Vasile Popşa

Resistance Fighter. He was the leader of the armed resistance against the Communist regime between 1948 through 1949 in Maramureş, a region in northern Romania. Born into a family with seven children, he was educated locally, and had a childhood in a country of political unrest. In 1940, after Northern Transylvania was ceded to Hungary, high school students in Sighet were forced to continue their studies using the Hungarian language because there was no other alternative, yet most knew little or no Hungarian. These students were physically punished for not being able speak Hungarian. This made them leave home for a Romanian school to be educated as refugees. After entering a trade school, he became involved in politics, joining a Legionary Movement. After arrests were made within the group, he escaped to the mountains, forming an anti-communist resistance group of 108 members, "Popsa Group." Although the group had many supporters in the villages, he later learned that massive arrests