Architect Alexandru Zamfiropol in the Securitate files. Cause and effects of a memorandum submitted in the 1950’s.
Architect Alexandru Zamfiropol in the Securitate files. Cause and effects of a memorandum submitted in the 1950’s.

Summary/Abstract: During our research called “The Romanian architects and political detention”, we have so far identified over 200 cases of professionals of this guild who were politically imprisoned between 1944 and 1964. Apart from a multitude of elements, an engaging fact was the acknowledgment and identification of the criminal classifications in all these cases, from membership in outlawed organizations, military resistance, former dignitaries, to attempts of fraudulent border crossing and the classical conspiracy against social order. But there were cases where the architects objected and tried to maintain a form of independence, albeit at a very high price. One of them was Alexandru Zamfiropol, a professional whom we have almost forgotten about nowadays. He was not convicted or thrown in jail for years, but an inflammatory report sent to a design institute in the early 50’s made the Securitate arrest and investigate him. After his release, he was “killed” from a professional perspective, brushed aside and almost forgotten. This text recounts how the architect interacted with the repressive authorities, mainly in the context of the archives of the former Securitate. At the same time, we express our hope that this disclosure will motivate the researchers to focus more on that period of time and thus accomplish what we are missing the most – monographies of the professionals forced into the shadows by the repressive mechanisms of the 50’s and 60’s. It is certain that such endeavour will place architect Alexandru Zamfiropol in his well-deserved standing in the history of our profession.

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