Romania’s Pitesti Prison Memorial hosts exhibition dedicated to victims of totalitarian regimes

Pitesti Prison Memorial, the museum set up inside the former political prison in the city of Pitesti, commemorates the victims of totalitarian regimes on August 23, with a special exhibition dedicated to 26 men and women who faced persecution in the last century worldwide. "Their activities, attitudes and positions posed a 'threat' to the new undemocratic, totalitarian regimes, so the authorities sought to silence them," the organizers said.

Writings, correspondence, and the testimonies of those close to the victims will be on show at the Pitesti Prison Memorial. Entrance to the event is free.

"This exhibition aims to present the testaments of the martyrs that remain with us as a testimony to their lives in order to understand the true meaning of fundamental values such as freedom, truth and democracy," reads the organizers' release.

The Century of Martyrs exhibition is the result of extensive collaboration between various institutions brought together by the European Platform of Memory and Conscience. The Pitesti Prison Memorial contributed to the show with the biography of Valeriu Gafencu, a political prisoner who was also imprisoned in Pitesti, known in Romania as the "Saint of the Prisons" for his deeply spiritual stance during his years in prison and for his martyrdom in the jail of Targu Ocna.

The doors of the museum open at 18:30 on August 23, with a discussion on martyrdom, dictatorship and political imprisonment moderated by Maria Axinte, founder of the Pitesti Prison Memorial. The guests and speakers are Sergiu Rizescu (former political prisoner), Wojciech Bednarski (curator of the exhibition), and Dragoș Ursu (historian).

The evening will continue with the exhibition's opening inside Pitesti Prison Memorial. Andrei Bălan (sculptor and musician) will accompany the opening with a soundscape (guitar and electronics) created especially for this event.

"The history of the 20th century was marked by the rise of totalitarian ideologies and regimes. Communism, fascism and Nazism brought immeasurable suffering and countless victims, even in parts of the world that were not subject to their rule. Among the tens of millions of victims of totalitarianism have been Christians of various denominations. Some of them were killed because of their faith, others because of their nationality, race, class, opinions or political and social activity. For many of them, persecution became an opportunity to bear witness to their faith. Today we can consider them martyrs, even if the respective churches and religious communities have not officially conferred this title on them," the event's organizers also said.

The exhibition was created by Artur Aleksiejuk, Luigi Aluisi O.F.M, Maria Axinte, Wojciech Bednarski, Volodymyr Birchak, Petr Blažek, Cor Faber, Jožica Friedrich, Marta Georgieva, Isó Gergely, Yana Hrynko, Łukasz Kamiński, Iryna Kurhanska, Dorota Lewsza, Merita Mece, Jolanta Nowak, Marge-Marie Paas, Greta Paskočiumaitė, Jaroslav Slašťan, and Immanuel Volkonski.