Târgu Jiu concentration camp

The Târgu Jiu internment camp was a detention facility in Târgu Jiu, Romania. It was a regular prison from 1895 to 1939 and again after 1945, but is best known for its role as an internment camp for various categories of individuals during World War II. The prison was built between 1888 and 1895 in the northeastern part of the city. Initially used for pre-trial detention, it had a capacity of 87 to 139 people, depending on how much space each was allocated. Eventually, prisoners with sentences of up to six months were also sent there. The brick walls were 70–80 centimeters thick. Running water was installed in 1957–1960. In 1939, the prison became an internment camp for Polish refugees. Later, it housed up to 414 Jews, mostly from Bessarabia, suspected of communist activity. In September 1942, all but seven were deported to the Vapniarka concentration camp. Under the Ion Antonescu regime, Romanian Communist Party members were interned at Târgu Jiu during World War II. Their conditions improved after the Battle of Stalingrad, and most of them were sent to work outside the camp. International Red Aid sent food and money. Internees in 1943–1944 included Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Chivu Stoica, Mișu Dulgheru, Nicolae Ceaușescu, and Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu. Gheorghiu-Dej arrived in late June 1943, was hospitalized with a stomach ailment from July to October and escaped with the help of a

Prison data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).