In 1974,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n truck driver Eugen Grigore drove his cargo truck into a group of tents belonging to

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

nomads, killing 24 people and injuring 50 others. Grigore served 27 years in prison. The case was not publicized at the time due to suppression by the Romanian state.

Background

In May 1974, Eugen Grigore was a 27 year old truck driver who worked about 14 hours a day in order to provide for his family. He had a wife, three children and a house in the

Copou The Copou Park or Copou Gardens is the oldest public park in Iaşi, Romania. Its development started in 1834 under the reign of Mihail Sturdza, making the park one of the first public gardens in Romania and a Iaşi landmark. In its centre lies ...

neighborhood from

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

. One day, the director from his workplace told him to go home because his house is burning. Author Traian Tandin claims that a group of

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

women and minors, belonging to the

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

Gypsy tribe that was settled near

Ciurea Ciurea is a commune in Iași County, Western Moldavia, Romania, part of the Iași metropolitan area. Situated 7 km south from the county seat of Iași, it is composed of seven villages: Ciurea, Curături, Dumbrava, Hlincea, Lunca Cetățuii, ...

, thought that nobody was home, so they entered it in order to rob. But Grigore's wife and three children were in the backyard. According to Tandin they heard noises in the house, entered it and allegedly got immobilized by the gypsies who set the house on fire, a fire that killed the woman and all three children. The miliția's investigations were supposedly blocked because Grigore's neighbors did not want to collaborate as witnesses, as they feared retaliation by the gypsies.

Attack

After two months, convinced of the helplessness of the authorities, and reportedly threatened by the gypsies who promised to take revenge if he did not give up his complaint, Grigore decided to take revenge. One day at noon, after drinking half a litre of

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cog ...

, he rammed his truck into the nomads' tents and killed 24 people and injured about 50.

Aftermath

The

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

did not allow the press to write anything about the incident, in order to avoid an ethnic conflict between

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

and

Gypsies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

. The Gypsy nomads were moved from

Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Western Moldavia, Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. ...

. Eugen Grigore was sentenced to life in prison, but in 1990 his sentence was reduced to 28 years in prison. In 1995 he was transferred to the Neuropsychiatry Hospital from

. In 2001 he was released and lived on the streets. Grigore died in July 2009 when he was hit by a truck in

In popular culture

In 2008, a former police officer who became a writer, Traian Tandin, wrote about the Eugen Grigore case in his book called ''Cei mai odioși 100 criminali români'' ''(The 100 most hateful Romanian criminals)''. In 2012 the "Eugen Grigore" case received nationwide attention, because during a Steaua București –

Rapid București Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a '' cascade' ...

match, Steaua's fans showed a banner that said "Respect Eugen Grigore". This was shown as a form of disrespect towards

Rapid Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

. The incident also gained reactions from

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

's president

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, ...

and from the

European Commission against Racism and Intolerance European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) is the Council of Europe’s independent human rights monitoring body specialised in combating antisemitism, discrimination, racism, religious intolerance, and xenophobia. It publishes perio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eugen Grigore case Murders by motor vehicle Massacres in Romania 1974 in Romania

Background

Attack

Aftermath

In popular culture

See also

References