Figure 1.--This is a Romanian Pioneer group in August 1960. They are mnot wearing uniforms. We are mnot entirely sure why. The Pioneer uniform in Romania and other Communist countries was basically the school uniform reflecting the fact that the Pioneer movement was a school-based priogram so tha it could be controlled by the Party. There is some writing on the back. We cannot make out all of the words. Tabara may mean camp. I am not sure what Predeal means. What we find rather amazing is that given the size of the movement (virtually all Romanian school children) and four decades of operation, we are able to find so few Pioneer photographs, not only in Romania, but throughout Soviet-occupied Eastern Europe.

In the final year of the War, the Soviet Red Army entered and occupied Romania (1944). Scouters attempted to revive the Scouting movement, but this proved politically dangerous. The Communist Government forced on Romania by the occupying Soviets set up the Young Pioner movement--a mandatory Communist group. Alternative youth groups were outlawed. As in the Soviet Union, the Pioneers were a school based youth group. We have been unable to find much information about the Pioneer movement in Romania. Given the number of children involved and the four decades that the Communists controlled Romania, the small number of available images seems remarkable. It was a mandatory movement and just like school, all children had to participate. The Pioneers as a school-based group basically used the school uniform as the youth group uniform. The communist regime by 1948 had firmly installed itself in Romania and had reimposed school uniforms The school unform regulations became stricter. Students were not alowed to participate in classes without the appropriate school uniform. Each school uniform had to have the record number and the name of the institution where the student was attending sewed on it for identification. The unifom consisted of Pioneer caps (white for primary school students and black for secondary school students), white long sleeved shirts, dark blue linen trousers/skirts. We have noted different colors over time. A red knecershief was added and the edges decorated with the Romanian flag. It was tightened with a plastic accessory (woggle). The overthrow of Communism resulted in the collapse of the Pioneer Movement which had no real support outside of the Communist Party (1989).