Avatarurile condiției de prizonier a Maiorulului Gheorghe Caracaș
The avatars of the captivity condition of major Gheorghe Caracaș

Summary/Abstract: Major Gheorghe Caracaș is a prominent representative of the pre-war Romanian elite who participated in the Transylvanian military campaign, as he had been inspired by the ideal of national unity. He was taken prisoner on the 3rd of November 1916. His notes give an outlook on the dramatic events of World War I and on the hardships that the prisoners in the German camps had to endure. Despite the camp life deprivations, the condition of prisoner provided increased security as compared to that of a soldier in trenches, the latter being permanently exposed to the imminent danger of death or of lethal diseases. A very intriguing feature of his memories stands in depicting the daily life of the captive officers. Thus, major Gheorghe Caracaș portrays everyday routine in the camp, the food shortage, the cold in the barracks, but does not emphasize the number of deceased prisoners or the physical abuse tow hich the prisoners were submitted by the camp administration. As described in his memories, the camp life swings between the continuous suffering caused by the lack of freedom, the numberless attempts to escape and the acceptance in resignation of the painful reality in the camps. Throughout his captivity, major Gheorghe Caracaș became the embodiment of the idea of improving the hard life conditions in the camps, of obeying the rules and the regulations of the international conventions regarding the rights of the military. Consequently, he epitomizes the very personality around whom collective dissatisfaction revolved, the determinate voice that spoke out the prisoners’ frustrations and considered escaping a necessary means of regaining the lost freedom.

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