4/2000, p. 220-221; Mrturia lui Cornel
Drgoi, p. 109-110.
65
ASRI, fonds D, file 9585, p. 70; Ibidem, file 10764, p. 2.
66
Ibidem, file 9585, p. 25, 70.
67
Ibidem, p. 25; Ibidem, file 10764, p. 2.
68
Ibidem, file 10764, p. 2.
69
Ibidem, file 9585, p. 61, 71; Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 147-148.
70
The testimony of Cornel Drgoi, in R. C. Pena, op. cit., p. 3; and in Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi,
p. 110; also in Irina Nicolau, A doua mrturie a lui Cornel Drgoi, Revista de Istorie Social, IIIII, 1997-1998, p. 245.
71
Al. Marinescu, op. cit., p. 48.
72
ASRI, fonds D, file 10764, p. 2. See also I. Nicolau, op. cit., p. 247.
73
ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 246, 249; Ibidem, file 9585, p. 70; Ibidem, file 10764, p. 2;
Ibidem, file 11251, vol. 2, p. 614; Lupttorii din muni, p. 727 (records from ASRI, fonds P, file
1238, vol. 81). The people of Nucoara knew that Maria Plop had come to that region in 1944

261

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

The region of Nucoara was seized by the same fears after 1944: fear of
Communists, of Russians, of land confiscation and collectivisation, of being all
forced to eat la cazan / from a pail 74 . The people of Nucoara earned their living
cleaving wood, raising poultry and cattle, tilling the small piece of land they had. The
nationalisation implemented by the Communist regime in 1948 was also a blow to
the wood-owners or to those entrepreneurs exploiting the wood. Gheorghe and
Elisabeta Rizea were among them. The feeling of injustice and of pillage sponsored
by the government deeply affected these people who considered property as a sign of
social success, of self-respect 75 .
2.2. The creation of the Haiducii Muscelului / Muscel Outlaws organisation
In March 1949, Gheorghe Arsenescu and Toma Arnuoiu went to
Nucoara, and contacted teacher Ion Arnuoiu, priest Ion Drgoi, Nicolae Milea,
teacher Virgil Marinescu, teacher Lemnaru, teacher Alexandru Moldoveanu
(awarded the Mihai Viteazu order during the battles in the Caucasus Mountains),
Gheorghe Rizea, Gheorghe Popescu, Cornel Drgoi (former NPP member),
Constantin Popescu (former NLP member), Petre Arnuoiu, Titu Jubleanu, Ion
Preda, Constantin Samoil, Nicolae Samoil (all of them considered iron-guardists
by the Securitate), Aurel Chirca, Ion Chirca, Benone Milea, Maria Plop, Maria
Jubleanu, Marina Chirca, Ana Simion, Elisabeta Rizea etc. They were all given
details of the plans for creating an anti-Communist organisation and its objectives,
and then recruited within the resistance76 .
The member of this group made an oath of allegiance before the priest Ion
Drgoi in the house of Petre Arnuoiu and Gheorghe Rizea. Those who vowed were:
Ion Drgoi, Gheorghe Arsenescu, Toma Arnuoiu, Petre and Victoria Arnuoiu,
priest Virgil Marinescu, Gheorghe and Elisabeta Rizea, Ion Chirca and his two sons,
Titu and Maria Jubileanu and their son Constantin, the college graduate Benone
Milea, the peasant Constantin Popescu (born in Oltenia), and the driver Nicolae
Ciolan (also a new comer in the village) 77 . The oath was made according to the
directions given by Gheorghe Arsenescu:
n numele lui Dumnezeu Atotputernicul i pe sfnta cruce eu... [and the name
was uttered, note by D.D.]/ Jur s m fac haiduc, de bun voie i nesilit de
during the clearing of the eastern part of the country, but they did not know precisely where she
came from, some thought she was Bessarabian (see Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 164).
74
Povestea Elisabetei Rizea, p. 48-49.
75
Ibidem, p. 25.
76
ASRI, fonds D, file 9585, p. 5, 80; Ibidem, file 10762, p. 5. See also Al. Marinescu, op. cit., p.
48; Povestea Elisabetei Rizea, p. 26; Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 109, 148. Although Cornel
Drgoi was in Bucharest to study, when he learned the organisation was created by the partisans, he
returned home joining the resistance (The testimony of Cornel Drgoi, in R. C. Pena, Cuminenia
pmntului, p. 3; and in Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 110; and in I. Nicolau, op. cit., p. 245).
77
Povestea Elisabetei Rizea, p. 28; Al. Marinescu, op. cit., p. 48.

262

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

nimeni, pentru a lupta la salvarea i eliberarea Patriei i neamului, din
ghearele fiarelor comuniste-bolevice i de sub jugul greu al ruilor./ Jur
credin Majestii Sale Regele Mihai I, Regele tuturor romnilor;/ Jur credin
Guvernului liber al Patriei;/ Jur supunere i ascultare, fr murmur i fr
ovire efilor haiducilor;/ Jur s ucid fr mil i fr cruare pe toi streinii i
ticloii, care ne-au trdat ara i vndut Patria i neamul i au adus dezastrul
rii;/ Jur s nu m despart de fraii mei de lupt, dect dup victoria final;/ n
caz de trdare sau de clcare a jurmntului, s fiu ucis att eu, ct i ntreaga
mea familie./ Aa s-mi ajute Dumnezeu / In the name of God the Almighty and
the Holly Cross, I swear to become an outlaw on my own accord, to fight,
rescue and save our Country and nation from the claws of the CommunistBolshevik beasts and from the Russian oppressive yoke./I swear to be loyal to
His Majesty the King Mihai I, the King of all Romanians;/I swear to be loyal to
the free Government of our Country;/I swear to be loyal and submissive to the
outlaw captains without a murmur and a waver;/I swear to kill mercilessly and
ruthlessly all the villains that betrayed and sold our Country and nation bringing
it to ruin;/I swear not to separate from my brothers in arms, after our final
victory only;/In case of betrayal or perjury of this oath, I should be killed
together with my family./So help me God. 78

The priorities were to arm, recruit as many members, prepare military and
politically in order to take armed actions provided a war would break, and the
Communist regime would be overthrown 79 . Once recruited, the previous political
affiliation was not considered. A former member declared:
Aceast micare nu a fost nici rnist, nici liberal, nici legionar, ci
anticomunist i antiruseasc / This movement was neither Peasant nor Liberal
nor iron-guardist, but anti-Communist and anti-Russian. 80
78
Lupttorii din muni, p. 83 (records from ASRI, fonds P, fle 1238, vol. 2). The oath was to be
known under different forms (ASRI, fonds D, file 8600, vol. 1, p. 22; Ibidem, file 9585, p. 5-6,
15, 80). The partisans were responsible for the mission accomplishment (the anti-Communist fight)
n faa comandanilor, a rii i neamului / before their commanders of the country and nation.
(Ibidem, file 8600, vol. 1, p. 22). In case of oath breaking, both the accused and his family were
liable of death penalty to the 9th generation (Ibidem, p. 23), under the reserve that this was
however a common rethoric in the popular milieus. One of the partisans who used the
conspirative name of Radu Craiu wrote the Jurmntul Haiducului / Outlaws Oath, a ballad
made of six four-line stanzas. The divine intervention was invoked in the battle against the enemy:
ntrete braul meu/ n momentul cel mai greu/ S rpun fiara pgn/ Peste ara mea stpn//
Pe dumanul blestemat/ Ca haiduc ce am jurat/ S-l ucid fr cruare/ S-l dau afar din hotare /
Strengthen my arm/ When its most rough/ To kill the pagan beast/ That rules over my country//
The damned enemy/ As an outlaw/ To kill ruthlessly/ To chase them over the borders. In the last
part of the ballad the promise to bind by vow took the form of self-damnation in case of betrayal
(Ibidem, f. 25).
79
ASRI, fonds D, file 9585, p. 5, 80.
80
Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 111.

263

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

2.3. The partisans road of no return

Further to the arrests operated within the members of the Dragoslavele
Group (March 30t, 1949) 81 , the Securitate discovered on April 1, 1949 the apartment
where Gheorghe Arsenescu was hiding in Bucharest. In order to avoid the arrest, he
left for Nucoara together with Toma Arnuoiu 82 . Because Gheorghe Arsenescu,
Toma Arnuoiu, Ion Chirca, Titu Jubleanu etc. were pursued by the Securitate, they
decided to withdraw in the mountains, where to build shelters and prepare for attacks
against the Communist regime. Those who were not followed were supposed to stay
at home and recruit new members, procure ammunition, collect food and clothes,
gather information on the internal and foreign political situation, but also on the steps
taken by the repressive services against the organisation 83 .
The partisan leaders managed to have on their side someone who had been
an outlaw for 14 years: Ion Chirca called the Deserter (since he had run away from
the army). He knew the best the mountains in the northern part of Nucoara, he knew
all the hiding places in the woods, chiar scorburile / even the hollows as the locals
would say. Moreover, he was a good shooter, probably mixing a native talent with
the long practice of the years he had spent in the mountains, when he must have lived
from hunting for the most part 84 .
Gheorghe Arsenescu, Toma Arnuoiu, Ion Chirca, Titu, Maria i Constantin
Jubleanu, Petre Arnuoiu, Maria Plop, Constantin Jubleanu, Gheorghe Chirca,
Benone Milea, Elena Chirca, Constantin Popescu, Nicolae Ciolan, and Aurelia
Costea armed themselves, brought food (from their supporters too) and settled in the
mountains around Nucoara, where they built shelters to hide 85 .
After the discussions carried by Gheorghe Arsenescu, Toma Arnuoiu and
Ion Chirca, it was agreed that they should be organized according to a military
pattern, in battle groups, platoons, head-quarters, ammunition supply service, and
recruiting service. A general order was given in this respect, being read together with
all members of the organization. On the same occasion, they all made an oath 86
81

I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, Un erou de legend, p. 83.

Excerpt from the Sentence no 11/February 12th, 1962, given by the Military Court of the
Military Region of Bucharest; Banalitatea rului, p. 285 (records from ASRI, fonds D, file
10104, p. 13-44); Bande, bandii i eroi. Grupurile de rezisten i Securitatea (1948-1968).
Documente (co-ordinator Florica Dobre, ed. by Florian Banu, Camelia Duic, Silviu B. Moldovan,
Elis Neagoe, Liviu ranu; introductory study by Florian Banu and Silviu B. Moldovan),
Bucharest, 2003, p. 80 (records from Arhivele Ministerului Justiiei, Direcia Instanelor Militare,
penal fonds, file no 27463, vol. 4, p. 89-93, what follows: AMJDIM); M. Arsenescu-Buduluca,
op. cit., p. 53; I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit., p. 83-84.
83
ASRI, fonds D, file 9585, p. 5, 80.
84
Ibidem, file 11251, vol. 1, p. 536 (f.), 568, 575; Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 114-118; I.
Nicolau, op. cit., p. 247. See also Povestea Elisabetei Rizea, p. 52.
85
ASRI, fonds D, file 9585, p. 5, 80.
86
Ibidem, p. 15; Ibidem, file 10762, p. 5.
82

264

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

(most probably a reconfirmation of the previous one) pledging loyalty in the antiCommunist fight 87 .
Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu bestowed military ranks to the organization
members and also conspiring names that reminded of famous outlaws, as it had been
done in the Dragoslavele Group in 1948 88 . Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu considered
himself and was recognized as comandantul tuturor haiducilor Muscel-Arge /
commander of all the outlaws of Muscel-Arge, known by the name of Colonel
Craiul Fgraului 89 . Toma Arnuoiu became a captain, known as Mereanu, and
leader of the Muscel Outlaws; Titu Jubleanu was promoted lieutenant, known as
Iancu Jianu; Petre Arnuoiu was promoted senior-sergeant and secretary of the
group, known as Bujor; Constantin Popescu became also a senior-sergeant, known
as Moang 90 . For the training of the group members there were organised both
firing sessions with the ammunition supplied and instruction sessions91 .
As we have already seen, the organisation was named the Haiducii
Muscelului 92 , while the combatants considered themselves haiduci / outlaws 93 .
Over the following years other names were used: Gruparea de partizani (haiduci)
de pe rul Doamnei / Doamnei River Partisan (outlaws) Group 94 , Rezistena
Naional / National Resistance 95 , and Partizanii Libertii / Liberty Partisans 96 .
As for the Securitate, it registered in its records the name of banda ArsenescuArnuoiu / Arsenescu-Arnuoiu gang 97 .
The Securitate was to learn from its informers that the Arsenescu group had
settled on Mount Oticul, at Colul Cremenii. The new partisan group was formed of
kulak peasants, a priest, two teachers, and a few iron-guardists. There were identified
14 (or 16) members, of whom three were women 98 . Based on the information held,
the General Directorate of the Securitate sent a battalion of MIA (Ministry of Internal

87

Ibidem, file 9585, p. 5-6, 15, 80.

Ibidem, p. 5-6; Ibidem, file 10762, f. 5; Lupttorii din muni, p. 82-83.
89
ASRI, fonds D, file 8600, vol. 1, p. 22.
90
Ibidem; Lupttorii din muni, p. 82-83. See also Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 129.
91
ASRI, fonds D, file 9585, p. 15; Ibidem, dos. 10762, p. 5.
92
Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 108; I. Nicolau, op. cit., p. 246.
93
ASRI, fonds D, file 8600, vol. 1, p. 22-23.
94
Lupttorii din muni, p. 134 (records from ASRI, fonds P, file 1238, vol. 53).
95
ASRI, fonds D, file 8600, vol. 1, p. 31. See also general-maior Luigi Marti, general-maior
Constantin Mleni, colonel Ion erbnescu, colonel Ilie Coman, n slujba patriei socialiste. File
din istoria trupelor de securitate, Ministerul de Interne, Comandamentul Trupelor de Securitate,
Serviciul Editorial i Cinematografic, 1980, p. 48. We thank Mr. Romulus Rusan for this paper.
96
ASRI, fonds D, file 8600, vol. 1, p. 33; Ibidem, file 11251, vol. 1, p. 347. Vezi i n slujba
patriei socialiste, p. 48.
97
ASRI, fonds D, dos. 2168, passim; Ibidem, file 9585, passim; Ibidem, file 10762, passim.
98
Ibidem, file 2168, p. 407; Bande, bandii i eroi, p. 80 (records from AMJDIM, the penal
fonds, file no 27463, vol. 4, p. 89-93).
88

265

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

Affairs) in the region so as to round up the rebel group 99 . Witnesses argue that in the
area had been brought: mountain corps from Fgra to Cmpulung, a Securitate
battalion from Geti, but also members of the Securitate offices in the regions of
Cmpulung, Piteti, Curtea de Arge, Oneti, Rmnicu-Vlcea, and from over the
mountains. There were thousands of people who quickly installed telephone stations
and wires to the mountains. The aim was to comb the mountains and control step
by step. In Nucoara there were squads of four or five soldiers led by officers or subofficers to control the villains houses 100 .
Few of the mountain group members (Gheorghe Arsenescu, Toma
Arnuoiu, Petre Arnuoiu, Benone Milea, and Ion Chirca called the Deserter)
descended in the night of June 18 to 19, 1949 in Nucoara, to get supplies from the
house of Ion Arnuoiu. Here they were caught by a Securitate squad. In the conflict
that took place, the Securitate warrant officer Constantin Apvloaie and major
Florea Lungu were killed. The partisans withdrew in order to the mountain area
without having the troops firing back 101 .
On June 20, 1949, Colonel Arsenescu issued general orders (registered in a
note-book), promoting all the participants in the event of June 19, 1949: Toma
Arnuoiu, was promoted from major to captain, since he had been wounded during
the conflict of Nucoara; Ion Chirca was promoted from captain to lieutenant;
Benone Milea from warrant officer to sub-lieutenant; Petre Arnuoiu, from senior
sergeant to warrant officer, the three latter ones pentru curajul dovedit n aciune /
for the courage they proved in action 102 .
The Securitate operated several arrests within the organization in the
morning of June 19, 1949. The priest Drgoi managed to escape 103 . His son, Cornel
Drgoi, made his escape from a pursuing squad and hid in the lake from the village
of Nucoara. However, one of the villagers evinced him to the Securitate agents and
he was seized 104 .
The members of the mountain group carried out an intense anti-Communist
propaganda in the region through manifestoes (fiuici cu coninut
contrarevoluionar / leaflets containing counter-revolutionary slogans), urging the
population to disobey the rules enforced and to overturn the totalitarian regime,

99

Bande, bandii i eroi, p. 80 (records from AMJDIM, the penal fonds, file no 27463, vol. 4,
p. 89-93). See also Al. Marinescu, op. cit., p. 48.
100
Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 118-119; Al. Marinescu, op. cit., p. 48.
101
ASRI, fonds D, file 9585, p. 6-7, 81; Ibidem, file 10762, p. 5; Ibidem, file 10764, p. 1;
Banalitatea rului, p. 285 (records from ASRI, fonds D, file 10104, p. 13-44); Mrturia lui
Cornel Drgoi, p. 118-119-120, 126-129; Al. Marinescu, op. cit., p. 48-50.
102
ASRI, fonds D, file 8600, vol. 1, p. 22; Ibidem, 10762, p. 5-6; Lupttorii din muni, p. 133-134
(records from ASRI, fonds P, file 1238, vol. 53). See also Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 118, 129.
103
Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 149-150.
104
Ibidem, p. 119-122; I. Nicolau, op. cit., p. 246; Mrturia Elisabetei Rizea, in R. C. Pena, op. cit.,
p. 3

266

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

cultivating the hope of war-breaking and so on 105 . For example, on June 26, 1949,
they placed slogans on trees and wood paths, stating that they were many and
supplied by the Anglo-Americans, etc. 106 .
Two cells of the group attacked in the summer of 1949 the caravans
transporting food for the workers in the mountain forestry operations, then the
sheepfold on Mount Drghia, where they collected the food. The day of August 11th
was marked by the attack performed by the entire Arsenescu Group on the food
centre of IPEIL Domneti, where they collected maize flour and all the clothing in
stock 107 .
After the repression actions of the Securitate in the summer of 1949, 23
people of this group got away from apprehension including the leaders Gheorghe
Arsenescu and Toma Arnuoiu 108 . On the initiative of Toma Arnuoiu, the
members of the organisation decided in June-July 1949 to split into two groups,
which would take action separately so as to be efficient. One of the groups made of
15 people (according to certain data) was to be led by Gheorghe Arsenescu, while
the other made of eight members by Toma Arnuoiu. The two groups agreed to
keep contact and draft joint plans of attack 109 . The Arsenescu (sub)group operated on
Doamnei River and the Arnuoiu (sub)group on Vlsan River 110 . From other
documents of the Securitate proceeds that the group split in the autumn of 1949 due
to some misunderstandings, a part of the members remaining under the command of
Gheorghe Arsenescu, while others recognised Toma Arnuoiu as leader 111 .

105

ASRI, fonds D, file 9585, p.6, 81. Such a fiuic / leaflet was addressed to militias: Ctre
purttorii stelei cu 5 coluri/ Cnd porile temnielor se vor deschide larg, cnd ctue sfinite n
snge de eroi se vor sfrma, cnd gloanele dreptii romneti vor uera liberatoare, din capt
n capt de ar, voi care azi purtai la caschet steaua blestemat a satanei moscovite nu vei
scpa/ Nici n mormnt / To the bearers of the 5-edged star/When the gates of the prison are wide
opened, when the shackles blessed by the heroes blood are broken, when the bullets of Romanian
justice whiz the sound of freedom from one country boundary to the other, you with your caps
bearing the star of the damned Muscovite Satan will not get away/Not even in your graves. After
being threatened, the militias were urged not to comply with the tyrants orders. And: Voi care
v-ai vndut Moscovei, luai aminte: Prigoniii de azi vor fi judectorii votri de mine / You who
sold yourselves to Moscow pay attention: The oppressed of today will be your judges tomorrow.
Signed by the Rezistena Naional (Ibidem, file 8600, vol. 1, p. 31). Similar manifestoes were
addressed to the MIA/ Securitate troops (Ibidem, p. 32).
106
ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 408.
107
Ibidem, p. 407-408.
108
Ibidem, p. 317; Banalitatea rului, p. 285 (records from ASRI, fonds D, file 10104, p. 13-44).
109
ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 301-302, 317-318; Ibidem, file 9585, p. 6. See also Lupttorii din
muni, p. 661 (records from ASRI, fonds P, file 1238, vol. 49); Al. Marinescu, op. cit., p. 49.
110
Al. Marinescu, op. cit., p. 49.
111
ASRI, fonds D, file 10764, p. 1; Banalitatea rului, p. 285 (records from ASRI, fonds D,
file 10104, p. 13-44); Lupttorii din muni, p. 661-662 (records from ASRI, fonds P, file 1238,
vol. 49).

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D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

3. The Gheorghe Arsenescu Group at Nucoara (summer autumn 1949)

Although the Arsenescu (sub)group was credited with 15 members in the
summer of 1949, it was not any longer signalled in action or with all its members 112 .
The known members of the group were: Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu, Ion Chirca
together with his sons Gheorghe and Nicolae, Benone Milea, Constantin Popescu,
and Nae Ciolan 113 . After the split, only one recruiting took place. Gheorghe
Mmlig called Titi, sub-officer, born in Edine, Hotin County, was brought into the
group by Gheorghe Arsenescu, making an oath on October 16, 1949 114 .
The Securitate managed to recruit Aurel Chirca as agent in the autumn of
1949, he was the connection of the Arsenescu group. Aurel Chirca recruited in his
turn Ion Chirca, his brother and member of the group. The latter settled the date
when Gheorghe Arsenescu and the other partisans would go to Bughia, Muscel
County, to meet the supporters of Cmpulung. The host of the reunion was also
recruited and the Securitate installed a station there. Arsenescu became aware from
the hosts behaviour that something was wrong and so managed to shun the
Securitate firing. Only Mmlig was slightly wounded, but he managed to escape as
well 115 . Further to this action, but also to some misunderstandings between Gheorghe
Arsenescu and the rest of the group members, he fled the region, hiding with other
partisans near Cmpulung 116 .
Ion Chirca was directed by the Securitate to organize a trip for the Arsenescu
Group in a pre-established direction so as to go to the forestry operation of Isvorul
Surlei, Aurel Chirca being in charge of it. The partisans would walk at night and they
would be usually armed, but this time agent Ion Chirca convinced them to leave at
day time unarmed. The Securitate organised a trap point where Benone Milea,
Constantin Popescu, Nicolae Ciolan and Eugen Chirca were caught on November 1(or
4), 1949. Ion Chirca was staged an attempt to escape from the trap 117 .
The only ones who had not been caught from the group were Gheorghe
Arsenescu and Gheorghe Mmlig 118 . The Securitate charged Ion Chirca with the
pursuit of Mmlig, so as to eventually reach to Gheorghe Arsenescu, but also to reestablish connection with the Arnuoiu group. Certainly, the aim was the
annihilation of all partisans 119 . In order to ensure the connection with Ion Chirca, the
Securitate made use of agents, their network being disclosed by Marinica Chirca,
loyal to the partisans. She warned Gheorghe Mmlig, urging him to kill Ion Chirca,
112

ASRI, fonds D, file 2169, p. 301; see also p. 318.

Al. Marinescu, op. cit., p. 49.
114
ASRI, fonds D, dos. 8600, vol. 1, p. 23; Ibidem, file 10762, p. 7; Al. Marinescu, op. cit., p. 49;
Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 131.
115
ASRI, fonds D, file 10762, p. 6. See also Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 131-132.
116
ASRI, fonds D, file 10762, p. 6. See also Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 132.
117
ASRI, fonds D, file 9585, p. 35, 41; Ibidem, file 10762, p. 7.
118
Ibidem, file 9585, p. 6; Ibidem, dos. 10762, p. 7.
119
Ibidem, file 10762, p. 7.
113

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D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

her brother-in-law, which the Bessarabian did (he shot him) in November 1949 120 .
Through Marina Chirca, Gheorghe Mmlig established connection with the
Arnuoiu group, where he integrated 121 .
The political police proved to be incapable for a long time to find out what
had happened to Ion Chirca. Although he was dead, the Securitate agents believed he
was hiding somewhere. For this reason they maltreated the locals, including the
children of the disappeared. One of them, Gheorghe Chirca, remembered:
la de m-a anchetat pe mine m-a btut ru de tot, m-a pus pe brnci pe o
banc i m-a luat de la picioare pn la cap, s spun unde-i tata. i eu tiam c
tata e mort, dar ei nu m-au crezut, au zis c nu vreau s spun. Cpitanul Crnu
m-a btut mai ru, cu o bt / That who interrogated me beat the hell out of me,
he had me kneeled on a bench and beat me from bottom to top to tell him where
my dad was. And I knew that dad was dead, but they didnt believe me, they
said I didnt want to tell them. Captain Crnu was even worse, he cudgelled
me 122 .

With the help of Pavel Necula, Colonel Gheorghe Arsenescu hid during
October-November 1949 in the house of Ion Marinescu from the village of Mioarele
(today Mu), Muscel County. After investigation made, the Securitate reached to
Pavel Necula, who being probably subjected to tortures revealed where Arsenescu
was hiding. The Colonels leg was wounded during the Securitate intervention, but
he managed to get away 123 . Realising that he had no other possibility to form a new
armed group, given that previous one had been completely destroyed, Arsenescu
abandoned his activity in the mountains, protecting himself from conspiracy. Indeed,
until 1959 the Securitate would not learn anything about where the Colonel was
hiding 124 .
In the following period, the Securitate continued to carefully monitor the
Arsenescu group, a fact revealed by the consideration it was given in the reports
made on the mountain gangs. Search was made with impressive forces; new
information networks were established to permit the partisan identification, all that
with no result 125 .
In February 1951 (but also in July the same year) the Arsenescu group was
on top of the Securitate reports of all resistance armed groups in the country, being
followed by the Arnuoiu and Gavril groups. Therefore it is not surprising that
120

Ibidem, file 2168, p. 272, 287; Ibidem, file 9585, p. 10; Ibidem, file 10762, p. 7. See also
Mrturia lui Cornel Drgoi, p. 164.
121
ASRI, fonds D, file 9585, p. 6, 18; Ibidem, file 10762, p. 7; Al. Marinescu, op. cit., p. 50.
122
C. Cpn, R. Ciolc, Grupul Haiducii Muscelului, Magazin istoric, no 6, June 1998, p.
43 (interview with Gheorghe Chirca, village of Nucoara, Arge County, July 1997).
123
ASRI, fonds D, file 10762, p. 8-9. See also I. Constantinescu-Mrcineanu, op. cit., p. 84.
124
ASRI, fonds D, file 10762, p. 9.
125
Ibidem, file 2168, p. 342, 351-353.

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D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

among the duties performed by the gangs bureau, the annihilation of this group
was a priority. In order to achieve the objective, it had been settled that on March 5,
1951, one Securitate officer would be sent to each of the regional offices of Arge
and Vlcea, Sibiu and Stalin, where together with the directors they would verify the
existing material with reference to these groups and make a joint action plan for their
annihilations. The central Militia command was contacted so as to assign tasks to its
regional offices to cooperate with the Securitate 126 .
The political police made a series of lists of bandits hiding in the
mountains with their relatives, of people only suspected of supporting them, etc. 127 .
In the autumn of 1950 there had been drafted nominal lists and profiles for the first
lot of family members, close relatives and acquaintances of the Arsenescu-Arnuoiu
group members. At the end of November 1950, the Securitate was working on the
lists of the rest of supporting elements 128 . The repressive services would
appraise in the following years that the Arsenescu-Arnuoiu group had been
supported by approximately 200 people: families, relatives, gzduitori i
alimentatori / hosts and suppliers, most of them kulaks, former members of historic
parties from the mountain region of the Muscel County (or Curtea de Arge district).
Of these people, 12 were arrested between1949 1950, the others being followed for
holding information 129 .
The Securitate continued to pursue the members of the Arsenescu groups, of
both Dragoslavele and Nucoara, operating many apprehensions 130 . Due to the

126

Ibidem, f. 324; see also p. 283-284.

Ibidem, p. 21-23; Ibidem, file 11251, vol. 1, p. 1-4, 38, 503-504, 507; Ibidem, vol. 2, p. 1-3, 485488, 607-612.
128
Ibidem, p. 353.
129
Ibidem, p. 21-23; Ibidem, file 11251, vol. 1, p. 1-4, 38, 503-504, 507; Ibidem, vol. 2, p. 1-3, 485488, 607-612.
130
ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 244, 272, 285-286, 301, 318. Dumitru Burtea was arrested in
early 1951. Due to an occasional piece of information given by an inhabitant from the village of
Ceteni, the district of Cmpulung, Gheorghe (or Ioan) Purnichi was caught. During his
interrogation indications were revealed on the place the brothers Ioan and Gheorghe Purchinescu
were hiding, the first seized in Buzu, the latter in Bucharest (Ibidem, p. 244; see also p. 301, 318).
In some of the memoirs it was argued that Gheorghe (or Ioan) Purnichi was a Securitate agent in
the Arsenescu group, uncovered and killed by Ion Purchinescu (M. Arsenescu-Buduluca, op. cit., p.
56, 58). In the records of the political police we did not find the confirmation of this statement.
Still, from Gheorghe Purnichi it was found that Romu Luca and the brothers Ioan and Sever
Vasilescu were hiding in Bucharest or its proximities (ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 245-246).
Romu Luca and Ioan Vasilescu were seized in the summer of 1951. From their interrogatory
resulted that Ioan Muatescu from the village of Stoeneti-Muscel was the liaison person of some
of those pursued by the Securitate within the Arsenescu group. Inquiries were made in Bucharest at
the locations he had lived and it was determined that he had returned to his home village. He was
found at this residence of Stoeneti. The prey was even richer for the Securitate as in the same
location they found Iosif Cotenescu, a former member of the Arsenescu group. At the same time,
Constantin Pieleanu was also seized; he was the main liaison agent of the abovementioned (Ibidem,
127

270

D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

interrogation of the arrested and to the missing evidence of the Arsenescu group in
that region (the one from Nucoara), the Securitate concluded that it no longer hid in
the Muscel Mountains, which determined both the pursuit of the gangs and of the
fugitives secluded in other places in the country. Some of them were arrested or
killed during the conflicts with the Securitate in 1951-1952, whereas others were
seized only in 1958 131 .
p. 286, 245-246; see also p. 301, 318). However, in 1951 Ioan Predescu and Grigore Miron were
arrested (Ibidem, p. 245-246; see also p. 286, 301, 318).
131
ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 272, 245-246; Bande, bandii i eroi, p. 546 (records from
AMI, fonds DMRU, inv. No 7389, file no 34, p. 23-26).
In September 1951, six other persons in the Arsenescu group were pursued based on a
plan conceived by the General Directorate of the Securitate and the regional agencies of Arge,
Putna and Timioara. 29 informers were used in this operation (ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 287,
246). Different materials were used and many direct verification actions were undertaken for the
identification of the fugitives and especially of Gheorghe Arsenescu, the most important item missing
from the Securitate collection, all without any result. Concomitantly, they proceeded to obtain
information from the family members, relatives and close acquaintances (Ibidem, f. 245-246).
The six members of the Arsenescu group who were not arrested in August 1952 were:
Gheorghe Arsenescu, Victor Suicescu, Ion Andreescu, Sever Vasilescu, Aurel Roca and
Constantin Stnescu. According to certain information, in August 1952, Constantin Stnescu was
accompanied by the fugitive Mihai erban, a former student sentenced to seven years of prison for
iron-guardist activities. Since it was known that the group took no longer action compactly, and his
former members had become isolated fugitives scattered all over the country, their pursuit
continued individually. The information activity focused on their families, without any results
(Ibidem, p. 224). Constantin Stnescu and Mihai Apostol erban were identified in the spring of
1952 in the village of Topoloveni, where they had managed to escape during a Securitate raid when
a militia officer and a Securitate soldier were killed (Ibidem, p. 224, 137). In other records, the
killing of the two was registered in September 1952 (Marius Oprea (ed.), op. cit., p. 287-288,
records from ASRI, fonds D, file 10104, p. 13-44). For two years no infomation was known on
the other two members (ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 224-225). Gheorghe Arsenescu, Victor
Suicescu, both from Cmpulung, and Ion Andreescu, from the village of Schitu Goleti, were
recruited in an active information operation which was to be performed by the agents in their
area. It was believed that most of the partisans of the Arsenescu group had left their home villages,
and with the help of relatives and acquaintances they were hiding in different places throughout
Romania using old connections. Hence, all their relatives and acquaintances were being identified,
particularly those of the abovementioned. After identifying these relatives and acquaintances, they
would be subject to direct verifications aiming at finding the fugitives. This method proved to be
successful in 1951, when six members of the Arsenescu group had been captured. Direct
verifications implied in most of the cases the recruitment of the targeted people, who should signal
the appearing of the fugitives. In fact, there was a vast preventive information network in the
pursuit of the fugitives (Ibidem, p. 226, 137). The research carried out by the Securitate on the other
members of the group led to the identification of some of their relatives and acquaintances in that
region or elsewhere in the country. Many of these people were recruited and had the obligation to
inform the Securitate in case fugitives would appear (Ibidem, p. 137). On October 21, 1952, the
Securitate was informed that Gheorghe Stnescu and Mihai Apostol erban were hiding in the
house of Ioan V. Dinu, in the village of Rdeti, Muscel District. During the operation a conflict
took place between the Securitate agents and the two partisans. They were deadly wounded; two
Daimler Puch pistols and six pocket pistols were found on them. One lieutenant from the Piteti

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D. Dobrincu The Anti-Communist Armed Resistance

The members of the Arnuoiu group attempted, unsuccessfully, several

times along the 50s to re-establish connection with Gheorghe Arsenescu 132 .
(to be continued)
Translated from Romanian by Adina Roi

Securitate Region was shot in action (Ibidem, p. 59, 137; Banalitatea rului, p. 265, 287, records
from ASRI, fonds D, file 10104, p. 13-61); Bande, bandii i eroi, p. 468, 493, records from
AMI, fonds DMRU, inv. no 7389, file no 34, p. 342-347, 448-472). It was further established that
Stnescu and erban had created a support organisation of 30 people, all being arrested
(Banalitatea rului, p. 288, records from ASRI, fonds D, file 10104, p. 13-44). The usage of
family members as informers enabled on November 7th, 1952 the arrest of Ioan Roca called Aurica
(or Auric) by the Militia at his home-residence in the village of Ceteni-Muscel, where he had dug
an underground shelter (ASRI, fonds D, file 2168, p. 59; Banalitatea rului, p. 287, records from
ASRI, fonds D, file 10104, p. 13-44).
132
ASRI, fonds D, file 10762, p. 8.

272