Haia Lifşiţ
Encyclopedia
Haia Lifşiţ or Lifschitz was a Russian
-born Romania
n communist who died as a result of a hunger strike
while in detention for her political opinions.
She was born in Kishinev, Bessarabia
, in a family of petty civil servants of Jewish
origin. While in high school, she joined the local communist organisation. After finishing high school, Haia worked a schoolteacher, however she was soon arrested for her political options by the Romanian authorities, as Bessarabia had joined Greater Romania
in 1918. She was set free, but not allowed to teach any more, so she had to work in a factory, where she continued her political activism.
In 1923 Haia Lifşiţ was elected in the local committee of the still legal Union of Communist Youth
(UTC). In May 1924 she was arrested again for distributing manifestos for the Communist Party of Romania. She was included in a group of communists put under trial in a major case that was transferred several times around the main cities of Romania. Eventually set free, she was arrested again in 1925 for the same charges. Lifşiţ decided to flee Romania, and emigrated to Belgium
, then Germany
(where she used the pseudonym Maria Pavel), before finally settling in Vienna
, Austria
. In the mean time, she was convicted in absentia
with 10 years of detention, for "crimes against state security". In the summer of 1926 she returned to Romania, but was quickly apprehended, then set free for lack of evidence.
Haia continued her activism, working for the newspaper Tânarul leninist ("The Young Leninist"), the official newspaper of the UTC. In 1928 she was elected the secretary of the Central Committee of the organisation. She was sent to tend party affairs in Oradea
and Arad
, in western Romania, however there she was arrested and transferred to Cluj
for trial. The case involved several other important communist activists (Eugen Rozvan
, Dan Avramescu) and was brought before a military tribunal, the War Council of the 6th Army Corps - Cluj. The trial had an important impact on the public opinion, and the group was defended by Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu
, who would become one of the communist leaders after World War II
. According to Haia's deposition, during the investigations she was tortured and severely beaten. During the deposition she also demanded the re-legalisation of the UTC and of the Communist Party of Romania, while reaffirming her commitment to the communist ideals. She was sentenced to 8 years of detention, further 10 years of political interdict, and she was to pay a large fine.
In June 1929, while in jail, Haia started a hunger strike along other comrades convicted in the same trial, demanding to be set free according to a recently announced amnesty
decree. During the following 43 days she accepted only water, refusing any food. This led to a deteriorating health condition, and ultimately to her death on August 17, 1929, few days before the amnesty decree was put into force. Worried about the echo her death would have on the local population, the Romanian authorities disposed that her body be transported to the cemetery under the guard of the Siguranţa (the Romanian secret police), only by side roads. Only her parents were allowed to attend her burial, but local communists succeeded in organising a small protest.
After World War II
, Romania
n-Moldova
n poet Liviu Deleanu composed Poem to Hae Livshitz, adapted in 1965 for choir by Romanian-Moldovan composer Solomon Lobel. Moldovan playwright and screenwriter George Malarciuc wrote a play about the communist activist.
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
-born Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n communist who died as a result of a hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
while in detention for her political opinions.
She was born in Kishinev, Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
, in a family of petty civil servants of Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
origin. While in high school, she joined the local communist organisation. After finishing high school, Haia worked a schoolteacher, however she was soon arrested for her political options by the Romanian authorities, as Bessarabia had joined Greater Romania
Greater Romania
The Greater Romania generally refers to the territory of Romania in the years between the First World War and the Second World War, the largest geographical extent of Romania up to that time and its largest peacetime extent ever ; more precisely, it refers to the territory of the Kingdom of...
in 1918. She was set free, but not allowed to teach any more, so she had to work in a factory, where she continued her political activism.
In 1923 Haia Lifşiţ was elected in the local committee of the still legal Union of Communist Youth
Union of Communist Youth
The Union of Communist Youth was the Romanian Communist Party's youth organisation, modelled after the Soviet Komsomol. It aimed to cultivate young cadres into the party, as well as to help create the "new man" envisioned by communist ideologues.-History:Founded in 1922, the UTC went underground...
(UTC). In May 1924 she was arrested again for distributing manifestos for the Communist Party of Romania. She was included in a group of communists put under trial in a major case that was transferred several times around the main cities of Romania. Eventually set free, she was arrested again in 1925 for the same charges. Lifşiţ decided to flee Romania, and emigrated to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, then Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(where she used the pseudonym Maria Pavel), before finally settling in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. In the mean time, she was convicted in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
with 10 years of detention, for "crimes against state security". In the summer of 1926 she returned to Romania, but was quickly apprehended, then set free for lack of evidence.
Haia continued her activism, working for the newspaper Tânarul leninist ("The Young Leninist"), the official newspaper of the UTC. In 1928 she was elected the secretary of the Central Committee of the organisation. She was sent to tend party affairs in Oradea
Oradea
Oradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in the Crișana region of north-western Romania. The city has a population of 204,477, according to the 2009 estimates. The wider Oradea metropolitan area has a total population of 245,832.-Geography:...
and Arad
Arad, Romania
Arad is the capital city of Arad County, in western Romania, in the Crişana region, on the river Mureş.An important industrial center and transportation hub, Arad is also the seat of a Romanian Orthodox archbishop and features two universities, a Romanian Orthodox theological seminary, a training...
, in western Romania, however there she was arrested and transferred to Cluj
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
for trial. The case involved several other important communist activists (Eugen Rozvan
Eugen Rozvan
Eugen Rozvan was a Hungarian-born Romanian communist activist, lawyer, and Marxist historian, who settled in the Soviet Union late in his life.-Biography:...
, Dan Avramescu) and was brought before a military tribunal, the War Council of the 6th Army Corps - Cluj. The trial had an important impact on the public opinion, and the group was defended by Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu
Lucretiu Patrascanu
Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu was a Romanian communist politician and leading member of the Communist Party of Romania , also noted for his activities as a lawyer, sociologist and economist. For a while, he was a professor at Bucharest University...
, who would become one of the communist leaders after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. According to Haia's deposition, during the investigations she was tortured and severely beaten. During the deposition she also demanded the re-legalisation of the UTC and of the Communist Party of Romania, while reaffirming her commitment to the communist ideals. She was sentenced to 8 years of detention, further 10 years of political interdict, and she was to pay a large fine.
In June 1929, while in jail, Haia started a hunger strike along other comrades convicted in the same trial, demanding to be set free according to a recently announced amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
decree. During the following 43 days she accepted only water, refusing any food. This led to a deteriorating health condition, and ultimately to her death on August 17, 1929, few days before the amnesty decree was put into force. Worried about the echo her death would have on the local population, the Romanian authorities disposed that her body be transported to the cemetery under the guard of the Siguranţa (the Romanian secret police), only by side roads. Only her parents were allowed to attend her burial, but local communists succeeded in organising a small protest.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n-Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
n poet Liviu Deleanu composed Poem to Hae Livshitz, adapted in 1965 for choir by Romanian-Moldovan composer Solomon Lobel. Moldovan playwright and screenwriter George Malarciuc wrote a play about the communist activist.