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Galați Prison

Galați, Italy

Galați Prison (Romanian: Penitenciarul Galați) is a prison located in Galați, Romania. The prison was built in the northern part of the city between 1893 and 1897, with a view to alleviating overcrowding in the area's detention facilities. Architecturally identical to the contemporaneous Craiova Pri

son, it featured a ground floor and two upper stories. With 30 cells each, the maximum capacity was considered to be 350 inmates. It housed common criminals until 1938, although starting in 1933, it was a transit prison for affiliates of the banned Romanian Communist Party, including Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Gheorghe Apostol, and Emil Bodnăraș. It was a military prison in 1938–1939, with a number of prominent Iron Guard members being sent there. World War II deserters were held at Galați from 1941. From 1945, when a communist-dominated government came to power, until 1964, both common criminals and political prisoners were held at Galați. The latter were National Peasants' Party (PNȚ) and National Liberal Party members, former policemen and secret agents, war criminals, Iron Guard sympathizers, and priests from the surrounding region. They exceeded the common criminals in number between 1949...

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