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124-607: Although the idea of building a navigable canal between the Danube and the Black Sea is old, the first concrete attempt was made between 1949 and 1953, when the communist authorities of the time used this opportunity to eliminate political opponents, so the canal became notorious as the site of labor camps , when at any given time, between 5,000 and 20,000 detainees, mostly political prisoners , worked on its excavation. The total number of prisoners used as labor force during this period

248-495: A Securitate squad led by Alexandru Nicolschi , as a means to obtain forced confessions . In June 1973, the project, with a completely new design, was restarted by Nicolae Ceaușescu , who had previously ordered the rehabilitation of people sentenced in the 1952 trial, and who aimed to withdraw the Lower Danube from Soviet control (which had been established by the 1948 Danube Conference ). In official propaganda , where

372-612: A league of land on each side of the canal for 99 years, where colonist could be settled. Goods were to travel freely, with ships having to pay only a per tone tax, significantly lower than the one on the Sulina branch. According to the newspaper Steaua Dunării from January 24, 1856, the Sultan issued a firman to the Anglo-French–Austrian consortium Wilson–Morny–Breda, represented by Forbes Campbell , authorizing it to build

496-660: A "hip" barge due to the size of lock chambers. These boats tend to be limited to 5,000 horsepower (3,728 kW). Towboats in line-haul service operate 24/7 and have the latest in navigational equipment, such as color radar, GPS systems, electronic river charts, and specialized radio communications. Boats that traverse the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) are commonly referred to as "ditch boats" or "canal boats". ICW tows usually consist of 1 to 6 barges ranging in size, usually "strung out" end to end when loaded or "breasted up" side by side when empty. Towboats always push

620-443: A 1,031 km (398 sq mi) drainage basin to the Black Sea. The main branch extends from Cernavodă on the Danube to Poarta Albă . On this reach it goes near or through the settlements of Cernavodă, Saligny , Mircea Vodă , Medgidia , Castelu , and Poarta Albă. On this reach the canal is joined on the north bank by tributaries (from west to east): Valea Cișmelei, Valea Plantației, Agi Cabul , Castelu and Nisipari . On

744-407: A 7–8 hour trip from Cernavodă to Constanța, where people and goods were boarding other ships for Istanbul . The enterprise was scrapped after 4 years due to non-profitability because of a low number of passengers, high cost of transport, and poor conditions of cargo handling in the unfit roadstead of the port of Constanța. In its place, a new Brăila–Istanbul route was established. However, by 1844,

868-639: A fascist government until very recently. The Yalta Conference had granted the Soviet Union a predominant interest in Romania. The Paris Peace Treaties did not acknowledge Romania as an allied co-belligerent , as the Romanian army had fought hard against the Soviets for the better part of the war, changing sides only when the tides started to turn. The Communists, as all political parties, played only

992-553: A military and strategical dimension for this plan. The British and French allies landed at Varna in the summer of 1854, followed by the withdrawal of Russian troops from Wallachia and Moldavia and the advancement of Ottoman and Austrian ones. In 1855, the French government put forward an initiative, and the Ottomans approved it, for the cheapest solution: build a strategic road between Cernavodă and Constanța. Engineer Charles Lalanne

1116-692: A minor role in King Michael's first wartime government, headed by General Constantin Sănătescu , though their presence increased in the one led by Nicolae Rădescu . This changed in March 1945, when Dr. Petru Groza of the Ploughmen's Front , a party closely associated with the Communists, became prime minister. His government was broad-based on paper, including members of most major prewar parties except

1240-635: A new set of plans. Afterwards, because of the Great Depression , World War II, and political turmoil in Romania ( see Romania during World War II ), construction did not start until 1949, after the establishment of the Romanian Communist regime . The idea of starting the construction of the Danube–Black Sea Canal seems to have been suggested to Romanian leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin during

1364-726: A number of barriers to this trade: the Ottomans controlled the navigation regime on the Danube, while the Russian Empire controlled access to the Black Sea in the Danube Delta , and there was little the Danubian Principalities could do to rectify this situation. Both countries welcomed the Austrian Empire 's 1834 decision, endorsed by Count István Széchenyi , to extend the steamboat navigation to

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1488-670: A plenary PMR meeting in March 1956, Miron Constantinescu and Iosif Chișinevschi , both Politburo members and deputy premiers, criticized Gheorghiu-Dej. Constantinescu, who advocated a Khrushchev-style liberalization, posed a particular threat to Gheorghiu-Dej because he enjoyed good connections with the Moscow leadership. The PMR purged Constantinescu and Chișinevschi in 1957, denouncing both as Stalinists and charging them with complicity with Pauker. Afterwards, Gheorghiu-Dej faced no serious challenge to his leadership. Ceaușescu replaced Constantinescu as head of PMR cadres. The cadres – anyone who

1612-471: A power struggle, was succeeded by the previously obscure Nicolae Ceaușescu . During his last two years, Gheorghiu-Dej had exploited the Soviet–Chinese dispute and begun to oppose the hegemony of the Soviet Union. Ceaușescu, supported by colleagues of Gheorghiu-Dej such as Maurer, continued this popular line. Relations with Western countries and many other states began to be strengthened in what seemed to be

1736-699: A pretyped instrument of abdication and demanded that he sign it. With pro-Communist troops surrounding his palace and his telephone lines cut, Michael was forced to sign the document. Hours later, Parliament abolished the monarchy and proclaimed Romania a People's Republic . In February 1948, the Communists merged with the Social Democrats to form the Romanian Workers' Party . However, most independent-minded Socialists were soon pushed out. Meanwhile, many non-Communist politicians had either been imprisoned or fled into exile. The communist regime

1860-618: A pro-monarchy demonstration in front of the Royal Palace in Bucharest escalated into street fights between opposition supporters and soldiers, police and pro-government workers, resulting in dozens of killed and wounded; Soviet officers restrained Romanian soldiers and police from firing on civilians, and Soviet troops restored order. Despite the King's disapproval, the first Groza government brought land reform and women's suffrage ,

1984-703: A rectangular shape 6 to 7 barges long and 5 to 6 barges wide, depending on the number of barges in tow. The whole tow, excluding the towboat, can easily be over 1,200 feet (370 m) long and 200 feet (61 m) wide, covering over 6 acres (2.4 ha) and holding thousands of tons of cargo. In the United States above St. Louis on the Upper Mississippi River and on other rivers such as the Illinois , Ohio , Arkansas , Tennessee and Cumberland , boats can handle only up to 16 barges including

2108-434: A tightening of Romania's bonds with China, which also advocated national self-determination and opposed Soviet hegemonism. Gheorghiu-Dej resigned as the party's general secretary in 1954 but retained the premiership; a four-member collective secretariat, including Nicolae Ceaușescu , controlled the party for a year before Gheorghiu-Dej again took up the reins. Despite its new policy of international cooperation, Romania joined

2232-414: A total social break with the countryside. The peasants returned periodically to the villages or resided in them, commuting daily to the city in a practice called naveta. This allowed Romanians to act as peasants and workers at the same time. Universities were also founded in small Romanian towns, which served to train qualified professionals, such as engineers, economists, planners or jurists, necessary for

2356-507: A visit to the Moscow Kremlin in 1948. Gheorghiu-Dej's chief of staff stated that Stalin indicated the canal as a means of getting rid of the rich peasants and of the so-called " enemies of the people " and promised support to the authorities in identifying the people hostile to the regime and by providing construction equipment for the canal. He also stated that Gheorghiu-Dej was not convinced by Stalin's recommendations, suspecting that

2480-653: Is 3 km (1.9 mi) for the main branch, and 1.2 km (0.75 mi), for the northern branch. The waterway passes through the towns of Medgidia and Murfatlar, both of which have been turned into inland ports . It was designed to facilitate the transit of convoys comprising as much as six towed barges , up to 3,000 in tonnage each (respectively, a total of 18,000 in tonnage), 296 m (971 ft) in length and 22.8 m (75 ft) wide (ships of up to 5,000 in tonnage , as long as 138 m (453 ft) and with as much as 16.8 m (55 ft) in beam and 5.5 m (18 ft) in draft can also pass through

2604-404: Is unknown, with the total number of deaths being estimated at several tens of thousands. The construction works of the Danube–Black Sea Canal were to be resumed 20 years later, in different conditions. The course of the canal follows mostly the course of the former river Carasu , originally a tributary of the Danube. Therefore, hydrographically it also has the function of conveying the runoff from

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2728-614: The July Theses , literature was allowed to make several references to the Canal's penitentiary history. Examples include Marin Preda 's Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni and, most likely, Eugen Barbu 's Principele (by means of an allegory , set during the 18th century Phanariote rules). In 1973–1974, Ion Cârja , a former prisoner, wrote a book titled Canalul morții ("The Death Canal") detailing his sufferings during incarceration; it

2852-464: The Carasu irrigation system , while another part of the excavations was capitalized during the construction of the northern branch of the canal, 30 years later. Prison camps sprang up all along the projected canal route in the summer of 1949 and were quickly filled with prisoners brought from jails from throughout the country. These first arrivals were soon joined by newly arrested people who were sent to

2976-632: The Danube–Black Sea Canal project, halted rationing and hiked workers' wages. These factors combined to put Romania under Gheorghiu-Dej on a relatively independent and nationalist route. Gheorghiu-Dej identified with Stalinism , and the more liberal Soviet government threatened to undermine his authority. In an effort to reinforce his position, Gheorghiu-Dej pledged cooperation with any state, regardless of political-economic system, as long as it recognized international equality and did not interfere in other nations' domestic affairs. This policy led to

3100-510: The International Monetary Fund and World Bank because of his independent political line. Romania under Ceaușescu maintained and sometimes improved diplomatic and other relations with, among others, West Germany , Israel, China, Albania , and Pinochet 's Chile , all for various reasons not on good terms with Moscow. Ceaușescu refused to implement measures of economic liberalism . The evolution of his regime followed

3224-533: The Romanian Workers' Party was presented a report by Gheorghiu-Dej on the projected construction of a canal linking the Danube and the Black Sea and on the economic and cultural development of the neighboring area. Estimating that this important construction was an important component of the construction of socialism in Romania, the Politburo recommended that the project be submitted to the Council of Ministers for

3348-688: The Securitate 's Regional Directorate Constanța; and sergeant Grigore Ion Iliescu. The prisoners were dispossessed farmers who had attempted to resist collectivization , former activists of the National Peasants' Party , the National Liberal Party , the Romanian Social Democratic Party , and the fascist Iron Guard , Zionist Jews , as well as Orthodox and Catholic priests. The canal

3472-520: The Soviet Volga–Don Canal and Central Europe . The 64.4 km (40.0 mi) main branch reduces the distance by boat from Constanța to Cernavodă by ca. 400 km (250 mi). It has a width of 90–150 m (300–490 ft) and a depth of 7 m (23 ft); the northern arm has a length of 31.2 km (19.4 mi), width of 50–75 m (164–246 ft) and a depth of 5.5 m (18 ft). The radius of its sharpest bends

3596-473: The railroad system ; the Sfântu Gheorghe branch is shallow and sinuous. At the time when the decision to build the canal was taken, it was officially announced that these works would also serve a secondary purpose, that of land reclamation , with the drainage of marshes in the area. Also during the construction period, the Danube–Black Sea Canal was advertised as a fast and direct connection between

3720-484: The "tow" of barges, which are lashed together with steel cables usually 1 to 1.5 in (25.4 to 38.1 mm) in diameter. The term towboat arises from steamboat days, when steamboat fortunes began to decline and to survive, steamboats began to "tow" wooden barges alongside to earn additional revenue. Eventually, the railroad expansion following the American Civil War ended the steamboat era. During

3844-399: The 1948 Constitution and its two successors provided a simulacrum of religious freedom, the regime in fact had a policy of promoting Marxist–Leninist atheism , coupled with religious persecution . The role of religious bodies was strictly limited to their houses of worship, and large public demonstrations were strictly forbidden. In 1948, in order to minimize the role of the clergy in society,

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3968-698: The 1950s precedent was no longer mentioned, the canal was referred to as the Blue Highway ( Magistrala Albastră ). The general designer of the works of the navigable canal and of the Port of Constanța Sud was the Design Institute of Road, Water and Air Transport (IPTANA) from Bucharest , while the Institute of Hydroelectric Studies and Design (ISPH) designed the works for the Danube and Cernavodă areas. New and large machinery, produced inside Romania,

4092-565: The 1956 revolution) Imre Nagy into custody. He was jailed at Snagov, north of Bucharest. After a series of interrogations by Soviets and Romanian authorities, Nagy was returned to Budapest for trial and execution. Romania's government also took measures to reduce public discontent by reducing investments in heavy industry, boosting output of consumer goods, decentralizing economic management, hiking wages and incentives, and instituting elements of worker management. The authorities eliminated compulsory deliveries for private farmers but reaccelerated

4216-699: The 1960s and early 1970s, but all were halted after Ceaușescu embarked on what is known as "The Small Cultural Revolution " ("Mica revoluție culturală"), after visiting North Korea and the People's Republic of China and then delivering a speech known as the July Theses . In the late 1970s, the construction of the Bucharest Metro system was started. After two years, 10 km of network were already complete and after another 2 years, 9 km of tunnels were ready for use. By 17 August 1989, 49.01 km of

4340-480: The 1990s (when many orphanages were closed and the children ended up on the streets), and overcrowding in homes and schools. Other restrictions of human rights included invasion of privacy by the secret police (the " Securitate "), censorship and relocation, but not on the same scale as in the 1950s. During the Ceaușescu era, there was a secret ongoing "trade" between Romania on one side and Israel and West Germany on

4464-496: The 19th century, towboats were used to push showboats , which lacked steam engines to free up space for a theater. The Binnenvaartmuseum ('Inland Shipping Museum') in Dordrecht , South Holland , Netherlands is centered around René Siegfried , a River Rhine pusher boat which was built in 1963 and decommissioned in 1989. The W. P. Snyder Jr. , also known as W. H. Clingerman, W. P. Snyder Jr. State Memorial, or J. L. Perry,

4588-727: The 2006 report of the Tismăneanu Commission , Albon employed torture methods against the detainees, and personally killed many of them. Other security officers who used often cruel and deadly methods with the prisoners were senior lieutenant Liviu Borcea, at the Midia Camp; captain Petre Burghișan, at the Galeș and Peninsula camps; lieutenant Chirion at Peninsula; captain Nicolae Doicaru  [ ro ] , director of

4712-744: The Austrian Finance Minister, founded a stock company to build the desired canal. According to an article in Zimbrul on July 23, 1855, the project was of interest to Britain, the French Empire and the Austrian Empire, who were asking the Ottoman government to allot the concession of the canal and the fitting of the port of Constanța to a consortium under the direction of the three countries. The Ottomans were to lease

4836-792: The Communist Party in Hungary virtually disintegrated during a popular revolution. Poland's defiance and Hungary's popular uprising inspired Romanian students to organize meetings in București, Cluj and Timișoara calling for liberty, better living conditions, and an end to Soviet domination. Under the pretext that the Hungarian uprising might incite his nation's own revolt, Gheorghiu-Dej took radical measures which meant persecutions and jailing of various "suspects", especially people of Hungarian origin. He also advocated swift Soviet intervention, and

4960-645: The Communists. In 1946 and 1947, several high-ranking members in the pro- Axis government were executed as war criminals, primarily for their involvement in the Holocaust and for attacking the Soviet Union. Antonescu himself was executed 1 June 1946. By 1947, Romania remained the only monarchy in the Eastern Bloc . On 30 December that year, Michael was at his palace in Sinaia when Groza and Gheorghiu-Dej summoned him back to Bucharest. They presented him with

5084-538: The Cotroceni (1679) and Pantelimon (1750) Monasteries, and the art deco "Republic's Stadium" (ANEF Stadium, 1926). Even the Palace of Justice – built by Romania's foremost architect, Ion Mincu – was scheduled for demolition in early 1990, according to the systematisation papers. Yet another tactic was abandoning and neglecting buildings and bringing them into such a state that they would require being torn down. Thus,

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5208-649: The Danube was restored; passage taxes were canceled, police and quarantine rules were simplified; and the European Commission of the Danube was established, with representatives of seven powers: Britain, France, Austria, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia , and the Kingdom of Sardinia . The commission was responsible for the clearing of the Danube mouths from deposits of the river, and when necessary with clearing natural barriers, with

5332-590: The Danube–Black Sea Canal (an increase of 4.7% compared to the previous year). For much of the 1950s, the Danube–Black Sea Canal was celebrated in agitprop literature (notably, in Geo Bogza 's 1950 reportage Începutul epopeii , "The Beginning of the Epic", and in Petru Dumitriu 's Drum fără pulbere , "Dustless Road"), music ( Leon Klepper 's symphonic poem Dunărea se varsă în mare , "The Danube Flows to

5456-517: The Decree ). To counter the sharp decline of the population, the Communist Party decided that the Romanian population should be increased from 23 to 30 million inhabitants. In October 1966, Decree 770 was authorized by Ceaușescu. These pro-natalist measures had some degree of success, as a baby boom resulted in the late 1960s, with the generations born in 1967 and 1968 being the largest in

5580-642: The Directorate came under the direct supervision of the Internal Affairs Ministry , and the Securitate was allowed direct intervention on the construction site. On July 18, 1953, the project came to a discreet halt (according to some sources, the closure had been ordered by Stalin himself, as early as 1952). From 1959, part of the works built between 1949 and 1953 was used for the Mircea Vodă irrigation complex , later developed into

5704-587: The Romanians at that time. But following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 , Romania acquired formal independence, lost again southern Bessarabia to Russia, but gained Dobruja . The idea to build a canal became a national issue, which could promote Romania's international trade. However, in the following years the development of trade was concentrated mainly on the Sulina Canal . Another project

5828-592: The Russian financial deficit, and by not performing maintenance for the navigation on the Sulina branch to remove the continuous deposits of sand. This prompted the Austrians to conceive the idea of building a canal to connect the Danube with the Black Sea at the shortest point before the Delta, between Rasova or Cernavodă ( Bogaz Köi ) and Constanța ( Küstendjie ), and a parallel railway. The Austrian project, however,

5952-470: The Sea"), and film ( Ion Bostan 's 1951 Canalul Dunăre-Marea Neagră, o construcție a păcii – "The Danube–Black Sea Canal, a Construction of Peace"). During the 1980s, the song "Magistrala Albastră" ("The Blue Freeway"), performed by Dan Spătaru and Mirabela Dauer and using the Canal as its setting, was frequently broadcast in official and semi-official contexts. During the period of liberalization preceding

6076-586: The Siminoc, Șerplea, Potârnichea and Agigea. The northern branch, the Poarta Albă–Midia Năvodari Canal, goes towards the Port of Midia . It passes near Nazarcea , Lumina , Ovidiu and Năvodari . On its reach it is joined by tributaries Cocoș , Nazarcea and Valea Adâncă. The main reasons for the building of the canal were to circumvent the Danube Delta which is difficult to navigate, shorten

6200-431: The Soviet Volga–Don Canal , and building had to rely on primitive techniques (most work appears to have been carried out using shovels and pickaxes , which was especially hard in the rocky terrain of Northern Dobruja ). Detainees were allocated to brigades, usually run by common criminals, which were encouraged to use violence against their subordinates. In parallel, the region's industrialization , destined to assist in

6324-437: The Soviet Union reinforced its military presence in Romania, particularly along the Hungarian border. Although Romania's unrest proved fragmentary and controllable, Hungary's was not, so in November Moscow mounted a bloody invasion of Hungary. After the Revolution of 1956, Gheorghiu-Dej worked closely with Hungary's new leader, János Kádár , who was installed by the Soviet Union. Romania took Hungary's former premier (leader of

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6448-404: The Soviet representative of the Allied Control Commission , a new pro-Soviet government that included members of the previously outlawed Romanian Workers' Party was installed. Gradually, more members of the Workers' Party and communist-aligned parties gained control of the administration and pre-war political leaders were steadily eliminated from political life. In December 1947, King Michael I

6572-453: The Soviet's SovRom agreements, which facilitated shipping of Romanian goods to the Soviet Union at nominal prices. On 11 June 1948, all banks and large businesses were nationalized . In the communist leadership, there appear to have been three important factions, all of them Stalinist , differentiated more by their respective personal histories than by any deep political or philosophical differences. Later historiography claimed to identify

6696-402: The Stalinist era of the 1950s. While judicial executions between 1945 and 1964 numbered 137, deaths in custody are estimated in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Others were arrested for political, economical, or other reasons and suffered imprisonment or torture. The 1965 Constitution remained in effect after its dissolution and was amended to reflect Romania's transition to democracy. It

6820-568: The State Council (1967), and the newly established role of President in 1974. Ceaușescu's denunciation of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and a brief relaxation in internal repression led to a positive image both at home and in the West. However, rapid economic growth fueled in part by foreign credits gradually gave way to an austerity and political repression that led to the violent fall of his totalitarian government in December 1989 . Many people were executed or died in custody during communist Romania's existence, most during

6944-508: The Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania presented an estimate of several thousand deaths among the political prisoners used in the project, significantly higher than 656 officially recorded by an official report from 1968. Journalist Anne Applebaum had previously claimed that over 200,000 had died in its construction, as a result of exposure, unsafe equipment, malnutrition, accidents, tuberculosis and other diseases, over-work, etc., while political analyst Vladimir Socor had estimated

7068-474: The Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Gheorghiu-Dej and the leadership of the Romanian Workers' Party ( Partidul Muncitoresc Român, PMR ) were fully braced to weather de-Stalinization. Gheorghiu-Dej made Pauker, Luca and Georgescu scapegoats for the Romanian communist past excesses and claimed that the Romanian party had purged its Stalinist elements even before Stalin died in 1953. In all likelihood, Gheorghiu-Dej himself ordered

7192-430: The United States, south of the Chain of Rocks Lock across from St. Louis on the Mississippi River , the river is open with no locks or impediments other than channel size and depth. Larger boats can run this segment of the river with the maximum tow size of 42 barges southbound and 40+ northbound. A typical River tow might be 35 to 42 barges, each about 200 feet (61 m) long by 35 feet (11 m) wide, configured in

7316-405: The Warsaw Treaty Organization ( Warsaw Pact ) in 1955, which entailed subordinating and integrating a portion of its military into the Soviet military machine. Romania later refused to allow Warsaw Pact maneuvers on its soil and limited its participation in military maneuvers elsewhere within the alliance. In 1956, the Soviet premier, Nikita Khrushchev , denounced Stalin in a secret speech before

7440-453: The anti-communist movement in Hungary and coordinate activity. The authorities' reaction was immediate – students were arrested or suspended from their courses, some teachers were dismissed, and new associations were set up to supervise student activities. Tens of thousands of people were killed as part of repression and agricultural collectivization in Communist Romania primarily under Gheorghiu-Dej. Gheorghiu-Dej died in 1965 and, after

7564-423: The approval of the immediate start of the preparatory work for the construction of the canal. On the same day Gheorghiu-Dej, at that time first vice-president of the Council of Ministers, presented his proposal to the council, presided by Petru Groza , which approved it immediately. Work started on June 29. In a speech held on August 22, 1949 Anna Pauker hailed the construction of the canal claiming "we are building

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7688-664: The benefits offered by the state (free medical care, pensions, free universal education at all levels, etc.) were a leap compared to the pre-WWII situation of the Romanian population. Certain extra retributions were allowed for the peasants, who started to produce more. Concerned about the country's low birthrates, Nicolae Ceaușescu enacted an aggressive natalist policy, which included outlawing abortion and contraception, routine pregnancy tests for women, taxes on childlessness , and legal discrimination against childless people. This period has later been depicted in movies and documentaries (such as 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days , Children of

7812-747: The bow for pushing barges of various heights. These boats usually operate on rivers and inland waterways . Multiple barges lashed together, or a boat and any barges lashed to it, are referred to as a "tow" and can have dozens of barges. Many of these vessels, especially the long distance, or long haul boats, include living quarters for the crew. Towboat engine outputs range from less than 600 horsepower (447 kW) up to 11,100 horsepower (8,277 kW). Most towboats are from 35 to 200 feet (11 to 61 m) long, and 21 to 56 feet (6.4 to 17.1 m) wide. Smaller boats are used in harbors , fleeting areas and around locks while larger boats operate in "line-haul" operations over long distances and between major ports. In

7936-444: The building effort, was never accomplished. Sums allocated for prisoners' health, hygiene and nutrition declined dramatically over the years. Food rations were kept to a minimum, and prisoners would often resort to hunting mice and other small animals, or even consuming grass in an attempt to supplement their diet. Starting in summer 1949, the commander of the Canal security troops was lieutenant colonel Augustin Albon . According to

8060-428: The canal in ever increasing numbers. By 1950 the forced labor camps set up along the length of the planned canal were filled to capacity; that year alone, up to 15,000 prisoners were held in those camps. In 1952, more than 80% of the workforce at the canal consisted of detainees. By 1953, the number of prisoners had swelled to 20,193, or 40,000, or as high as 60,000; other estimates put the number at 40,000 or 100,000 for

8184-412: The canal was actually part of the Soviet Union's expansion strategy. It has since been found out that Stalin's initiative was based on a secret study, commissioned in 1947–1948, which recommended building a Soviet submarine base at the Port of Midia , which was suitable due to its proximity to the Bosphorus and because of the rocky foundation. On May 25, 1949, the Politburo of the Central Committee of

8308-483: The canal which was to be called Abdul Medjid . The 12 articles of the Concession Act were published in Bukurester Deutsche Zeitung . The construction plans for the canal took a different turn with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on March 30, 1856, ending the war. Russia ceded the Danube mouths to the Ottomans and southern Bessarabia (lately organised as the Cahul , Bolgrad and Ismail counties ) to their vassal, Moldavia. The freedom of international navigation on

8432-406: The canal without the bourgeoisie and against the bourgeoisie". Banners with this slogan were set up in all construction sites of the canal. In October 1949, the authorities established a General Directorate to oversee both the works and the penal facilities, answering directly to the national leadership. Its first head was Gheorghe Hossu a former mechanic and tractor driver who had been promoted to

8556-412: The canal). The structure is bound by four locks (in Cernavodă and Agigea, and in Ovidiu and Năvodari, respectively). In its final phase, the canal took over nine years to construct; 381,000,000 m (1.35 × 10 cu ft) of soil were excavated (greater than the amount involved in building the Panama and Suez canals), and 5,000,000 m (180,000,000 cu ft) of concrete were used for

8680-497: The cessation of works, in 1953, the canal camps remained in existence for another year, and their prisoners progressively relocated, to similar conditions at other work sites in Northern Dobruja . Penal facilities on the canal site were shut down in mid-1954. Blame for the debilitating and unsuccessful works was eventually placed on a group of alleged conspirators , who were indicted in a show trial in late 1952 on trumped-up charges of espionage , fraud , and sabotage . The inquiry

8804-403: The collectivization program in the mid-1950s, albeit less brutally than earlier. The government declared collectivization complete in 1962, when collective and state farms controlled 77% of the arable land . Despite Gheorghiu-Dej's claim that he had purged the Romanian party of Stalinists, he remained susceptible to attack for his obvious complicity in the party's activities from 1944 to 1953. At

8928-400: The country's history. The natalist policies temporarily increased birth rates for a few years, but this was followed by a later decline due to an increased use of illegal abortion . Ceaușescu's policy resulted in the deaths of over 9,000 women due to illegal abortions, large numbers of children put into Romanian orphanages by parents who couldn't cope with raising them, street children in

9052-408: The depth of the Sulina branch had decreased to 7–9 feet, from 13–14 feet in 1836, due to lack of dredging by the Russian authorities which controlled the passage. The Austrian government made a new attempt to cut a canal, sending the military engineer Colonel Baron Karl von Bigaro to prospect the land. But the idea had to be abandoned again due to technical problem, first of all due to the unfitness of

9176-506: The distance to the Black Sea and several issues related to the loading and unloading of ships. In its delta, the Danube is divided into three main branches, none of which is suited to optimal navigation: the Chilia branch is the deepest, but its mouths were not stable, which made navigation dangerous; the Sulina branch is not deep enough for maritime ships and it also used to be isolated from

9300-471: The eastern plains ( Bărăgan ). The government decision was directed towards creating a cordon sanitaire against Tito 's Yugoslavia , but was also used as an intimidation tactic to force the remaining peasants to join collective farms. Most deportees lived in the Bărăgan for 5 years (until 1956), but some remained there permanently. Anti-communist resistance also had an organized form, and many people opposing

9424-466: The entire period. British historian and New York University professor Tony Judt assessed in his book, Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 , that, overall, one million Romanians had been imprisoned in various prisons and labor camps, including those on the path of the canal. The construction effort surpassed the resources available to the Romanian economy in the 1950s. The canal was assigned inferior machinery, part of which had already been used on

9548-564: The fascist Iron Guard . However, the Communists held the key ministries, and most of the ministers nominally representing non-Communist parties were, like Groza himself, fellow travelers . The King was not happy with the direction of this government, but when he attempted to force Groza's resignation by refusing to sign any legislation (a move known as "the royal strike"), Groza simply chose to enact laws without bothering to obtain Michael's signature. On 8 November 1945, King Michael's name day ,

9672-480: The following factions: the "Muscovites", notably Ana Pauker and Vasile Luca , who had spent the war in Moscow and the "Prison Communists", notably Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej , who had been imprisoned during the war. Pauker and her allies were accused of deviating to the left and right. For instance, they were initially allied on not liquidating the rural bourgeoise, but later shifted their position. Ultimately, with Joseph Stalin 's backing, Gheorghiu-Dej won out. Pauker

9796-612: The former gave the party widespread popularity among peasants from the South and East while the latter gained it the support of educated women. However, it also brought the beginnings of Soviet domination of Romania. In the elections of 19 November 1946 , the Communist-led Bloc of Democratic Parties (BPD) claimed 84% of the votes. These elections were characterized by widespread irregularities, including intimidation, electoral fraud, and assassinations Archives confirm suspicions at

9920-400: The goal of ensuring of good conditions for navigation. The effect was that Austria, Britain, and France changed their attitude to the project for a Danube–Black Sea canal. The newspaper Zimbrul announced on May 25, 1856 that the plan for building the canal was abandoned; instead a railroad line between Cernavodă and Constanța was to be built. After two and a half years of construction, the line

10044-716: The government adopted a decree nationalizing church property, including schools. The regime found wiser to use religion and make it subservient to the regime rather than to eradicate it. The communist government also disbanded the Romanian Greek-Catholic Uniate Church , declaring its merger with the Romanian Orthodox Church . The early years of communist rule in Romania were marked by repeated changes of course and by numerous arrests and imprisonments as factions contended for dominance. The country's resources were also drained by

10168-422: The government took up arms and formed partisan groups, comprising 10–40 people. There were attacks on police posts and sabotage. Some of the famous partisans were Elisabeta Rizea from Nucșoara and Gheorghe Arsenescu . Despite the numerous secret police ( Securitate ) and army troops massed against them, armed resistance in the mountains continued until the early 1960s, and one of the best known partisan leaders

10292-623: The industrialization and development project of the country. Romanian healthcare also achieved improvements and recognition by the World Health Organization (WHO). In May 1969, Marcolino Candau, Director General of this organization, visited Romania and declared that the visits of WHO staff to various Romanian hospital establishments had made an extraordinarily good impression. The social and economic transformations resulted in improved living conditions for Romanians. Economic growth allowed for higher salaries which, combined with

10416-590: The locks and support walls. The earliest plans for building this canal were drawn in the late 1830s. The 1829 Treaty of Adrianople canceled the trade monopoly of the Ottoman Empire in the Danubian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia , allowing these countries to build their own fleets by 1834. Both Romanian and non-Romanian ships used mostly the Danube port cities of Brăila and Galați , which saw an economic boom. But there were

10540-561: The machine-tool, tractor, and automotive industries; large-tonnage shipbuilding; the manufacture of electric diesel locomotives; and the electronics and petrochemical industries. Prior to the mid-1970s, Bucharest, as most other cities, was developed by expanding the city, especially towards the south, east and west. High density residential neighbourhoods were built on the outskirts of the city, some (such as Drumul Taberei , Berceni , Titan or Giurgiului ) of architectural and urban planning value. Conservation plans were made, especially during

10664-542: The maritime Danube. The Austrian initiative was badly received by the Russians, who considered their trade through Odesa and ports in the Crimea threatened by the development of Brăila and Galați. Without resolving to direct measures, the Russian Empire , who controlled the Sulina branch , started to show rigidity, instituting on February 7, 1836, a compulsory quarantine on the island of Letea , collecting taxes to cover

10788-481: The memory of his country's recent active participation in the German invasion of the Soviet Union . Romanian forces fought under Soviet command, driving through Northern Transylvania into Hungary proper, and on into Czechoslovakia and Austria. However, the Soviets treated Romania as a conquered territory, and Soviet troops continued to occupy the country on the basis of the Romanians having been active Nazi allies with

10912-484: The most notorious prisons included Sighet , Gherla , Pitești , and Aiud , and forced labor camps were set up at lead mines and in the Danube Delta . One of the most notorious and infamous brainwashing experiments in Eastern Europe's history took place in Romania, in the political prison of Pitești, a small city about 120 km (75 mi) northwest of Bucharest. This prison is still infamous in Romania for

11036-436: The national interest of Romania. Under a policy of de-Russification the forced Soviet (mostly Russian) cultural influence in the country which characterized the 1950s was stopped and Western media were allowed to circulate in Romania instead. On 21 August 1965, following the example of Czechoslovakia, the name of the country was changed to "Socialist Republic of Romania" ( Republica Socialistă România, RSR ) and PMR's old name

11160-531: The nucleus of anti-Communist resistance. According to figures, in the years between 1945 and 1964, 73,334 people were arrested. The existing prisons were filled with political prisoners, and a new system of forced labor camps and prisons was created, modeled after the Soviet Gulag. A decision to put into practice the century-old project for a Danube–Black Sea Canal served as a pretext for the erection of several labor camps, where numerous people died. Some of

11284-495: The number of deaths to be "considerably in excess of 10,000". According to Andrei Muraru , a historian and adviser to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis , the project became known as The Death Canal ( Canalul Morții ). It has also been called "a cesspool of immense human suffering and mortality". Investigations conducted by the Association of Former Political Prisoners of Romania (AFDPR) Constanța, based on death records from

11408-488: The other side, under which Israel and West Germany paid money to Romania to allow Romanian citizens with certified Jewish or German ancestry to emigrate to Israel and West Germany, respectively. Ceaușescu's Romania continued to pursue Gheorghiu-Dej's policy of industrialization . Romania made progress with the economy. From 1951 to 1974, Romania's gross industrial output increased at an average annual rate of 13 percent. Several branches of heavy industry were founded, including

11532-406: The path begun by Gheorghiu-Dej. He continued with the program of intensive industrialization aimed at the economic self-sufficiency of the country which since 1959 had already doubled industrial production and had reduced the peasant population from 78% at the end of the 1940s to 61% in 1966 and 49% by 1971. However, for Romania, like other Eastern People's Republics, industrialization did not mean

11656-564: The policy towards the city after the earthquake was not one of reconstruction, but one of demolition and building anew. An analysis by the Union of Architects, commissioned in 1990, claims that over 2000 buildings were torn down, with over 77 of very high architectural importance, most of them in good condition. Even Gara de Nord (the city's main railway station), listed on the Romanian Architectural Heritage List,

11780-606: The port of Constanța for large international trade. In 1850, the Moldavian scholar Ion Ionescu de la Brad proposed yet another project, supported by Ion Ghica and by the Scottish diplomat David Urquhart , the secretary of the United Kingdom 's Embassy in the Ottoman Empire. Ghica lobbied Brad's project to Ahmed Vefik , who gave a negative response for fear of provoking Russia. The Crimean War of 1854–1856, added

11904-614: The position of first-secretary of the Romanian Worker's party in Tulcea County and administrator of the State Fisheries. He was replaced in 1951 by Meyer Grünberg , in turn replaced by Mihail Povstanschi under the name of Vasile Posteucă, who held the position from 1952 to 1953. According to historian Adrian Cioroianu , all three were insufficiently trained for the task they were required to accomplish. By 1952,

12028-465: The same time, facilities meant to accommodate the projected influx of labor (including homes available on credit) were never actually completed. This was overlooked by the propaganda machine, which furnished Stakhanovite stories instead, according to which work quotas were surpassed by as much as 170%. Authorities also claimed the construction site was offering training to previously unskilled workers (as many as 10,000 in one official communiqué). After

12152-457: The so-called 'Pitești experiment' or Pitești phenomenon, conducted there between 1949 and 1952. The prison in Pitești and the Pitești experiment aimed to 'reeducate' the (real or imagined) opponents of the regime. It involved psychological and physical torture of prisoners, and the submission of them to humiliating, degrading and dehumanizing acts. Tens of people died in this 'experiment', but its aim

12276-407: The south bank it is joined by tributaries (from west to east) Popa Nica and Medgidia . At Poarta Albă the canal bifurcates into two branches. The main canal goes to the south, towards the Port of Constanța Sud Agigea . It passes near the settlements of Murfatlar , Cumpăna and Agigea . On its reach it is joined on the northeast bank by tributaries Valea Seacă and Lazu and on the southwest bank by

12400-414: The subway system and 34 stations were already in use. The earthquake of 1977 shocked Bucharest; many buildings collapsed, and many others were weakened. This was the backdrop that led to a policy of large-scale demolition which affected monuments of historical significance or architectural masterpieces such as the monumental Văcărești Monastery (1722), the "Sfânta Vineri" (1645) and "Enei" (1611) Churches,

12524-450: The time that the election results were, in fact, falsified. After forming a government, the Communists moved to eliminate the role of the centrist parties; notably, the National Peasants' Party was accused of espionage after it became clear in 1947 that their leaders were meeting secretly with United States officials. A show trial of their leadership was then arranged, and they were put in jail. Other parties were forced to "merge" with

12648-731: The villages found along the Canal route, indicate 6,355 "Canal workers" (a euphemism for detainees) died during the 1949–1953 period. In parallel, authorities left aside sectors of employment for skilled workers, kept in strict isolation from all others, they were attracted to the site with exceptional salaries (over 5,000 lei per month), as well as for young people drafted into the Romanian Army and whose files indicated "unhealthy origins" (a middle-class family background). Their numbers fluctuated greatly (regular employees went from 13,200 in 1950 to 15,000 in 1951, to as little as 7,000 in early 1952, and again to 12,500 later in that year). At

12772-418: The violence and coercion in the collectivization movements, since he did not rebuke those who perpetuated abuses. In fact, Pauker reprimanded any cadre who forced peasants, and once she was purged, the violence reappeared. In October 1956, Poland's communist leaders refused to succumb to Soviet military threats to intervene in domestic political affairs and install a more obedient politburo . A few weeks later,

12896-407: The withdrawal of all Soviet troops from Romania by 1958. Overall, from the 1950s to the 1970s, the country exhibited high rates of economic growth and significant improvements in infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy, urbanization, and women's rights, but then stagnated in the 1980s. In the 1960s and 1970s, Nicolae Ceaușescu became General Secretary of the Communist Party (1965), Chairman of

13020-691: Was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989 ). From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian People's Republic ( Republica Populară Romînă , RPR ). The country was an Eastern Bloc state and a member of the Warsaw Pact with a dominant role for the Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its constitutions . Geographically, RSR

13144-671: Was bordered by the Black Sea to the east, the Soviet Union (via the Ukrainian and Moldavian SSRs ) to the north and east, Hungary and Yugoslavia (via SR Serbia ) to the west, and Bulgaria to the south. As World War II ended, Romania , a former Axis member which had overthrown their pro-Axis government , was occupied by the Soviet Union as the sole representative of the Allies . On 6 March 1945, after mass demonstrations by communist sympathizers and political pressure from

13268-449: Was consequently rejected by King Carol I after consultations with Grigore Antipa . During World War I, Austro-Hungarian authorities taking part in the occupation of southern Romania proposed a canal from Cernavodă to Constanța, passing through Murfatlar, of which 10 miles between Cernavodă and Murfatlar would be in a tunnel and the rest of 27 miles would be in the open. In 1927, the Romanian engineer Jean Stoenescu-Dunăre drafted

13392-493: Was established in 1948 with the stated aim "to defend the democratic conquest and to ensure the security of the Romanian People’s Republic against the plotting of internal and external enemies". All strata of society were involved, but particularly targeted were the prewar elites, such as intellectuals, clerics, teachers, former politicians (even if they had left-leaning views), and anybody who could potentially form

13516-584: Was first published in Romania in 1993, after the Revolution of 1989 . In György Dragomán 's 2005 novel, The White King , set in 1980s Romania, the main protagonist 11-year-old boy's father is deported to a labor camp to work on the Danube–Black Sea Canal. This is a partial list of notable inmates of the Danube–Black Sea Canal labor camps; the symbol † indicates those who died there. Socialist Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( Romanian : Republica Socialistă România , RSR )

13640-511: Was forced to abdicate and the People's Republic of Romania was declared. At first, Romania's scarce post-war resources were drained by the " SovRoms ," new tax-exempt Soviet-Romanian companies that allowed the Soviet Union to control Romania's major sources of income. Another drain was the war reparations paid to the Soviet Union. However, during the 1950s, Romania's communist government began to assert more independence, leading to, for example,

13764-419: Was formalized with the constitution of 13 April 1948 . The new constitution was a near-copy of the 1936 Soviet Constitution . While it guaranteed all manner of freedoms on paper, any association which had a "fascist or anti-democratic nature" was forbidden. This provision was broadly interpreted to ban any party not willing to do the Communists' bidding, and gave a legal façade to political repression. Although

13888-473: Was inaugurated on October 4, 1860. Following the opening of the line, goods were easily and inexpensively transported from Constanța by rail, so plans for a canal were again abandoned. As the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (1859) remained formally Ottoman vassals, and moreover Dobruja was directly administered by the Ottomans, the idea to build the canal was not of interest to

14012-512: Was introduced to the site. The southern arm was completed in May 1984, with the northern arm being inaugurated in October 1987. The cost of building the canal is estimated to be around 2 billion dollars , and was supposed to be recovered in 50 years. However, as of 2005, it has an yearly income of only a little over 3 million euros . In 2018, more than 32.9 million tonnes of cargo were carried over

14136-570: Was not a rank-and-file member of the Communist Party – were deemed the Party's vanguard, as they were entrusted with the power to construct a new social order and the forms of power that would sustain it. They still underwent extensive surveillance, which created an environment of competition and rivalry. Once the Communist government became more entrenched, the number of arrests increased. The General Directorate of People's Security, or ' Securitate ',

14260-601: Was not captured until 1974. Another form of anti-communist resistance, non-violent this time, was the student movement of 1956 . In reaction to the anti-communist revolt in Hungary, echoes were felt all over the Eastern bloc. Protests took place in some university centers resulting in numerous arrests and expulsions. The most-organised student movement was in Timișoara , where 3000 were arrested. In Bucharest and Cluj, organised groups were set up which tried to make common cause with

14384-535: Was not to kill the people, but to 'reeducate' them. Some of those who were thus 'reeducated' later became torturers themselves. Of those who survived Pitești, many either took their own lives or ended up in mental institutions. The Communist government also decided on the deportation of peasants from the Banat (south-west from Transylvania, at the border with Yugoslavia), started on 18 June 1951. About 45,000 people were forcibly "resettled" in lesser populated regions on

14508-403: Was orchestrated by Iosif Chișinevschi . Three people were executed (the engine driver Nichita Dumitrescu , and the engineers Aurel Rozei-Rozenberg and Nicolae Vasilescu-Colorado ); others were imprisoned for various terms. Defendants in a second group, around the engineer Gheorghe Crăciun, were sentenced to various harsh penalties (including three life imprisonments ). Torture was applied by

14632-611: Was purged from the party (along with 192,000 other party members); Pătrășcanu was executed after a show trial . Gheorghiu-Dej , a committed Stalinist, was unhappy with the reforms in Nikita Khrushchev 's Soviet Union after Stalin's death in 1953. He also balked at Comecon 's goal of turning Romania into the "breadbasket" of the East Bloc, pursuing an economic plan based on heavy industry and energy production. The government closed Romania's largest labor camps, abandoned

14756-650: Was put in charge of these works, that started in the summer of 1855 and were finished by the year's end. According to the newspaper Zimbrul of Iași , the work was performed by 300 physically strong men of moderate character selected in Moldavia and Wallachia. The building of the road did not eliminate, however, the need for a canal, and the Austrian government renewed its persuading efforts. According to Gazeta de Transilvania in July 1855, Baron Karl Ludwig von Bruck ,

14880-528: Was referred to as the "graveyard of the Romanian bourgeoisie " by the Communist authorities, and the physical elimination of undesirable social classes was one of its most significant goals. According to Marius Oprea , the death rate among political prisoners at the canal was extremely high; for instance, in the winter of 1951–52, there were one to three detainees dying every day at the Poarta Albă camp, near Galeșu village. The Presidential Commission for

15004-478: Was rejected by the Ottoman Porte . Western diplomats and newspapers accused the Russian government that through bribing and intimidation, it determined the Ottoman officials to reject the proposal of Szechenyi's company. In 1839, Széchenyi got the approval of his and Ottoman governments to ensure the transport of goods and people without getting to Sulina by a transshipment on dry land. Carts and coaches made

15128-577: Was replaced by the current constitution on 8 December 1991, after a nationwide referendum abolished the socialist system of government completely and replaced it with a semi-presidential system . When King Michael , supported by the main political parties, overthrew Ion Antonescu in August 1944, breaking Romania away from the Axis and bringing it over to the Allied side, Michael could do nothing to erase

15252-526: Was restored ( Partidul Comunist Român, PCR ; "Romanian Communist Party"). In his early years in power, Ceaușescu was genuinely popular, both at home and abroad. Agricultural goods were abundant, consumer goods began to reappear, there was a cultural thaw, and, what was important abroad, he spoke out against the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. While his reputation at home soon soured, he continued to have uncommonly good relations with Western governments and with international capitalist institutions such as

15376-423: Was scheduled to be torn down and replaced in early 1992. Towboat A pusher , pusher craft , pusher boat , pusher tug , or towboat , is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats . In the United States, the industries that use these vessels refer to them as towboats . These vessels are characterized by a square bow, a shallow draft, and typically have knees, which are large plates mounted to

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