Ion Cârja (sometimes spelled Cârjă or Cârje) (March 25, 1922 – May 8, 1977) was a

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

n and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

writer and

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

activist, who was a

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

Biography

Cârja was born in Whitman,

Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States: * Logan County, Arkansas * Logan County, Colorado * Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895) * Logan County, Illinois * Logan County, Kansas * Logan County ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, where his parents (Iov and Judifca) had emigrated to from

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

-ruled

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

around 1910. He and his family returned to Romania in February 1927 and settled down in Mihai Viteazu, near the city of

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, where they bought a farm. While in high school, Cârja started work on a magazine titled ''Gazeta de Turda'', and published his first book — ''Cremene în apa vremii'' ("A Flintstone in the Water of Life"). Beginning in 1942, he studied Law and Philology at the

University of Cluj A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

(he also enlisted for Medicine studies, but abandoned them after one year). In 1948 he received his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Law from the same university. He was elected general secretary of the Transylvanian Writers' Union. At the same time, Cârja took part in the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

against the newly established Communist regime, and was involved in supporting the anti-communist groups in the

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...

. Because of this and due to the political content of his writings, he spent 15 years in prison between 1949 and 1964 (in

Gherla Gherla (; ; ) is a municipality in Cluj County, Romania (in the historical region of Transylvania). It is located from Cluj-Napoca on the river Someșul Mic, and has a population of 19,873 as of 2021. Three villages are administered by the city: ...

Aiud Aiud (; , , Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) is a city located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. The city's population is 21,307 (2021). It has the status of municipiu. The city derives its name ultimately from Saint Giles (Aegidius), to whom t ...

, and building the

Danube–Black Sea Canal The Danube–Black Sea Canal () is a navigable canal in Romania, which runs from Cernavodă on the Danube river, via two branches, to Constanța and Năvodari on the Black Sea. Administered from Agigea, it is an important part of the waterway li ...

). He was ultimately released by a

general amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

. In parallel, his elder brother, Nicolae Cârja, was captured by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, and exiled for nine years in the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

. Having both American and Romanian citizenship, Ion Cârja made several requests to the Romanian authorities to be allowed to leave for the United States. Pressure by the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

ultimately brought about his departure in May 1965. He settled down in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he worked for the city's Department of Social Welfare. In order to receive more qualifications in this area, he undertook studies at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

later recognized his Romanian PhD. In 1970 he initiated the Romanian National Council, whose journal, called ''Acțiunea Românească'', was first published in 1971. He was elected secretary general of the council.

Published books

*''Cremene în apa vremii'' *''Întoarcerea din infern'' (2 vols.), Madrid: Dacia and New-York: Acțiunea Românească, 1969. *''Canalul morții'', Bucharest: Cartea Românească, 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carja, Ion 1922 births 1977 deaths People from Logan County, West Virginia American civil servants American women civil servants Romanian civil servants Romanian women civil servants American emigrants to Romania 20th-century American memoirists Babeș-Bolyai University alumni Fordham University alumni Inmates of Aiud prison Inmates of Gherla prison Inmates of the Danube–Black Sea Canal American people of Romanian descent Romanian dissidents Members of the Romanian anti-communist resistance movement Romanian magazine editors Romanian magazine founders Romanian women editors Romanian memoirists Writers from West Virginia Activists from West Virginia American women editors American editors