Ştefan Plavăţ
Encyclopedia
Ştefan Plavăţ was a Romania
n communist
activist, leader of a resistance group
active in South-Western Romania during World War II
.
Plavăţ was born in Eşelniţa
, in South-Eastern Banat
, to a family of poor peasants. Due to material difficulties, in 1927 he was forced to leave high school, and in autumn he enrolled in the Apprentices' School of the Romanian Railways
(CFR) in Timişoara
. Here he came into contact with communist ideas and became an active member of the local worker movement. After finishing school, he was hired as a carpenter in the Timişoara CFR Workshops, and soon afterwards was elected a member in the committee of the local trade union
. His political activism was seen as dangerous by the Workshops' management, and led to his re-assignment to a marginal branch of the enterprise.
Plavăţ returned to Timişoara in the first years of World War II, rejoining the Workshops, and becoming a leading member of the local clandestine organisation of the Romanian Communist Party
(PCR). As Romania's dictator Ion Antonescu
had joined Nazi Germany
's invasion of the Soviet Union
, Plavăţ and others participated in the sabotage of the war production of the Axis
. Arrested along other workers of the Workshops in autumn 1942, he was ultimately released due to lack of evidence.
In May 1944, as the tide of war had turned against the Axis
, the Romanian Communist Party
's Banat chapter, led by Leontin Sălăjan, decided to organise a group of partisans in the mountainous area of the region. Ştefan Plavăţ was given the political command of the Mărăşeşti detachment, active in the Caraş Mountains, in the area of his native village. The headquarters was established on the Semenic Mountain
, and the main actions of the partisan detachment involved sabotaging of the rail line linking Timişoara with Reşiţa
, an important industrial centre controlled by the Germans, and Bucureşti, Romania's capital. On the morning of June 13, 1944, due to a betrayal of a captured partisan, Siguranţa, the Romanian secret police, and the Gendarmerie
surrounded the detachment. As the partisans refused to surrender, a gunfight ensued between them and the government troops. Although most of the partisans succeeded in escaping in the thick forest, Plavăţ was mortally wounded.
After the dictatorship of Ion Antonescu
was overthrown, and especially after the Romanian Communist Party gained the power in Romania, Ştefan Plavăţ was one of the several anti-fascist fighters acclaimed as heroes by the official propaganda. Several streets, parks and schools were thus named after him in the area of Banat.
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
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
activist, leader of a resistance group
Resistance during World War II
Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...
active in South-Western Romania during 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...
.
Plavăţ was born in Eşelniţa
Eselnita
Eşelniţa is a commune located in Mehedinţi County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Eşelniţa. It is one of four localities in the county located in the Banat....
, in South-Eastern Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
, to a family of poor peasants. Due to material difficulties, in 1927 he was forced to leave high school, and in autumn he enrolled in the Apprentices' School of the Romanian Railways
Caile Ferate Române
Căile Ferate Române is the official designation of the state railway carrier of Romania. Romania has a railway network of of which are electrified and the total track length is . The network is significantly interconnected with other European railway networks, providing pan-European passenger...
(CFR) in Timişoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
. Here he came into contact with communist ideas and became an active member of the local worker movement. After finishing school, he was hired as a carpenter in the Timişoara CFR Workshops, and soon afterwards was elected a member in the committee of the local trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
. His political activism was seen as dangerous by the Workshops' management, and led to his re-assignment to a marginal branch of the enterprise.
Plavăţ returned to Timişoara in the first years of World War II, rejoining the Workshops, and becoming a leading member of the local clandestine organisation of the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
(PCR). As Romania's dictator Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
had joined Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
's invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, Plavăţ and others participated in the sabotage of the war production of the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
. Arrested along other workers of the Workshops in autumn 1942, he was ultimately released due to lack of evidence.
In May 1944, as the tide of war had turned against the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
, the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
's Banat chapter, led by Leontin Sălăjan, decided to organise a group of partisans in the mountainous area of the region. Ştefan Plavăţ was given the political command of the Mărăşeşti detachment, active in the Caraş Mountains, in the area of his native village. The headquarters was established on the Semenic Mountain
Semenic
Semenic is a national park and ski resort in the region of Banat, Romania.-Etymology:The semenic is actually a rare flower growing in the wilderness of the mountains...
, and the main actions of the partisan detachment involved sabotaging of the rail line linking Timişoara with Reşiţa
Resita
' is a city in western Romania and the capital of Caraş-Severin County, in the Banat region. Its 2004 population was 83,985.- Etymology :The name of Reşiţa, might comes from the Latin recitia, meaning "cold spring", as the great historian Nicolae Iorga once suggested, presuming that the Romans...
, an important industrial centre controlled by the Germans, and Bucureşti, Romania's capital. On the morning of June 13, 1944, due to a betrayal of a captured partisan, Siguranţa, the Romanian secret police, and the Gendarmerie
Jandarmeria Româna
Jandarmeria Română is the military branch of the two Romanian police forces .The gendarmerie is subordinated to the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform and does not have responsibility for policing the Romanian Armed Forces...
surrounded the detachment. As the partisans refused to surrender, a gunfight ensued between them and the government troops. Although most of the partisans succeeded in escaping in the thick forest, Plavăţ was mortally wounded.
After the dictatorship of Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
was overthrown, and especially after the Romanian Communist Party gained the power in Romania, Ştefan Plavăţ was one of the several anti-fascist fighters acclaimed as heroes by the official propaganda. Several streets, parks and schools were thus named after him in the area of Banat.