Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

14 George Santayana Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past Part I - History & concept

The village of Periprava is located in of the Delta as an eco-touris- one of the remotest areas of . tic destination, in particular the launch Situated in the northern part of the Dan- of the new hotel “Ultima Frontiera” on ube Delta, on the Romanian border to the site of the aforementioned labour Ukraine, it is yet difficult to access via camp, creates a problematic dichotomy public transportation. Factoring in the in the place’s identity. Similarly prob- severity of the environmental conditions lematic is the question of remembrance and the poor condition of the area’s in- culture and therefore of finding a way frastructure, it is not hard to understand to respectfully memorialise the suffer- how the location could function so ef- ings of the many political prisoners held fectively as one of the harshest forced captive here, as well as of the Roma- labour camps of the Romanian commu- nian people during the communist dic- nist regime. The recent development tatorship. 15 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the

The project “Reflections on a dark This phase also included a field trip to bourgeoisie, intellectuals and clergy. past” strives to offer a strategy for deal- Periprava. The second step was a con- Many of their members were incarcer- ing with the troubled past of Romania, ceptual approach to what such a reflec- ated for “expressing anti-communist by delving into historical facts that are tion space should be and how it should opinions”, among other reasons. These still partly unknown to the masses, work. Thus three memorial walks were political prisoners were imprisoned and and consequently including these into proposed. The third phase consists of a subjected to torture and extreme work public space interventions meant to more detailed planning of the memorial regimes, resulting in a horrifying (still in- offer room for reflection. Our method walk at Periprava, down to the architec- complete) number of deaths. In order to consisted of three steps towards the tural language. sustain this system, there were prisons final proposal: First, there was an ex- and labour camps all throughout the tensive research phase, that revealed 1 Short Historical Overview country, as seen in Fig 1. What is also not only facts about the forced labour apparent from this map, is that these camp “Formation 0830 Periprava” but Shortly after the end of World War II, and labour camps were mostly situated in also about other related labour camps the forced abdication of King Michael the Danube delta, with the exception of 1 in the Danube delta. In this step it was in 1947 , a new communist regime was a few that were instituted for mining ac- decided to tackle not one but three la- proclaimed. This brought about an era tivities. There are three conglomerates bour camp conglomerates of the delta: of terror, especially for the Romanian that stand out: The region near Peripra- Periprava, the Great Island of Brăila, va, the Great Island of Brăila and around 16 and the Danube - Black Sea Channel. 1 https://www.iiccr.ro/en/brief-history-of-communism/ the Danube - Black Sea Channel. These Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

were mostly active during the 50s and 60s. A more in-depth research shows the reasons behind this situation: first of all, there was the intention to trans- form a good part of the delta into fertile land for agriculture, and the secondly the construction plans for a channel connecting the Danube to the Black Sea, across Dobrogea, according to a suggestion made by Stalin. According to testimonies, the number of incarcer- ations rose as a direct consequence of calculations about the workforce nec- essary to the timely completion of these projects. It is hard to say how many people have passed through as well as in these labour camps, due to a lack of documentation as well as frequent pris- Fig. 1 Map of the Prisons and labour camps in Romania and Moldavia oner transfers between these camps. 17 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

The practice of undignified secret buri- constitutes a more emotional type of tion below this (around the age of 50, als of the dead further impedes a more information about the horrors they born after the climax Gheorghe Gheo- traditional memorial approach, where have been through. The other aspect rghiu-Dej’s labour camps) there is sel- the names of the deceased would be is that it became clear through various dom talk of the communist period and listed on the memorial. conversations with people of different childhood memories of the surveillance ages that there is seldom a conversa- and scarcity of goods lead to a general 2 A tailored memorial concept for the tion about the communist era, apart for capitalistic mindset and a hatred of the labour camps of the Danube delta the occasional nostalgia expressed by idea of communism. Consequently, the the elderly (in this case, from the fortu- younger generations don’t grow up with The research phase revealed some nate few that had no clashes with the much information about the time; there important aspects that shaped the surveillance organ “”, who is no remembrance culture as seen in 3 memorial concept; On the one hand, recollect that they had “fewer needs” countries like Austria . In addition to the scarcity of accurate, reliable in- at the time, especially in the context this, the curriculum for history does not formation about the individual labour of today’s plummeting approval of the address this problem in depth. There- 2 camps, like floor plans, photograph- Romanian government and ongo- fore, it seems imperative to work with ic material, records of the imprisoned ing economic struggles). One genera- facts rather than emotions. and burial sites. What is known about

these places mostly stems from ac- 2 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-romania-protests/ 3 Author’s note: Obviously these are two different situa- thousands-rally-in-romania-on-anniversary-of-violent-pro- tions, since the wrongdoings of the communist regime were 18 counts of the former prisoners and test-idUSKCN1V00RV mostly directed at the Romanian people itself. Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

Amidst all the political scandals, it to, as well as the geographical situation labour operations, rather than pinpoint- seems that the nation is divided, as of the labour camps and their satellites. ing a few infamous camps. Lastly, the seen in many other countries around As Fig 1 shows, it is evident that there project would complement the ongoing the world. Likewise, one can not over- was a strategy behind these locations. digging campaigns by IICMER, in which look the current role of social media as Since the camps are mostly placed in they also target all three sections and instigator of this divide, a phenomenon a linear shape, it was decided that the strive to find and identify the bodies of that stems from the propagation of sub- concept of a “walk” would be the most the many undignified dead buried in the 4 jective, omissive or downright mislead- fitting. Similar to a pilgrimage route, the soil of the Romanian delta . ing information. Taking all these aspects visitor should take the time to reflect on into account, our project strives to offer and discover the surroundings. Along 3 The Great Island of Braila a quiet space for information, reflection, these walks, there should be contex- hopefully spurring on the desire for fur- tualised information about the corre- The Great Island of Braila is an island on ther research into the nation’s more re- sponding camps. The reason why we the Danube River, located between Do- cent past. This is a task that cannot be chose to deal with all three sections brogea and the rest of the country. The fulfilled by architecture alone. of the Danube delta labour camps is 710 km2 island was originally a swampy that we believe that creating a common The concept of memorial walk was strategy and identity for the whole area 4 https://adevarul.ro/locale/constanta/sapaturi-pre- miera-canalul-dunare-marea-neagra-gasirea-oseminte-vic- brought about by researching what kind would be beneficial for raising aware- timelor-comunismului-1_5de68a4c5163ec4271a96c61/ index.html of labour the prisoners were subjected ness about the scope of the forced 19 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

area, “The Braila Pond”. During the Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an in- Regime of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, vestor from the emirates, who plans on the area was transformed into agri- further improving the fertility and output cultural soil, through forced labour by of the land. many of the political prisoners at the time. There were several labour camps The labour camp at Salcia is consid- lined up along the eastern edge of the ered one of the harshest. Here there island: Bandoiu, Gradina, Salcia, Pia- are also remaining ruins of the camp’s tra, Stoienesti, Luciu. The scope of the buildings, which the local government work here was to drain the swamps and is striving to use as a museum and to 5 protect the island from further flooding integrate in a larger touristic network . by building a dam (23.5 km), as well as Nearby one can additionally find a mass to clean up the soil in preparation for grave site used for the secret burial of subsequent agricultural use. The result: deceased prisoners. this is now one of the most fertile ter- ritories in Romania, and was deemed The chosen route for the memorial walk as one of the big successes of commu-

nism in Romania. The operating farm 5 https://www.economica.net/o-fosta-inchisoare-comuni- Fig. 2 sta-va-fi-transformata-in-muzeu_156702.html 20 The Great Island of Braila and camps on the island was recently acquired by Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

“Great Island of Braila” is as following: the construction of a bridge as part of Ostrov - Piatra - Frecatei - Salcia - the route. Agaua - Stoienesti (Fig. 3). It is a walk of approximately four hours, which is ac- 4 The Danube - Black Sea Channel cessible from the town Ostrov, crossing the water with the ferry between Piatra One of the biggest construction proj- and Frecatei. Aside from the existing ects of the Romanian communism era ruins, memorial and grave site, this is the channel connecting the Danube should be a place to display informa- to the Black Sea. Initially a suggestion tion not only about the labour camps made by Stalin, the project was quickly of Braila, but also to contextualise the ordered by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. communist approach to agriculture and This was supposed to be constructed export - which was favoured, leaving as timely as possible, so (according to the Romanian people with limited food testimonials) the number of prisoners rations. A further reflection point could held in these camps was directly influ- be the contextualisation of the acquisi- enced by the project’s deadlines; it was tion of the farm by foreign investors and a question of gathering a sufficient work its impact on the current day economy. force rather than of imprisoning dissi- Fig. 3 As a further step, one could consider dents. Many labour camps were set up Proposed Route Island of Braila 21 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

Fig. 4 The Danube - Black Sea Channel and camps

along the route of the channel, such as: the conditions were particularly harsh. large projects and ruling over the most Cernavoda, Saligny, Poarta Alba, Noua The channel construction was stopped advanced nation. Until today it is a very Culme, Peninsula, Capul Midia, Eforie, after a few years due to its dismissal as important piece of infrastructure and is, 6 Constanta, Seimeni, Medgidia, Basara- unnecessary by the Soviet Union. Years according to a Bloomberg article “an bi, Navodari, Castelu. Many of these later, the construction was finished un- camps are well known, since they were der the rule of Nicolae Ceausescu, who 6 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/fea- tures/2019-10-27/the-canal-of-death-is-now-an-economic- 22 larger compared to the other areas and was particularly taken with the idea of gateway-for-eastern-europe Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

economic gateway for Eastern Europe”, wing on Romanian communism in Do- in particular for Romania and Bulgaria. brogea. The route passes the camps Navodari, Lumina / Peninsula and Ovid- Because of the proximity of many of iu. The estimated duration of the walk these former labour camps to the Black is five hours. Aside from information on Sea coast, which is a popular touristic the construction of the Danube - Black 7 destination, especially for Romanians . Sea Channel, it is possible to include This offers an opportunity to reach a information on a second topic: women wider scope of visitors, especially Ro- during the communist regime. As Salig- manian, by connecting the memorial ny was mostly a women’s camp, one walk to the sea shore. The proposed can dig deeper into how women were route starts in the popular touristic vil- seen and treated during the communist lage Mamaia and ends in the city of regime. Constanta, which is a major touristic hub and also host to a museum of na- 5 Periprava tional history, with a special exhibition The topic of our initial research, the

7 https://jurnalul.antena3.ro/stire-economic/criza-ne-stri- Fig 5 former labour camp “Formation 0830 ca-vacanta-548967.html Proposed Route for The Danube - Black Sea Channel Periprava”, is a short walk away from the 23 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

actual village. At first a satellite of the animal farm. penitentiary Chilia, it was established as an independent unit in the year 1971. Today, as is the case with several oth- The environmental factors provided a er labour camps, the only visible traces particularly harsh life for the prisoners, of the “Formation 0830” are some ru- since the summers were unbearably ins of the brick constructions (guards’ hot and full of insects, while the winters housing and administrative buildings) were extremely cold with icy winds. The and the dam along the Danube. The daily labour of the prisoners here were: prisoners’ housing unit have however initially, building the brick housing units disappeared, due to the environmental for the guards and prison employees, conditions, as well as the rudimenta- eventually forming what came to be ry building techniques they were built known as the “city at Periprava”; field with. work included: building a dam along the Chilia arm, to protect the ground from These remains are largely part of the floods, harvesting reed, cleaning the private property belonging to the four soil of roots in order to make it useful star eco-hotel “Ultima Frontiera”. The for agriculture, planting and harvesting question of building a memorial on Fig 6 24 Proposed Route for Periprava said fields and working in the enclosed these grounds is therefore problematic. Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

Since our research revealed many other nomic gain for the village, that currently nearby satellite camps, this poses a fur- hosts three additional hotels, which po- ther question as to whether one single tential visitors can make use of, if they building can serve as a representation are not forced to spend their nights at of the unspeakable events that trans- Ultima Frontiera (which is furthermore pired here. Our project clearly positions fully booked around the year by nature itself outside of these private grounds, explorers and animal photographers). on the principle of decoupling history Along the walk, which starts at Perip- from potential private gains that could rava and ends near the villages C. A. be achieved by the hotel owners. A de- Rosetti, Letea and Sfistofca, one can cision process that would involve finan- inform themselves about the history of cial considerations by a private investor the place, in context of the communist is sure to be biased and will therefore regime and the other labour camps in be avoided. The proposed route for the the delta. The walk, along with its sec- area “Periprava” is therefore along the tions are detailed in part two. remaining dam, which also serves as a protected road in face of the varying soil dryness throughout the year. An- Fig 7 other consideration is a potential eco- Aerial view of the Ruins at Periprava 25 26 Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past Part II - Design Method

1 Landscape concept ca and by building a platform for infor- mation sharing. The dam lies between The Project Reflections on a Dark Past the two villages and goes by Ultima concentrates on sharing and receiving Frontiera areal which is the former la- information about the place. It tries to bour camp of Periprava. The idea is the make the effort visible, to respect the way to be used as a hiking path and effort of the prisoners, to make a point also as a memorial art structure which on how it helped the next generations informs and keeps the memory alive. and to keep the horrible history behind The hiking path includes 9 stops. Every this effort visible. one of them is a place to enjoy the view Fig 8 Map of the area between Periprava and Sfistofca How do we plan to make their effort over the Danube river or the landscape visible?: by marking the dam they built of Periprava and also has interesting which is nowadays keeping the village facts to share. They are all connected Fig 9 Plan of the 16.5 km damm and the field from flooding and it’s also to different historical events or places from Periprava to Sfistofca the labour camp prisoners worked on the way between Periprava and Sfistof- in the area. 27 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

Periprava

1

Sfistofca

Fig. 10 Fig. 11 Map of the damm between Periprava and Sfistofca and also the hiking path Map of the west side of the damm between Periprava and Sfistofca and also the hiking path 28 Section 1 marked on the west side of the path Closer look on the stops included in Section 1 Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

The path is separated in 3 sections. Frontiera and the ruins of the former la- place to another. It also includes one of Section one includes the docks of bour camp and on the west side of the the so called “start points”. It’s an ac- Periprava and some general facts about damm information about some other tuall structure that displays some facts the village, the history of the cemetery labour camps in the area like those on about Periprava and the former labour where some prisoners were аssumed the Braila island. The camps in the area camp and invites visitors to be a part ot to have been buried in, the first en- were connected to each other and pris- the project. trance to the private property Ultima oners were often transported from one

29 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

Periprava

1 2

Sfistofca

Fig. 12 Fig. 13 Map of the damm between Periprava and Sfistofca and also the hiking path Map of the west side of the damm between Periprava and Sfistofca and also the hiking path 30 Section 2 marked on the path Closer look on the stops included in Section 2 Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

Section 2 includes the turn to the for- the prisoners arrived. Nowadays there There is a stop on the way informing mer labour camp and the longer way are some remains of the constructions visitors about Grindu and pointing at to the private property of Ultima Fron- there which could have been anything the area which was once a branch of tiera and entrance to the remains of but there is no trace of the floating pris- the Periprava labour camp and where the camp. More important it is also the on cells to remind of what the purpose many prisoners spent their prison time place where the former floating prison of the constructions was. harvesting reed mostly for export and used to be and also the docks where mostly during winter. Another stop on the way to Sfistofca are the marked fields on the right side of the damm. The main reason for sending prisoners to the Danube delta was to build damms, clear the lands and make them fertile for farm work. After turning the Braila Island into an agricultural area also called “success of Communism in Romania” many prisoners were sent to Periprava and other smaller labour camps in the area to continue working on clearing the terrain. 31 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

Periprava

1 2 3

Sfistofca

Fig. 14 Fig. 15 Map of the damm between Periprava and Sfistofca and also the hiking path Map of the west side of the damm between Periprava and Sfistofca and also the hiking path 32 Section 3 marked on the path Closer look on the stops included in Section 3 Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

Section 3 is a connection to Sfistofca Sfistofca labour camp, where was it, the world. The idea of the project is to and Letea. There are only two points what did the prisoners work on and in provide the much needed information on the path - one of them tells us more general about the exchange of prison- from historians and annalists about the about the area of Sfistifca, Letea and ers between the Danube delta labour historical background of the village and the commune of C.A.Rosetti, the resi- camps. to keep the memory alive, preventing dents, the agricultures, the landscape The Danube delta is often visited by the place from becoming a pure tourist and the other informs about the former nature lovers and tourists from all over attraction.

33 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

2 The Start points place for enter the route. They are at the and reed. It is a simple construction Many people arrive in Periprava by entrance of the Periprava village, they also reminding of the already disap- boat. Students, tourists and locals of- are very near the 16,5 damm and they peared prisoners houses. The shelter ten travel by the ferri to Tulcea and the also lie on the way between the village is one of the two places on the route docks of Periprava make a good place and the arriving visitors so they would which introduce the idea of the project for introducing the history of Peripra- be seen by everyone and have a bigger on a display wall. Three of four wall are va and concept of the project. There chance at getting the attention of the completely closed so the inside of the are two points on the route that could people or just keep them busy while construction is protected from wind be called start points since they are waiting. There are two planned - the and rain. The vertical area of two walls planned on both sides ob the hiking first one is at the entrance to Periprava is used for introducing Periprava and path - one in Periprava and one in Sfis- and the second one on the other end of the project and inviting people to be a tofca. At the start point is an informa- the damm - Sfistofca, so there are two part of it. The third wall is completely tional board to be found and a wooden possibilities to start the route. transparent and made of plexiglass - structure to shelter the boards and the The Periprava Start point should be in- easy to find in big sizes and it could also visitors. If you wait for the boat or to get tegrated in this so called “waiting room” easily be transported by the local public picked up by the hotel at the docks in where at least two boards could be in- boat. The third wall is kept transparent Periprava there is nowhere to sit or sim- tegrated. This shelter would be made of because of the position of the construc- ply be sheltered from bad weather con- mostly natural materials and materials tion. There is no fourth wall. The struc- 34 ditions. So the docks would be a good that can be found in the area - wood ture should be kept open and inviting. It Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

is located right between the damm and the docks . This way it is visible to ev- erybody no matter from which direction they are coming and it is still a wind and rain protected place. The shelter is a construction simple enough to be build by architecture students themselves. It is marked by the colour of the project - red - which is also a colour for attention. Fig. 16 Fig. 17 On the inside of the two other walls are Location of the start point Sketch of the structure two panels where one can read few facts about Periprava. The technik for protecting text from bad weather conditions is simple and often used for outdoor signs. The text is print- ed and placed between two plexiglass plates and then framed or simply melt- ed on the edges so that nothing can get Fig. 18 between the plates. Reed roof construction - details 35 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

3 Info Board - Example

Welcome to Periprava Hard facts about the Periprava la- - The area of the former labour camp bour camp: was sold after the communist regime and is now a private property. - The prisoners were sent to Peripra- va to harvest reed and build a damm to Want to know more? protect the lands and make them fertile C.A. Rosetti is a commune in Tulcea for farm work. Starting with 1959, thousands of polit- County, Romania. The commune is - One of the prisoners of the Peripra- ical prisoners were brought to the col- named for writer Constantin Alexandru va labour camp was the romanian writ- ony until 1964 when the collective am- Rosetti. It is composed of five villages: er Florin Pavlovici who also wrote two nesties took place. The undeclared but C.A. Rosetti, Cardon, Letea, Peripra- books about the time spent in deten- implied purpose of the transfers was to va and Sfiștofca. At the 2011 census, tion: “Basics of Torture” and “Fear and brutally exploit their work and subject 65.7% of the inhabitants were Roma- Watch”. them to an extermination regime. Walk nians, 24.3% Russian Lipovans and - The former director of the labour from Periprava to Sfistofca and look for 9.8% Ukrainians. At the beginning of the camp Ioan Ficior between 1958 and the signs. Use your phone to scan the ‘50s, Periprava functioned as a section 1963 was indicted for crimes against QR Code to know where you are right of the Chilia Formation, consequently humanity in 2013. now and let the landscape of the Dan- turning into an independent prison unit - There was a floating prison near the ube Delta take you on journey through 36 on July 1, 1957 (Formation 0830). village. the history of the place. Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

Many tourists visit the place so it would with codes on them. People don’t nec- are involved with the investigating of the be important to have a place where essarily have to start at an endpoint of former labour camp. More important their attention is required and where the route. The signs on the way are su- the site is not only a virtual space where they are offered information about the posed to wake the interest of the visitor you can read information. It is also a former events in the area. The start and since nowadays almost everyone platform for those who have informa- point is about sharing some interesting has a smartphone it is the easiest way tion to share. A lack of registers and un- facts about the place and give everyone to receive information and it does not opened or lost files is the reason for not an opportunity to take a tour to a not need much explanation what to do after knowing much about the history of the that well known history. once seen it. By pointing the camera at Danube Delta. The platform would give To not intervent in the local life and af- the code people are forwarded to a link people the opprtunity to speak. There fect the place with permanent tracks with texts about the point where they are 4 options planned: of building and memorials the project are standing right now. At the bottom of - Adding names of people who were offers a virtual space to share and re- the page they would also find different assumed to be sent to the Danube Del- ceive information. It is also intended to other links connected to other articles ta or went missing at the time give the project a bigger audience by about the place. It would also be possi- - Adding testimonials of former polit- making it an online platform or a home- ble to save the information by marking ical prisoners page called: Periprava - reflections on a it on the map of the hiking path with a - Adding stories heard from relatives dark past. On the way between Perip- yellow point. All informations would be - Adding proposals for other places rava and Sfistifca are smaller signs checked by different organisations who where the project could also take place 37 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

Since Periprava is on the borderline be- 3 Functions of the map window tween the European union and Ukraine Example there is often a problem with connect- ing to the local network and not bee- ing extra charged. The platform should also offer an offline application which could be properly used on the ground of Periprava. People could download the application when connected to the internet and use it offline. It would work with the camera, scan the code and open a window in the application with the information. By scanning the code Current location the visitors would receive the name of 45.400064, 29.559494 the point and could see on the integrat- Stop on the route ed map where exactly they are standing Hiking path/16,5 km damm Optional route to a stop that at the moment. The map would be con- doesn’t lie on the path nected not to the internet but to GPS 38 coordinates. Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

5. The Periprava Cemetery Example Steps/Options in the Application 1. them to the cemetery. 11 graves were 124 deaths are registered at the labour identified there on a ground of 113 m2. camp between 1959 and 1963. Author- 2. The Periprava Cemetery All the graves were unmarked. Nowa- ities are still trying to find leads to other Between 2013 and 2018 five archeo- days there is a big cross were they were unmarked graves. Many bodies are also logical investigation campaigns took found with the romanian flag hanging assumed to have be thrown in the Dan- place in the area of Periprava trying to above the graves. The cemetery follows ube river. Those who had the priviledge follow leads and uncover the graves the form of an L and it is not hard to to be buried were often buried naked in of the dead former prisoners of the la- recognize the ground. All other graves a wood coffin, sometimes wrapped in bour camp. During all five were found are close to each other and there is only reed mats. In rare cases there were but- 11 sections with 44 graves, 41 of them one almost empty space at the ceme- tons and other sign of clothing found by considered former prisoners. 31 of the tery. Three of the graves belong to lo- the bones. The reasons for the deaths graves were discovered during the first cals who commited suicude. They were are different. The conditions at the la- 4 campagns and the most recent one also buried by the prisoners on that side bour camp were horrible so many of were organised betweend the 16. and of the cemetery. One of the graves were the prisoners were deceased or shot 26. of july 2018. It was the first time the found empty and investigators assume while trying to escape. The causes of authorities tried digging at the local that the family of the former prison- the deceases were mostly lack of med- cemetery. The reason was that locals er already knew the exact location of ications, drinking water, food or acci- and former employees of the labour the grave and managed to dig out and dents due to the exhausting work at the camp shared some stories leading transport the remains of their relative. camp. The remains of the bodies were 39 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

all packed and transported to the Tul- 3. Map cea Institute of Legal Medicine and a criminal file was opened in 2015. the case of Alexandru Visinescu for his All archeological investigations were leadership of the Ramnicu Sarat prison carried out by different archeologists from 1956 to 1963. Testemonies of for- and historians from the Institute for the mer prisoners and evidence found by Investigation of Communist Crimes and the authorities led to serving 20 years the Memory of the Romanian Exile in prison time. The sentence was passed the presence of other authorities as the in March 2017. Ficior spent his last years Bucharest Military Prosecutor’s Office in a prison and dies at the age of 90. and the Police Department. About 500,000 people were sent to pris- 2013 the former director of the camp on in the years of communism in Roma- It would be possible to save the location Ion Ficior was charged with genocide nia - amongst them priests, teachers, on the map, add to the main route in yel- for “introduced and co-ordinated a re- doctors. About 40,000 walked free out low new points that might be interesting pressive detention regime, which was of the prisons after the end of the com- for explorers and take pictures and up- abusive, inhuman.’’ He ran the camp munist era in 1989 and about 3,500 of load them to the exact coordinates if in between 1958 and 1963 and is found them are still alive, many ot them help- online mode. That way visitors would be guilty for the deaths of over 100 pris- ing solve the mysteries around the hid- able to exchange information and may- 40 oners. This was the second trial afte den crimes of the communist regime. be discover places they overlooked. Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

The Periprava Cemetery is an example 4. Sources and connected articles: 6. Gallery for one point on the route. The code is to be found right at the entrace to the The archeological investigations of the village. Since the cemetery isn’t on the Periprava labour camp route the map in the application/home- https://www.iiccr.ro/en/... page would show an alterntive way The fifth archeological investigation of starting with where the visitor is stand- the Periprava labour camp ing right now. Other options would be https://www.iiccr.ro/en/the-fifth-... to just sit and read other linked articles, Ion Ficior, 90, Convicted in Romania La- download recommended literature, bor Camp Crimes look through some older photos of the https://www.euronews.com/2013/10.. place or compare them to what is to https://www.bbc.com/news/world-eu... be seen now, make some new photos https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26... and add them to the gallery, add a new 5. Literature: 7. Contact point to the map and most important Contact the IICCMER contact different institutions or leave Forensic Archaeology: A Global Per- Contact the Association of the Former anonymously a story or a comment to spective Political Prisoners be proved by authorized people and https://books.google.at/books?id... Anonymous Online Form-Give informa- added to the information. tion 41 ultima frontiera - the ultimate border memorial architecture in the danube delta

6. Conclusion and funding ube Delta and help turning the idea into 7. The Europe for Citizens Pro- 1 reality. gramme : The idea of the project is mostly to mark The project would rely on the support of “In this context, the Europe for Citizens the effort ot the people who spent time different institutions: Programme (hereinafter ‘Programme) in the Periprava prison and to attract For construction work: Vienna Univer- adopted for the period 2014-2020 is an the attention of visitors and institutions, sity of Technology and partners - vol- important instrument aimed at getting to inform and to keep the memory alive, unteer work the Union’s 500 million inhabitants to but it is also meant to be a part of the For verifying information: the Associ- play a greater part in the development investigation process by bringing the ation of Former Political Prisoners in of the Union. By funding schemes and background of the Danube Delta out- Romania/ The Institute for Information activities in which citizens can partici- side the borders of the nearby settle- on the Crimes of Communism/the C.A. pate, the Programme is promoting Eu- ments and already involved institutions. Rosetti City Hall - a part of the reseach rope’s shared history and values, and The 1:1 constructions proposed by the For creating a virtual space for the infor- fostering a sense of ownership for how project are simple enough to be built by mation: Vienna University of technology the Union develops. A budget of EUR architecture students themselves, so and partners - volunteer work 187 718 000 for the period 2014-2020 the idea is to work with universities who For funding (transportation, materials, was allocated for the Programme.” would be interested in offering their stu- accomodation and food supplies): the

dents the possibility to be a part of a Europe for Citizens Programme - ca. 1 https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/sites/eacea-site/files/pro- gramme_guide_2020_final_0.pdf 42 bigger project by traveling to the Dan- 3000,00 Euro Toni Cherneva & Oana Rotariu reflections on a dark past

Fig. 19 The Europe Citizens Programme call for papers 43