DECLARATION
I, Darasteanu I. Constantin, born July 28th, 1914, in the village of Stoinesti, in the county of Vlasca (today Giurgiu), living in Bucharest, ............, aware of the sanctions of article 292 in the Penal Code, referring to lying in one’s declarations, state the following:
In January 1941, I worked at the Aerial Base No. 3 Pipera (later named ASAM) as team captain, (principal master of mounting)?, and airplane constructor, at that time, I had been on the job for 3 (three) years. On the day of January 24th, 1941, I had a discussion with another worker by the name of Preda Petre, called Drusca, a mechanic, who in the preceding days, January 21-23, has been missing from the work place: He was a Legionary and had participated in the rebellion. He told me that at the abattoir, there were the dead bodies of some Legionaries hung in hooks, of which it is affirmed to be the bodies of some Jews killed by Legionaries. I reported what I found from Preda Petre to my engineer commandant Constantinescu Cristea and asked him what he thinks should be done. The Commandant answered me that he doesn’t know what we should do and to whom to report the findings, but before anything, such information needs to be verified. He recommended me to take the mini-van (a Skoda) with which we gathered our provisions of meat from the abattoir, and go there, at the abattoir, to find out the truth. I mention that at that time, I made frequent reports on technical subjects, for the magazine "Broken Wings-Romanian Wings", led by commandant Emil Garleanu (relative with the writer by the same name), who had become a general. I left with the driver, a soldier on guard, who knew the abattoir well, where we arrived and entered through the main gate, saying that we were only there to get meat for our people, like usual. We then entered, and we noticed that almost nobody was working, everybody walking around, from group to group, they talked nervously, with gravity in their voice. I tried to start a discussion with them, but they seemed to pull away, and when I asked them if it was true that, somewhere, in the butchery, there were some people, some Jews, hung in hooks, they wouldn’t answer. They told me to be more discreet and prudent. One of them, whom the others called "Mister Vasile" and who was the head of one of the teams of butchers, answered me: "Yes, sir, but they’re not Jews, they’re Romanians!" The driver who came with me knew him and introduced us: his name was Stoica Vasile. He showed me the direction in which the bodies were and told me to not be seen by the bosses of the abattoir or by their men. At about 50 meters I found the spot, where I arrived alone, without anyone. I counted the bodies hung in hooks, they were 11 or 21, I forgot the exact number, I only know it ends in 1. Near the wall there was another pile of bodies, with their clothes dirty with mud and blood. The bodies hung in hooks had coats on them, one still with the hat on (a simple, peasant, fur hat). I moved the coat a little on the first three bodies and I saw each one’s mortal wound, from which blood had flown and had stained the clothing. The third body had a green, Legionary shirt underneath his coat. I didn’t touch the other bodies, and I returned to the driver. He was talking to Mister Vasile, whom I asked: "Mister Vasile, who are these people?" He answered that they are Legionaries shot by the army, that around the abattoir more Legionaries had been shot, and that these Legionaries were gathered form the street by trustworthy people of the bosses of the abattoir, at their command, and gathered in the abattoir, where they were hung in hooks and declared Jews killed by Legionaries. I am restating the words of Vasile Stoica: "They are not Jews, sir, they are Legionaries shot by Antonescu, and the Jews from the abattoir, with the help of their men, pulled them from the street into the abattoir, they hung them in the hooks and are claiming they are Jews." I mention that at that time, the abattoir was an administrative society, controlled by Jews. Mister Vasile also mentioned: "Our Jews, who lead the abattoir." Also, I mention that I told the driver that, if he wanted, to go and see for himself the people hung in hooks, but Mister Vasile stopped him, telling him it’s not good, since some of the "people upstairs" noticed the movement we have made and are now watching us. I asked Mister Vasile if he was willing to declare the things that happened at the abattoir for other people as well, in case it would ever be necessary. He said he agreed, and he gave me his address –he lived by the abattoir, on the Splai, and after that I visited him many times and we became friends. I found out that after that, the Army removed the bodies from the abattoir and took them in the forest Padurea Plumbuita. My visit to the abattoir took about 15-20 minutes. When I left, I took a load of meat for my troop, more pork bellies than anything else.
When I returned to the base, I went to the commandant and I told him what happened. The commandant considered that it is his job to report this further. I retreated from his office and went into the mounting room, in the main hangar. An hour and a half later, the commandant came to me and told me that he had called the Council of Ministers, at Horia Sima’s office, and asked to talk to him. They told him: "Comrade Horia Sima no longer exists, nobody knows where he is." I mention that in the following days, the rumor about the killing and the hanging of the Jews in the abattoir went around, but nobody took it seriously. Even the simplest women from the Bucharest crowd kept asking "why don’t the Jews tell Antonescu about the happenings?" I mention that I wasn’t a member of the Legionary Movement, but, similarly to many colleagues of mine from the aviation, we sympathized, as a Romanian and a Christian, the ideas of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu. Also, I mention that I was condemned after 1944 for "the crime of going against social order" and I went to prison for 11 years. I met Vasile Stoica many times after that, the last time, I think, being in 1970. He had a boy who may still be alive. I mention that I met Professor Ion Coja on the day of December 20th, 2003, when I met him to tell the above happenings. The meeting was disturbed my Mister Neagoe Nicolae Mateescu and Dogaru Victor-Dorian, to whom I told the happenings from the abattoir and agreed that I have to tell this to Professor Ion Coja as well, whom I knew from TV. I agreed to meet with him and tell him all of this paper, which I sign fully aware of its importance. I give the present declaration to serve anywhere it may be needed.
Printed and signed in 6 copies. |
. severely damaging their physical and mental integrity
