TASI
MARKO
Before 1945 he worked as a shepherd and a baker. In the Communist era Tasi became a good executioner for the regime, while his brother Rita Marko was a leading persecutor at the Political Bureau. He was one of those partisans who engaged in the last year of war, on 13 May 1944, in the Devoll unit. His service to the regime was in the field of prisons and camps. Between 1945 and 1947 he was the director of two prisons in Korça, and between May–November 1947 he was the director of the Maliqi seasonal camp. Between 1949 and 1950, he was the commander of prison No. 313 in Tirana. In 1950 he became the commander of the seasonal camps in Maliq and Ura e Bonës. From 1951, he was the commander of the prison camp at the “Stalin’’ textile factory in Tirana. In 1955, he became the commander of camp No. 4, one of the most notorious of that time. Then he was released due to staff downsizing. He was said by his superiors to be “cut out” for this job.
Credit: public domain
LAJOS
USCSÁK
He was a former Police Lieutenant Colonel. He was commander of the Kistarcsa Internment Camp between March and September 1949. Previously, he served as commander of the Buda-dél Central Internment Camp. According to memoirs, he was an extremely rude and primitive man. He lost one of his legs in an accident, then he used his crutches to beat the prisoners. Between the two world wars the one-legged Ruscsák once worked as grave-digger, later as a “sedentary man” he served his time in various prisons (a total of 10 years). After 1945, he became a trusted member of the Communist Party. As for the accident, he was a drunkard, who once laid down on the tram rails, losing his leg as a result of being run over. Ruscsák was dismissed in September 1949 after committing theft.
Credit: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum
IOAN
FICIOR
He was an electrician who joined the Communist Party in 1946. During his mandatory military service, he was selected to attend a special school for political officers. In 1950 he was promoted to colonel and started to work as a counterinformations officer in the Securitate. He was then reassigned to work in the prison system, where he built a career as head of investigation, then as a commanding officer for several camps like Poarta Albă (1953-1955), Suceava (1955-1956), Borzești (1956-1958), Periprava (1960-1963), Giurgeni (1964-1967) and Văcărești (1968-1971) and was known for his brutality, although he always denied the accusations. He was charged in 2014 with the deaths of 103 political prisoners during his tenure in Periprava. Ficior was sentenced in 2017 to 20 years imprisonment for crimes against humanity and he served time in Jilava, until his death on 26 September 2018.
Credit: Administraţia Naţională a Penitenciarelor
NIKOLAI
SANTŠUK
From 1944 to 1946 he was the head of the control and filtration camp No. 0316 subordinated to the Soviet ministry for internal affairs, the NKVD, located in Estonia (for the people, repatriated from Germany, former citizens of the Soviet Union or countries and territories, occupied by the Soviet Union in 1939–40). Between 1946 and 1947 he was the head of the OPVI (Department for the Issues of Prisoners-of-War and Interned People) of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (ESSR MVD). Between 1947–1948 he was the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Estonian SSR, and between 1948–1950 he was simultaneously the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Estonian SSR and the head of the ESSR MVD OITK (Corrective-Labour Colonies Department).
Credit: Estonian National Archives
JÓZSEF
CSETE
He was an officer of the State Protection Authority. From the beginning of 1945 he worked as a detective at the political police, then served in various divisions of the State Protection Authority until 1951. In August 1951, he became the commander of the Recsk Forced Labour Camp. According to former prisoners, his commandership was the cruellest period in the life of the Recsk camp; under his command abuses increased, and binding prisoners’ hand and foot became a widespread punishment. He ran the Recsk Camp until February 1952, then in March, he was appointed as commander of the guard house. He was reassigned to the Ministry of Interior as subdivision head in 1953, but after 15 days, he was appointed as deputy commander of the Budapest District Prison. From 1957 to 1959, he served in the Ministry of Interior. From 1 December 1959, he worked for the Hungarian Air Force Headquarters. He was employed by the Ministry of Interior until his retirement in 1969.
MIKULAS
JAKAB
He was a member of the Hlinka Guard during the existence of the Slovak State; a member of the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) from 1945; a member of the State Security and Political Intelligence in February 1946; and an employee of the Labour Camp Administration from March 1948. He was a commander of the Forced Labour Camps in Ústie nad Oravou and Ilava in 1949. He behaved like a “satrap” in the camps. He abused the inmates, threatening them with annihilation; he would put them into solitary confinement at will for indefinite periods of time; he banned them from going out, sending or receiving letters and attending Sunday and feast-day worship services. After being dismissed from the position of the Camp Commander, Jakab held several posts at the National Security. He was arrested in early September 1954 and dismissed from the National Security Corps. In 1955 he was convicted of compromising state secrets and bribery, being sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Credit: Archiv bezpečnostních složek
NIKOLAI
LJUBTŠENKO
Before 1945 he worked as a shepherd and a baker. In the Communist era Tasi became a good executioner for the regime, while his brother Rita Marko was a leading persecutor at the Political Bureau. He was one of those partisans who engaged in the last year of war, on 13 May 1944, in the Devoll unit. His service to the regime was in the field of prisons and camps. Between 1945 and 1947 he was the director of two prisons in Korça, and between May–November 1947 he was the director of the Maliqi seasonal camp. Between 1949 and 1950, he was the commander of prison No. 313 in Tirana. In 1950 he became the commander of the seasonal camps in Maliq and Ura e Bonës. From 1951, he was the commander of the prison camp at the “Stalin’’ textile factory in Tirana. In 1955, he became the commander of camp No. 4, one of the most notorious of that time. Then he was released due to staff downsizing. He was said by his superiors to be “cut out” for this job.
Credit: public domain
SALOMON
MOREL
He joined the Communist People’s Guard in 1943. In July 1944 he started to work as a prison guard in Lublin Castle, later in Tarnobrzeg prison. In mid-February 1945 he joined the operational group of the Ministry of Public Security sent to Silesia. In March 1945, Morel took the position of commander of the Świętochłowice Labour Camp (formerly a German sub-camp of KL Auschwitz). The camp was designated for the German population, but the prisoners also included Poles from Central Poland and citizens of eight other countries. As the camp commander, Morel abused the prisoners physically and psychologically. One of his methods was forcing them to stand in pairs and fight each other. Any who refused would be brutally beaten by the camp personnel. After the liquidation of the Świętochłowice camp in November 1945, Morel worked as the prison governor in Opole, Katowice and Racibórz. Between 1949-1951 he managed the Office of Security labour camp in Jaworzno. In 1992, when the first investigation was opened against him for his actions in forced labour camps, he emigrated to Israel.
Credit: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej
JAN
MÁJEK
He was an electrician who joined the Communist Party in 1946. During his mandatory military service, he was selected to attend a special school for political officers. In 1950 he was promoted to colonel and started to work as a counterinformations officer in the Securitate. He was then reassigned to work in the prison system, where he built a career as head of investigation, then as a commanding officer for several camps like Poarta Albă (1953-1955), Suceava (1955-1956), Borzești (1956-1958), Periprava (1960-1963), Giurgeni (1964-1967) and Văcărești (1968-1971) and was known for his brutality, although he always denied the accusations. He was charged in 2014 with the deaths of 103 political prisoners during his tenure in Periprava. Ficior was sentenced in 2017 to 20 years imprisonment for crimes against humanity and he served time in Jilava, until his death on 26 September 2018.
Credit: Administraţia Naţională a Penitenciarelor