Richard Wurmbrand, also known as Nicolai Ionescu was a Romanian Evangelical Lutheran priest, and professor of Jewish descent. In 1948, having become a Christian ten years before, he publicly said Communism and Christianity were incompatible. Wurmbrand preached at bomb shelters and rescued Jews during World War II. He experienced imprisonment and torture by the Communist regime of Romania, which maintained a policy of state atheism.
Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand
Wurmbrand in prison
Gherla Prison is a penitentiary located in the Romanian city of Gherla, in Cluj County. The prison dates from 1785; it is infamous for the treatment of its political inmates, especially during the Communist regime. In Romanian slang the generic word for a prison is "gherlă", after the institution.
Gherla Prison, circa 1918
Detail from the Icon of the New Martyrs of the Romanian Land (at Diaconești Monastery in Agăș), showing political detainees being tortured at Gherla Prison