During the Great Depression he participated in the protests organized by the Romanian Communist Party in Bucharest, afterwards being forced by the Siguranța (Romania's secret police) to move back to his native town. He returned to Bucharest in 1931, and in 1933 was admitted into the then-illegal Communist Party.
During a time of economic hardship, he participated in protests led by the Romanian Communist Party in Bucharest, but was later pressured into returning home by the secret police. He resumed his life in Bucharest in 1931 and eventually became part of the Communist Party in 1933.