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Berlin Wall Trabant
This painting by Birgit Kinder is on a segment of the Berlin Wall that was on the east bank of the Spree River that separated portions of East and West Berlin. Because this section of the wall was on the opposite shore of the river, it was not covered by graffiti as was the case with the rest of the west face of the Wall (accessible to West Berliners). After the reunification of East and West….
Facial Recognition Manual
If they wanted to keep out spies, security personnel on both sides of the Berlin Wall had to become sophisticated readers of facial features. This manual, prepared by the East German border police as a training text for their front line guards, shows the reader how to recognize someone from telling facial features. Notice how the reader is directed to pay attention not to the entire face, but….
Forty Years of Making Vehicles
This plate is typical of the sort of commemorative object given to workers in factories all across Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union prior to 1989. In this particular case, the plate commemorates forty years of making motor vehicles in Gotha, East Germany. Workers were often expected to display objects such as this in their homes as a sign that they were proud of their personal productivity….
Two Lenins (profile)
These busts of Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov), the first leader of the Soviet Union, are but two samples of thousands of different versions of Lenin's likeness. Both are copies of the same plaster bust, approximately two feet in height. Across the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and other states led by Communist parties, busts, statues, reliefs, and other likenesses of Lenin were ubiquitous….
Do You Know This Woman?
Throughout the Cold War both sides regularly sent agents across the border, both to gather information that might be useful and to test the ability of the guardians of the border to catch agents of the other side. The images shown here are from copies made by border guards in East Berlin during the final years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Although the names and biographical data in these….
Two Lenins
These busts of Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov), the first leader of the Soviet Union, are but two samples of thousands of different versions of Lenin's likeness. Both are copies of the same plaster bust, approximately two feet in height. Across the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and other states led by Communist parties, busts, statues, reliefs, and other likenesses of Lenin were ubiquitous….
Gunter Schabowski Press Conference
Schabowski, the spokesman for the East German Communist Party Politburo, played a vital role in the toppling of the East German Communist government in the fall of 1989. During a press conference on November 9, 1989, a reporter asked him about new travel regulations issued by the government that seemed to indicate the possibility of easier travel into West Berlin through the Berlin Wall.….
Ballad of the Striking Miners: Ballada Strajkujacych Gornikow!
The image here is a picture taken of one of the circulated copies of the "Ballad of the Striking Workers." Referenced in Padraic Kenney's scholarly interview segment "Does This Poem Explain the Strike?," this ballad (and many others like it) were used effectively by Solidarity in its campaign to popularize its anti-governmental….
The Power of the Powerless
Vaclav Havel wrote this work in 1979. The essay begins the intellectual attacks that Havel, the future President of a democratic Czechoslovakia, made against the Communist regime controlling his country. Rather than rely solely on political arguments, Havel argues here that, in fact, cultivating an individual "sphere of truth" will ultimately destroy the totalitarian communist government. ….
Solidarity Poster - "High Noon 4 June 1989"
One of the most famous and powerful images of the Solidarity campaign was the combination of this iconic American figure (Gary Cooper in the western movie, "High Noon") with Solidarity text and images. Note that the image as Cooper wearing a Solidarity badge on his chest and carrying Solidarity ballot in his hand. The attraction of this figure lies in its ability to combine an American image,….
Letter of the Six, March 1989
In March of 1989, six prominent members of the Romanian Communist Party sent Nicolae Ceauşescu an open letter which was also leaked to the international press. In it they explicitly disagreed with his policies and suggested a number of reforms. In the context of numbing propaganda and relatively little overt resistance to his regime the letter seemed a bold move, in line with other reformers….
Grafitti from the Romanian Streets, December 1989-January 1990
In February 1990, the ethnographer Irina Nicolau and a few friends, printed 250 copies of Ne-a luat valul [On the Crest of the Wave], the first book published in Romania about the 1989 Revolution. Included were 141 pieces of graffiti from December 1989-January 1990. This brochure was produced by Nicolau in 1999, when she served as director of the Museum of the Romanian Peasant….
Video of Ceausescu’s Last Speech, December 1989
One of the most decisive moments in the Romanian Revolution of 1989 was Ceausescu’s December 21st speech (or lack thereof). This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. Workers, military units and other popular organizations were bused to the capitol and given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and….
Romania and Its Neighbors
One of the more challenging parts of teaching Romania is the relative unfamiliarity of many Americans with the geography of the places in Eastern Europe, especially the Balkans. Having some grounding in 'where' things are happening leads to better understanding of why and how things are happening. Thus, a good place to begin any study of Eastern Europe is to show students a map of the….
Birth and Death in Romania, October 1986
In the last years of the regime, Pavel Câmpeanu, a prominent sociologist and a lifelong leftist and former prison cellmate of Nicoale Ceauşescu during World War II managed to smuggle out this article, which was published in The New York Review of Books. For his safety, the editors did not publish his name since it was known that the Romanian secret service was quick to punish, even….
Telegram from the Minister of Foreign Affairs to all Embassies, December 1989
As the confrontation in Timisoara continued, the Romanian government tried to stonewall in its diplomatic contacts, and thus control the flow of information, in the hope that the repression unleashed against protesters would succeed in pacifying the rebels and then the dictatorship could resume business as usual. Personnel in all Romanian embassies around the world were asked to a) pretend that….
Minutes of the Meeting between Nicolae Ceausescu and Mikhail Gorbachev, December 1989
The seemingly cordial conversation between the Soviet and Romanian communist leaders less than two weeks before the troubles started in Timişoara provides evidence of the wide differences between them. Ceauşescu wields the formulas of orthodox socialism, while Gorbachev tries to point him toward modernization, change, flexibility, and listening to the wishes of the Romanian people. Ceauşescu….
The Timişoara Proclamation, March 1990
Written on March 11, 1990, the Timisoara Proclamation, was a 13-point document that called for continuing to build on the victory over the communist dictatorship achieved in December 16-20, 1989. The Timsoreni expressed frustration that their efforts had been marginalized by the new regime in Bucharest although they alone had confronted the Ceausescu government courageously before others joined….
Transcript of the closed "trial" of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu, December, 1989
Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu fled from Bucharest by helicopter on December 22, but the pilot soon landed, claiming that they would be fired upon. The couple then hijacked a car but they were recognized, chased and caught by local police in Tirgoviste. Ion Iliescu announced on national television the next day that the Ceausescus had been arrested, and he said, “The time will come for their just….