Nicolae Cristea, Siguranța mug shot (1929 or 1930)

Nicolas or Nicolae Cristea (also known under the ''nom de guerre'' Joseph Copla;Lucien Steinberg, Jean Marie Fitère. ''Les Allemands en France: 1940–1944''. A. Michel, 1980. p.129 26 November 1906 – March 1943) was a

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

n communist, a volunteer in the International Brigades during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

and in the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Cristea was born in a poor workers family in Galați. During the Great Depression he participated in the protests organized by the Romanian Communist Party in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, afterwards being forced by the ''

Siguranța Siguranța was the generic name for the successive secret police services in the Kingdom of Romania. The official title of the organization changed throughout its history, with names including Directorate of the Police and General Safety ( ro, Di ...

'' (Romania's secret police) to move back to his native town. He returned to Bucharest in 1931, and in 1933 was admitted into the then-illegal Communist Party. He became member in the Committee of the Bucharest Organization of the Party and, later, he was elected member in the Bureau of the Party Committee of the city. In this period he worked at the Army Pyrotechnics in Bucharest. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he left for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, arriving there in October 1936, during the Battle for Madrid. He joined the Romanian Motorized Artillery Regiment of the

XI International Brigade The XI International Brigade fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War. It would become especially renowned for providing desperately needed support in the darkest hours of the Republican defense of Madrid on 8 November 193 ...

, commanded by

Valter Roman Valter or Walter Roman (October 9, 1913 – November 11, 1983), born Ernst or Ernő Neuländer, was a Romanian communist activist and soldier. During his lifetime, Roman was active inside the Romanian, Czechoslovakian, French, and Spanish C ...

. In 1937, he participated in the battles of Brunete, Quinto-Belchite and

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with ...

. In December 1937, during the latter confrontation, his leg was injured, but Cristea refused to be hospitalized, deciding instead to remain present on the battlefield. Afterwards, he was promoted to captain and became the commander of the "

Tudor Vladimirescu Tudor Vladimirescu (; c. 1780 – ) was a Romanian revolutionary hero, the leader of the Wallachian uprising of 1821 and of the Pandur militia. He is also known as Tudor din Vladimiri (''Tudor from Vladimiri'') or, occasionally, as Domnul Tudo ...

Battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

. At the

Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro ( es, Batalla del Ebro, ca, Batalla de l'Ebre) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between Ju ...

, he had an important role in the crossing of the river. Demobilized along the other volunteers in December 1938, he continued to fight in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

in January–February 1939. In February 1939, Cristea passed into

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

where he was interned in the

Gurs Gurs is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. History Gurs was the site of the Gurs internment camp. Nothing remains of the camp; after World War II, a forest was planted on the site where it stood. Geog ...

and Argelès concentration camps. Along with

Joseph Boczov Joseph Boczov or József Boczor, aka Ferenc Wolff (3 August 1905 – 21 February 1944) was a Romanian chemical engineer, Hungarian Jew, and volunteer fighter for the French liberation army FTP-MOI. In 1942 Boczov founded and led the 4th detac ...

, Mihail Patriciu and other Romanians, he escaped the latter camp on 28 March 1941, after the onset of

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

. The group soon joined the Resistance, with Cristea becoming commander of the Romanian detachment inside the FTP-''Main-d'œuvre immigrée''. He participated in

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

action against the

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

forces. On 16 October 1942, he — along with other two Romanian volunteers —, attacked a group of German pilots who were taking part in a military exercise in

Montrouge Montrouge () is a commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. After a long period of decline, the population has increased again in recent years. ...

, near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, making use of hand grenades. Arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

on 19 October 1942, Cristea was executed in March 1943 at

Fort Mont-Valérien Fort Mont-Valérien ( French: ''Forteresse du Mont-Valérien'') is a fortress in Suresnes, a western Paris suburb, built in 1841 as part of the city's ring of modern fortifications. It overlooks the Bois de Boulogne. History Before Thiers built ...

, after months of torture in the

Fresnes prison Fresnes Prison (''French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes'') is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne, south of Paris. It comprises a large men's prison (''maison d'arrêt'') of about 1200 cells, a small ...

. Sources disagree on the exact date of his death: either the 9th, the 10th, or the 13th.Nicolae Balint. ''Un mureșean...'' Upon the end of World War II, he was posthumously promoted a

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

of the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

Notes

References

*Valter Roman. ''Evocări''. Editura Eminescu. Bucharest, 1980. * Nicolae Balint
"Un mureşean în Rezistenţa franceză" ("A Mureş County Resident in the French Resistance")
in '' Ziarul de Mureş''. 5 September 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cristea, Nicolae 1906 births 1943 deaths Executed communists Romanian communists Romanian Land Forces officers People from Galați People detained by the Siguranța Romanian people of the Spanish Civil War International Brigades personnel Romanian participants in the French Resistance Romanian torture victims Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany Romanian people executed by Nazi Germany