Beyond Torture: The Gulag of Pitesti, Romania

From 1949-52 a horrific experiment was carried out by the Stalinist regime in Romania, as students, priests, intellectuals, and peasants were rounded up and sent to a gulag in the city of Pitesti in order to be brainwashed into embracing communism. In Alan Hartwick's Beyond Torture, three survivors (Nicu Ionita, Father Roman Braga, and Father George Calcui) recount the unrelenting physical and mental torture inflicted on them by their captors (and sometimes by fellow prisoners promised early release for their cooperation). Cut off from family and faith, the survivors say the Stalinists were intent on destroying their individual values—through a method called “unmasking”—in order to create a communist personality. In addition to the debilitating physical torture (which included constant beatings, being forced to sleep in fixed positions, and various humiliating activities), a barrage of mental torture was employed, as members of the Orthodox faith were forced to substitute profanities for holy words while reciting the liturgy, and use human feces as hosts for Holy Communion. The terrible memories of the former prisoners are here augmented by the work of Romanian artist Sorin Feraru, who paints gaunt, hollow-eyed figures being subjected to horrors unimaginable to most of us. Displaying remarkable grace here, the survivors say they have forgiven their tormentors. DVD extras include an hour-long uncut interview with Braga. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: P. (C. Block)