“Forgiveness, forgiveness” – Last words of the martyred priest Radu Șerban

The camp was surrounded by a 4-metre high wooden fence. There were a few rows of barbed wire on top. From place to place there were watchtowers, where there was always a guard with an automatic weapon. One could observe the totality of the concentration camp effortlessly.

That day we were taken to the dining room – the barrack where the kitchen was – to peel potatoes and greens. With us was the priest Radu Șerban. Originally from the commune of Topraisar, in the county of Constanța, he had been sentenced, along with a group of villagers from Dobrogea, for trying to organise resistance against the communist regime.

After we had finished peeling the potatoes, we noticed that Alexandru, a politician, was climbing in one of the watchtowers of the fence above the kitchen, next to the guard. Faur, we later learn. Alexandru disappears and the priest Șerban is taken away by the militiaman Corbu to search the space between the hut and the fence. It was broad daylight. Suddenly we hear a shot, fired at Father Șerban, who falls to the ground near the barrack window. We were stunned. We were shaking, but we couldn’t do anything. All the people who had been resting came out. The deed was done. The body of the priest lay on a makeshift stretcher. We heard his last words: “Forgiveness, forgiveness”. Soon Alexander the politician appeared in the watchtower, but he immediately came down. All the political prisoners in the camp understood the meaning of this heinous crime.

As long as we work there, we’ll have the image of this martyr. Through his sacrifice he made us take a leadership role in our efforts as miners. We have maintained this attitude throughout all the years we have worked in the lead mines of Baia-Sprie, Cavnic and Nistru Valley.

(Nicu Păun – The Mountain of Suffering, European Institute Publishing House, Bucharest, 1997, pp. 129-130)