Elisabeta Rizea
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Elisabeta Rizea (28 June 1912 – 4 October 2003) was a
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
partisan in the
Făgăraș Mountains The Făgăraș Mountains ( ; ) are the highest mountains of the Southern Carpathians, in Romania. Geography The mountain range is situated in the heart of Romania, at . The range is bordered in the north by the Făgăraș Depression, through wh ...
of northern
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
. After the
Romanian Revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...
of 1989, she became the symbol of Romania's anti-communist resistance. She was twice imprisoned for her activities, suffering extensive torture on the second occasion.


Life

Rizea was born in 1912 in Domnești, a village in
Argeș County Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Pitești. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the county had a population of 569,932 and the population density was . At the 2011 Ro ...
in the
Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ; ) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Prahova River in the east and the Timiș and ...
, to a family of peasants, Ion and Maria Șuța, who lived off a plot of cultivated land. At the age of 19 she moved to a nearby village,
Nucșoara Nucșoara is a commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Gruiu, Nucșoara, Sboghițești and Slatina. The commune is located in the northern part of the county, on the border with Brașov County. It is nestled ...
, where she married Gheorghe Rizea, an employee of her uncle, Gheorghe Șuța. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the
Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...
imposed a
Communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
in Romania. Rizea's uncle, a local leader of the
National Peasants' Party The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; , or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an Agrarianism, agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It was formed in 1926 throu ...
, was reportedly killed by the secret police on the day of the elections, though sources disagree whether this happened in 1946 or 1948. This led Rizea's husband to join an
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
group, Haiducii Muscelului, led by Colonel
Gheorghe Arsenescu Gheorghe Arsenescu (May 31, 1907 – May 29, 1962) was a Romanian Army officer who led an anti-communist resistance movement in post-World War II Romania. Biography Early years and World War II He was born in Câmpulung. His father, Capta ...
. Elisabeta provided the group with food and supplies. On the night of June 18, 1949, members of Arsenescu's group were ambushed by troops of the
Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...
; in the ensuing firefight, two officers were killed, and the group escaped through a security cordon thrown around the area. As a result, a massive search was launched by Securitate troops and two army battalions. She was arrested for aiding the partisan group, beaten, and taken to
Pitești Prison Pitești Prison () was a penal facility in Pitești, Romania, best remembered for the reeducation experiment (also known as ''Experimentul Pitești'' – the "Pitești Experiment" or ''Fenomenul Pitești'' – the "Pitești Phenomenon") which wa ...
, where she was held for 18 months before being put on trial, and sentenced to seven year's imprisonment. After being released from prison, she continued to provide food and information to the anti-communist fighters in the mountains. When Arsenescu was arrested in 1961, she was again tried, declared "''dușman al poporului''" (
enemy of the people The terms enemy of the people and enemy of the nation are designations for the political opponents and the social class, social-class opponents of the Power (social and political), power group within a larger social unit, who, thus identified, ...
) and sentenced to 25 years, and she was sent to a penitentiary for female political prisoners in Mislea. Three years later, in 1964, she was freed under the terms of a general amnesty. During the twelve years Rizea spent in prison, she was subjected to various forms of
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
: according to her own declarations, she was hung by her hair from a hook and beaten until she fainted due to broken ribs, and was also
scalped Scalping is the act of cutting or tearing a part of the human scalp, with hair attached, from the head, and generally occurred in warfare with the scalp being a trophy. Scalp-taking is considered part of the broader cultural practice of the taki ...
, burned, and beaten with a shovel. Upon her release from prison, she had no hair and she couldn't walk, as her knees had been destroyed by the torture. After the
fall of Communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...
in 1989, her story became known following an interview included in the 1992 documentary '' Memorialul Durerii'' by . In May 2001 the former
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Michael I of Romania Michael I ( ; 25 October 1921 – 5 December 2017) was the last King of Romania, reigning from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930 and again from 6 September 1940 until his forced abdication on 30 December 1947. Shortly after Michael's birth, his f ...
visited Rizea at her home in
Nucșoara Nucșoara is a commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Gruiu, Nucșoara, Sboghițești and Slatina. The commune is located in the northern part of the county, on the border with Brașov County. It is nestled ...
. During the visit, she told reporters, "When these wretched Communists came to power, they took everything from us, the land, the wooden carts — the hair off our heads. Still, what they could not take was our soul." Rizea died in 2003 of
viral pneumonia Viral pneumonia is a pneumonia caused by a virus. Pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation in one or both lungs. The pulmonary alveoli fill with fluid or pus making it difficult to breathe. Pneumonia can be caused by bacteria, viruses, ...
, at a hospital in
Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (river), Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in th ...
.


Legacy

In a 2006
poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...
conducted by
Romanian Television Televiziunea Română (), more commonly referred to as TVR , is the short name for Societatea Română de Televiziune ("Romanian Television Society"; SRTV), the Romanian public television. It operates nine channels: TVR 1, TVR 2, TVR 3, TV ...
to identify the " 100 greatest Romanians of all time", she came in 58th. When there was a proposal to build a monument in memory of the anti-communist resistance, Rizea's name was the first on the list, and received the most support from Romanian civic organizations. As of 2019, there are plans to turn her house in Nucșoara into a museum. Today, one of her grandsons is a professor of
differential geometry Differential geometry is a Mathematics, mathematical discipline that studies the geometry of smooth shapes and smooth spaces, otherwise known as smooth manifolds. It uses the techniques of Calculus, single variable calculus, vector calculus, lin ...
, Bogdan Suceava. Streets in
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
, Nucșoara,
Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...
, and
Voluntari Voluntari () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located at a distance of 1 km from the northern border of Bucharest (on the DN2 road towards Urziceni) and is thus frequently viewed as a suburb of Bucharest. The population ...
are named after Rizea.


References


External links


Website dedicated to the memory of Elisabeta Rizea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizea, Elisabeta 1912 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Romanian women 21st-century Romanian women Members of the Romanian anti-communist resistance movement Romanian women activists People from Argeș County Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church People detained by the Securitate Romanian torture victims Inmates of Pitești prison Deaths from pneumonia in Romania