A minimum of 1800 calories was officially specified by the administration. The food actually given to students. as to all other prisoners in Communist Romania. Was normally limited to 700-800 calories. although on very rare occasions as much as 1000 was given. Within a few weeks following arrest. The effects of this substandard diet. aggravated by punishments inflicted mercilessly.
Especially the sick. became so physically
When not coerced. they would commonly spend hours on end in almost total immobility to avoid using energy. Thus. for those fortunate enough to receive them. packages of food from the outside were the most precious of gifts.
It was limited either to dispensing an aspirin. irrespective of the ailment. or to strychnine shots for those whose nerves were shattered. a mere token treatment. and usually the number of injections was limited to from two to four.
During this preliminary period. the job function email list prisoners of the first three categories. who could receive monthly packages of food from their families. devised an ingenious system to help the prisoners of the fourth category. who. sentenced to hard labor. were denied all communication with the outside. The latter were incarcerated on the top floor of the building.
Thus the prisoners below. by having a rope
Lowered from the windows above. could send up small quantities of food. especially to the sick and infirm. This was done. however. at great risk. for those caught were sent to “cazinca” — a special room in the prison’s cellar full of dirt. with walls permanently dripping with moisture. The prisoner was stripped down to a minimum of “the country needs and unless I mistake its temper clothing and left without food for a period of time that depended on the whims of the warden or political officer and which usually was in direct proportion to the degree of “fanaticism” of the prisoner. And as the “cazinca” never lacked for prisoners. an increase in the number of tuberculosis cases was soon observed.
It was under these conditions
The Ministry of the Interior. after the preliminaries were judged adequate. decided to begin the real experiment. Food packages and correspondence with the outside were permanently discontinued. The guards’ terrorism increased in fax list intensity. Torturings in the prison basement increased in frequency. oftentimes for reasons patently trumped up. Threats. with mysterious meanings implied. frequent visits of the warden and political officers to the cells. unexpected searches at all hours of day and night. and prohibition of every kind of activity under stiff penalty. were signs of fast-approaching changes.