The Radiography of a Historical Anomie Periprava – the Narrative Memory of a Communist Labour Camp

The paper is a first case study researching the Formaţiunea 0830 Periprava labour camp in the Danube Delta (1957–1964). The analysis focuses, pertinently and objectively, on the situation of political prisoners sent to this unit of forced labour in the first two decades of communism. The work is based on a wide range of historical sources (published and unpublished archival documents), the legislation of the age, and sources of oral history (testimonies and interviews). This study is the result of a two-year research, including the examination of files connected to the subject from the archives of the Consiliului Naţional de Studiere a Arhivelor Securităţii (National Council for the Study of Security Archives) and field research in the village of Periprava conducted on two occasions. The analysis failed to identify any published materials approaching the subject from the same perspective as the present research. From this point of view, the study can be regarded as an original contribution to the subject discussed.

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