Surveillance photos of Greek Catholic bishop Ioan Dragomir Romania
Item
Title
Surveillance photos of Greek Catholic bishop Ioan Dragomir Romania
România - Fotografii de supraveghere ale Episcopului Greco-Catolic Ioan Dragomir
Description
These three pages of photo collages represent three instances in which Greek Catholic Bishop Ioan Dragomir was captured by secret police surveillance shortly after his release from prison in 1966. They all come from Dragomir’s individual file that extends to ten volumes.
The first two collages are of photographs taken in stake out operations by Securitate officers from Maramureș county at the request of the central offices of the secret police. The officers had been instructed to map the network of persons Bishop Dragomir had contact with in his daily activities. These images consist of two types of photographs.
The first collage is comprised of photographs where the camera (in the hands of the officer) is mobile and follows Bishop Dragomir after leaving his house. This page of images offers a visual story for the textual report submitted by the officer. One can discover by looking at the photographs frame by frame when the bishop leaves the house, who he meets, who he walks and talks with and the places he visits (the Roman Catholic parish house, the Roman Catholic Church, the market, the shop, the restaurant and the train station). The Bishop was in most cases aware of the surveillance and thus he takes all types of precautions to hide his activity from the secret police officers. When the officer was close enough, dialogue was added to the visual material. The persons that the bishop met were one by one tracked down and also placed under surveillance. They are initially known by aliases in the file and gradually, as the officers learn more about the individuals, the file includes more thorough descriptions of their age, workplace and behaviour.
The second type of collage is focused on the intimate daily activities of Bishop Dragomir. His family is tracked in their meetings with the “subject” and his visits to family members are recorded. The pictures in this collage present the bishop with his niece Maria Pop.
The third collage, part of volume seven of the individual file captures bishop Dragomir’s funeral. The officers photographed the participants, counted them and then placed them under surveillance also. Bishop Dragomir was the oldest of the underground bishops and his funeral was an event for the Greek Catholic Church and thus the secret police followed it closely and recorded even minute details about the attendance and the funeral ceremony.
The three photo collages are part of CNSAS file I3560 volumes 2 and 7. Pages of photograph-collages can be found all throughout the 10 volume file along with reports of surveillance, biographies of the persons that belonged to Bishop Dragomir’s network and descriptions of meeting places.
The first two collages are of photographs taken in stake out operations by Securitate officers from Maramureș county at the request of the central offices of the secret police. The officers had been instructed to map the network of persons Bishop Dragomir had contact with in his daily activities. These images consist of two types of photographs.
The first collage is comprised of photographs where the camera (in the hands of the officer) is mobile and follows Bishop Dragomir after leaving his house. This page of images offers a visual story for the textual report submitted by the officer. One can discover by looking at the photographs frame by frame when the bishop leaves the house, who he meets, who he walks and talks with and the places he visits (the Roman Catholic parish house, the Roman Catholic Church, the market, the shop, the restaurant and the train station). The Bishop was in most cases aware of the surveillance and thus he takes all types of precautions to hide his activity from the secret police officers. When the officer was close enough, dialogue was added to the visual material. The persons that the bishop met were one by one tracked down and also placed under surveillance. They are initially known by aliases in the file and gradually, as the officers learn more about the individuals, the file includes more thorough descriptions of their age, workplace and behaviour.
The second type of collage is focused on the intimate daily activities of Bishop Dragomir. His family is tracked in their meetings with the “subject” and his visits to family members are recorded. The pictures in this collage present the bishop with his niece Maria Pop.
The third collage, part of volume seven of the individual file captures bishop Dragomir’s funeral. The officers photographed the participants, counted them and then placed them under surveillance also. Bishop Dragomir was the oldest of the underground bishops and his funeral was an event for the Greek Catholic Church and thus the secret police followed it closely and recorded even minute details about the attendance and the funeral ceremony.
The three photo collages are part of CNSAS file I3560 volumes 2 and 7. Pages of photograph-collages can be found all throughout the 10 volume file along with reports of surveillance, biographies of the persons that belonged to Bishop Dragomir’s network and descriptions of meeting places.
Aceste trei pagini de colaje foto reprezintă trei cazuri în care episcopul greco-catolic Ioan Dragomir a fost fotografiat în cadrul supravegherii poliției secrete la scurt timp după eliberarea sa din închisoare, în anul 1966. Toate provin din dosarul individual al lui Dragomir care se întinde în zece volume.
Primele două colaje sunt fotografii realizate în cadrul operațiunilor de filaj realizate de către ofițerii de securitate din județul Maramureș la cererea oficiilor centrale ale poliției secrete. Ofițerii au fost instruiți să cartografieze rețeaua de persoane cu care a avut contact episcopul Dragomir în activitățile sale zilnice. Aceste imagini constau din două tipuri de fotografii. Primul colaj este format din fotografii în care camera (în mâinile ofițerului) este mobilă și îl urmărește pe episcopul Dragomir după ce a părăsit casa. Această pagină de imagini oferă o poveste vizuală pentru raportul textual trimis de ofițer. Se poate descoperi privind fotografiile cadru cu cadru când episcopul iese din casă, cu cine se întâlnește, cu cine merge și vorbește și locurile pe care le vizitează (casa parohială romano-catolică, Biserica romano-catolică, piața, magazinul, restaurantul și gara). Episcopul a fost în majoritatea cazurilor conștient de supraveghere și, prin urmare, ia toate tipurile de precauții pentru a-și ascunde activitatea față de ofițerii de securitate. Când ofițerul era suficient de aproape, dialogul este adăugat materialului vizual. Persoanele pe care episcopul le-a întâlnit au fost urmărite rând pe rând și, de asemenea, plasate sub supraveghere. Acestea sunt cunoscute inițial prin pseudonimele din dosar și treptat, pe măsură ce ofițerii află mai multe despre persoane, dosarul include descrieri mai amănunțite ale vârstei, locului de muncă și comportamentului lor.
Al doilea tip de colaj este axat pe activitățile zilnice intime ale episcopului Dragomir. Familia sa este urmărită în întâlnirile lor cu „subiectul” și vizitele sale la membrii familiei sunt înregistrate. Imaginile din acest colaj îl prezintă pe episcop cu nepoata sa, Maria Pop.
Al treilea colaj, parte din volumul șapte al dosarului individual, surprinde înmormântarea episcopului Dragomir. Ofițerii i-au fotografiat pe participanți, i-au numărat și apoi i-au pus sub supraveghere. Episcopul Dragomir a fost cel mai ân vârstă dintre episcopii clandestini și înmormântarea sa a fost un eveniment pentru Biserica Greco-Catolică, astfel poliția secretă a urmărit-o îndeaproape și a înregistrat detalii chiar minuscule despre prezența și ceremonia funerară.
Cele trei colaje foto fac parte din dosarul CNSAS I3560 volumele 2 și 7. Pagini cu colaje fotografice pot fi găsite pe tot cuprinsul volumului 10 din dosar, împreună cu rapoarte de supraveghere, biografii ale persoanelor care au aparținut rețelei episcopului Dragomir și descrieri ale locurilor de întrunire.
Subject
Communism--Romania
Communism--Romania--History--20th century
Communism and religion
Catholic Church--Byzantine rite, Greek
Material culture--Religious aspects
Romania. Securitatea
Creator
Anca Sincan
Source
Consiliul Național pentru Studierea Arhivelor Securității (CNSAS) I0003560, volume 2, volume 7
Publisher
Date
1966-1985
Rights
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme No . 677355
Format
jpeg
Language
RO
Type
photo
Identifier
CNSAS, I0003560, volume 2, volume 7
Coverage
20th century, Romania
Bibliographic Citation
Anca Sincan, Surveillance photos of underground Greek Catholic bishop Ioan Dragomir
Date Created
2019
Item sets
photo collage surveillance 1.png 
photo collage surveillance 2.png 
photo collage surveillance funeral.png