Ioan Arbore (en)

In front of me, three ghosts sat on their stools under the window, staring at me. Behind me, the door closed with a creak. I can’t remember how I looked, but the three of them looked at me as if I were something else. It was as if I came from another world, yellow, yellow in the face, like saffron. The first one on the left came over and introduced himself – Nicolae Mareș, former Minister of Agriculture under Antonescu. He was a railway engineer. The second one stands up and introduces himself – Ioan Arbore, general, former Minister of […]

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(In Văcărești) I also met General Arbore, a descendant of the Arbore hatters. Accused of war crimes, he was serving his sentence despite being seriously ill and suffering from hypertension. He had been brought in not for treatment but to be at the disposal of the Securitate, to be blackmailed into making compromising statements in exchange for medical treatment. He was a handsome man, although the years of suffering had left their mark, and he was of high moral character and dignity. With us, the younger ones, he acted like a grandfather, trying to pass on to his grandchildren his […]

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