Spy Artist Prisoner – George Tomaziu 

Published By: Envelope Books
Pages: 232
Released On: 03/03/2022

Romania allied itself with the Nazis in the Second World War to protect itself from the Soviet Union and to promote its own brand of fascist nationalism.

When George Tomaziu, who had spent the 1930s preparing for a career as an artist, was invited to spy for Britain, he agreed because Britain then represented the only possible bulwark against Nazism. He went on to monitor German troop movements through Romania towards the Russian front, observing, on one occasion, the mass-killing of Jews in the small Ukrainian town of Brailov.

He knew he might be arrested, tortured and killed by Romania’s rightwing regime but thought that if he survived, his contribution to the war effort would be recognised. It wasn’t. After Romania turned Communist, he was sent back to prison in 1950 and kept him there for 13 years. Following his release, the British helped him get out of Romania and he settled in Paris.

This is his memoir.

*****

Thanks to Envelope Books for the gifted copy of this title in return for an honest review.

When I was first gifted this book, I didn’t realise it was a non-fiction. I went into it expecting a fictional story, and so that took me by surprise. But it could have been a fiction. It read like one. It has everything we expect frrom a fiction and the goings on are so unbelievable that it’s hard to believe it’s really true. As with all War-related books, I struggle to accept that we could do such things in reality.

Romania is not a country I tend to think about when thinking about WW2 and communism and whatnot, so that was an interesting angle for me, and got me thinking about other countries that may have been swept under the rug.

I enjoyed some bits more than others, some bits felt a little slower than others – that may be due to the translation, or it could just be that it was a relatively quieter time in the book. But on the positive, those quieter moments give you time to catch your breath, so explosive are the faster bits. that you need time to sit there and take it all in.

George doesn’t hold back, he’s left everything in there, good and bad, and it’s very powerful. You think you’ve heard everything about prisoners during the War, and then someone else’s story comes out and you really feel the power within the story. 

I stopped studying history in 2007, but casting my mind back, I don’t recall ever hearing about George or the experiences in his country. All stories are vital. The ones we read about concentration camps, about the battles in the East – every book about the war and its aftermath is important, and I will continue to read them all, fiction or otherwise, but I am surprised that this memoir and the story behind it isn’t better known. Because I think it’s equally as vital, especially when learning about the Iron Curtain and the Soviets.

I don’t know much about fascism and communism, I will admit, so was completely blind coming into this, and it was interesting to read as well as being factual. It’s quite heavy at times as all historical memoirs can be, but it’s an enjoyable read.

You can really tell he’s lived this. Anyone can write about historical elements in a factual way, but to put so much emotion in the way boiled cabbage smells, for example, you can’t get that kind of emotion without personal experience.

It’s not a book you can really write an in-depth review about. It’s not a book I can really do justice to. It’s a book that you have to feel, and you have to have it in hand to do so. It’s not an easy book, in fact it’s quite difficult at times, but if you want an interesting read, an emotional read, a read of hope and how humanity can strive even in the darkest of times, then this memoir is for you.