RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Romania’s Iron Border

Back in the 1980s Romanias western border witnessed real tragedies that few people know about today.

Romania’s Iron Border
Romania’s Iron Border

, 11.01.2016, 13:24

Back in the 1980s Romanias western border witnessed real tragedies that few people know about today. Some of the Romanians who tried to illegally cross the border into the free world, got either killed, maimed or served years in prison. Some of them got away and made it to Western Europe, where they shared the stories of those who tried to flee the communist inferno. The accounts of the people attempting to swim across the Danube are truly haunting.



According to a volume signed by Doina Magheti and Johann Steiner, ‘Silent Graves (Mormintele Tac), about 16 thousand people tried to cross Romanias western border illegally. Twelve thousand were captured and served prison sentences of up to six months each, but the exact number of those who died at the hands of border guards remains unknown. Cemeteries with graves of unidentified people whose deadly sin was the desire to live in freedom lie on either side of the Danube. Those who tried to cross Romanias western border in search of a better life in the West came to be called “frontieristi, that is, “frontier people in Romanian. Dan Danila was born in Sibiu and attempted to cross the Danube in a rubber dinghy back in 1986. During the discussion he had with us he spoke about the psychological training he underwent before the crossing.



Dan Danila: “Preparation for the crossing, I mean the psychological preparation, took years. It was a complex battle between fear, despair and courage. After all, courage stemmed from the desperate situation the two of us were in at the time. It wasnt something we decided on the spot. We had just graduated from university, we were young, but not reckless. We prepared everything, studied maps of Romania and other regions, learnt how to use a compass and bought camouflage fishermen clothing. Instead of traveling towards the Danube from Herculane Spa, as did all those who tried to cross the river, we went in the opposite direction, moving inland so as not to raise suspicions. We went into the woods advancing deep into wild territory, using only the compass. After a couple of rough nights, sleeping in ditches and holes in the ground and wearing our makeshift ghillie suits, we managed to launch the boat, but couldnt row properly because we were too afraid not to be caught. For a while we failed to coordinate and we moved in circles very close to the river bank.



Summer was the season mostly preferred by these so-called “frontier people, the season with the largest number of crossing attempts. Border patrols resorted to all means to stop them; they shot them in the head or ran them over with motorboats. Those captured were beaten unconscious and some of them were killed and buried right on the border trail. Trained dogs were used to track them down, and in some cases dead bodies were left unburied as a warning for others. The Yugoslav authorities repeatedly complained to the Romanian side for the dead bodies that were clogging the pump systems at the Iron Gates hydropower plant. Dan Danila and his friend decided to cross the Danube off-season, so to say.



Dan Danila: “We crossed the Danube in spring; it was in late March, the beginning of April, and we preferred that time because we wanted to take border guards by surprise. It was hot in summer and therefore easier for the guards to monitor the border. When the weather outside was colder, guards needed a break every once in a while, to get warm. The season was not very popular with those attempting an escape. In summertime people even dared to swim across the Danube to Yugoslavia.



The difficulty of these escape plans was that once you crossed the border, there was no guarantee that Yugoslav or Hungarian border guards would not send you back to Romania. And thats exactly what happened to Dan Danila and his friend.



Dan Danila: “We managed to cross the Danube and were sent to a refugee camp in Belgrade, where we stayed for a couple of months. Migrating to the USA didnt appeal much to my friend, whod have rather remained in Europe. He convinced me to leave the camp and we tried to make it to Austria, but got caught by the Yugoslav guards and sent back to Romania. We had found out that dictator Ceausescu had granted a general amnesty and thats why we decided to push the envelope a little bit. We knew we would not go to jail. They would have given us a good beating and set us free eventually.



If we looked strictly at the wording of the law, any illegal border-crossing attempt remains a crime. But when the law is only an instrument in the hands of a repressive totalitarian regime, those trying to leave it cannot not be regarded as criminals. Those who tried to cross the border and live their lives in freedom found themselves alone in the fight against dictator Ceausescus criminal regime, and the case of Dan Danila and his friend is illustrative of the way in which the communists used to treat their citizens.

Giuseppe Mazzini and the Romanians
The History Show Monday, 11 November 2024

Giuseppe Mazzini and the Romanians

The Romanian political elites of 1848 were influenced by the ideas of the Italian Giuseppe...

Giuseppe Mazzini and the Romanians
banner-Pro-Memoria.-960x540-1.jpg
The History Show Monday, 04 November 2024

The Spark(Scanteia) communist newspaper

The press was one of the communist regime’s most powerful weapons regarding propaganda. The freedom of expression and of the press was a right that...

The Spark(Scanteia) communist newspaper
RRI
The History Show Monday, 28 October 2024

Securitate and the KGB parting ways

The most feared institution of the Romanian communist state was the political police known as Securitate, created on the model of the NKVD, which...

Securitate and the KGB parting ways
Vasile Luca
The History Show Monday, 21 October 2024

Vasile Luca

From the end of World War II in 1945 until 1989, the Red Army imposed communist party regimes in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. They...

Vasile Luca
The History Show Monday, 14 October 2024

The Romanian Communist Party and the Agrarian Reform

According to the Marxist-Leninist theses about means of production, property had to be common, owned by all those who used it and created added...

The Romanian Communist Party and the Agrarian Reform
The History Show Monday, 07 October 2024

The Romanian military fleet in WWII

The history of the Romanian military fleet begins in the middle of the 19th century, when, after the union of the two principalities of Moldova and...

The Romanian military fleet in WWII
The History Show Monday, 30 September 2024

Ana Pauker

Ana Pauker is one of the most conspicuous figureheads in the history of the communist regime in Romania. Ana Pauker played a crucial part in the team...

Ana Pauker
The History Show Monday, 23 September 2024

Nicolae Titulescu and the Romanian diplomacy in Europe in the 1930s

  The diplomacies of countries that gravitate around the powerful ones, always have the mission of being one step ahead of events. They must...

Nicolae Titulescu and the Romanian diplomacy in Europe in the 1930s

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company