Story of Romania [individual assignment]
STORY OF ROMANIA
A general public movement in Romania grew into a large-scale and violent uprising. Under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the people of Romania were oppressed through intimidation and strict control. Ceausescu always encouraged dissent among the people by targeting ethnic minorities as the cause of hardships.
The Romanian Revolution started in December of 1989 in the city of Timișoara when a Hungarian pastor spoke out against regime policies. This was followed by military crackdowns and violence against the public. The public reacted with protests that quickly spread and soon, “the entire country was literally up in arms – of 40 provinces, well over 30 of them were engulfed in a popular revolt. The word of one uprising spread from region to region, and people shed their fear of the authorities and rose up.”
Ceausescu refused to make any concessions in response to the public demonstrations and ordered the military to take actions necessary to break the spirit of the protestors. Military forces opened fire on civilians and more than a thousand people died. The protestors did not back down and many in the military switched from supporting the dictator to backing the protests.
With the loss of military support and the active rebellion of the people, Nicolae Ceausescu was forced to flee with his wife. He was soon captured and promptly convicted by a military tribunal. Ceausescu and his wife were then sentenced to the death penalty and executed by a firing squad. The meeting of the tribunal was broadcasted on TV. This was the only case in the revolutions of Eastern Europe during this time period when the highest representative of the communist regime was convicted by a military trial and executed.
Expert questions
1. What are the facts of the case?
2. What was the outcome?
3. What factors appear to have been significant in the outcome? Explain your reasoning.
4. What does each of the cases (Poland, Czech Republic, Romania and Ukraine) have in common?
5. How are the cases (Poland, Czech Republic, Romania and Ukraine) different?
6. What can be learned from both the similarities and differences of the cases?