My Second University: Memories from Romanian Communist Prisons

How does one adjust to undeserved captivity, survive, attempt to return to normalcy, and succeed? My Second University tells that story, one with universal resonance, reminding us of the strength of the human spirit when faced with adversity.

Stanciu Stroia, M.D. (1904-1987), was president of his medical school class, a pioneer in internal medicine, and a hospital director. Following the Communist takeover of Romania in 1945, he refused to join the party, suffering professional humiliation and political persecution. He was arrested in 1951 and sentenced to seven years in prison; his estate was nationalized, his family exiled, and his practice confiscated. Ill with scurvy, he survived the prison ordeal and wrote his memoir, despite the risk of being detained again.

"Stanciu Stroia's fortitude is astonishing... My Second University has an important place in the prison literature published since 1989."
--Keith Hitchins

My Second University serves as a voice for the entire Stalinist generation and adds to the body of evidence against the Red Holocaust. It is a documentary written in memory of all of the forgotten victims of Romania's Communist prisons, who never had the chance to tell their stories.

With thirty-six pages of photographs and one thousand names of political detainees.