Nicu Popescu “was even capable of taking his shirt off to save someone from death”

Pardons began to be issued and prisoners were released in batches of fifty[1]. But the miracle lasted until Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, when, because of the new situation, our releases were also suspended until further notice. One friend whom I have not mentioned much in this book, and that was for the merit of shaving and cutting our hair, was Nicu Popescu-Vorkuta. I have seldom seen a man with such soulful qualities. He was even capable of taking off his shirt to save someone from death, and I never heard him reproach anyone for helping him in his time of need.

(Gheorghe Penciu, Candidates for Eternity, Crater Publishing House, Bucharest, 1997, p. 218)

1. The action takes place in Aiud prison, in 1963.