Wurmbrand, who passed through the penal facilities of Craiova, Gherla, the Danube – Black Sea Canal, Văcăreşti, Malmaison, Cluj, and ultimately Jilava, spent three years in solitary confinement.
In 1930 he created a hugely successful studio theater BITS ("Bukareshter Yidishe Teater-Studiye"), housed in Bucharest's Jewish quarter Văcăreşti, that played a prominent role in the development of modern trends in European theater.