The weeks before Christmas 1989 are deeply engrained in the memories of Romanians who were alive at the time — and nowhere more so than in the city of Timisoara, where the Romanian revolution began 35 years ago this week.
DW spoke to three people who remember this turbulent period in modern Romanian history.
Photojournalist Constantin Duma was in Timisoara when the civil unrest began. His photos bear witness to the early days of the revolution that brought an end to 42 years of communist rule in Romania.
Dr. Gino Rado is head of the Memorial of the Revolution in Timisoara. He wants to keep knowledge of the events of December 1989 alive and to pass it on to those who were not yet born when the revolution unfolded.
In his free time, Vlad Stefan works as a city guide in Timisoara, sharing his love of the history of the westernmost city in Romania.
Read the video script here:
This is Timisoara, the westernmost city in Romania.
It was here that the Romanian revolution began 35 years ago.
It was here that the death knell sounded for the 24-year communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu.
Vlad Stefan is a city guide in Timisoara. Today, he takes us to some of the most important sites of the revolution.
Vlad Stefan, Timisoara Free Tours
We begin our tour at the place where the revolution began, at the Reformed Church where Laszlo Tokes was pastor. He tried to be close to the people with his sermons, in which he spoke out against the communist regime.
When word got out that Tokes was to be transferred to a different parish, people gathered in protest. The next day, December 16, many more came. They marched through the streets chanting "Down with communism! Down with Ceausescu!"
"Freedom 1989" is the name of an exhibition by photojournalist Constantin Duma. He was in Timisoara in December 1989 when Ceausescu commanded the army to open fire.
Constantin Duma, Photojournalist
Here you can see a military vehicle. From here, the first ammunition — live ammunition — was distributed at about 4 in the afternoon. The first fatalities of the revolution came shortly after 4 p.m.
Duma recorded what he saw with his camera, risking his life in the process.
Constantin Duma, Photojournalist
I took photos because I saw that something special was happening. I saw it as my duty. I tried to keep my material as safe as possible, because I didn't know what would happen.
Gino Rado, head of the Memorial of the Revolution, was also on the streets of Timisoara that day.
Dr. Gino Rado, President of the Memorial of the Revolution
They responded with such brutality in order to scare us. They shot at us. We became more radical. Friends, family members, colleagues died. But we refused to be stopped.
The revolution that began in Timisoara spread quickly: first to a few cities, then across the country. Many lost their lives.
This is the Opera House on Victory Square, the most important site of the revolution.
Vlad Stefan, Timisoara Free Tours
On December 20, 1989, protesters managed to occupy this square. It is estimated that tens of thousands — if not 100,000 people — were there. On the balcony of the Opera House, a group of protesters founded the Romanian Democratic Committee of Timisoara and declared the city free of communism.
Something many people considered impossible was actually happening. The dictator and his wife fled, were captured and executed after a hasty trial. Romania's communist regime had been overthrown.
Thirty-five years on, how do Romanians today view the 1989 revolution?
Dr. Gino Rado, President of the Memorial of the Revolution
It was an incomplete revolution because after 1989, the Communists assumed power again. We expect Romanian politicians to finally understand that we really want politicians who consider what is best for the country.
Today, the political situation in Romania is more tense than it has been in many years. Some are even saying that the time for a new revolution has come.