Scholar Interviews

Maria Bucur: Is there one moment that stands out in your experience?

Transcription

I have a hard time with saying one moment sticks in my mind more than another because I always think that it’s a combination, especially in the case of the revolutions of ’89, there’s a combination of factors that brings about this explosion, But I have to say, ultimately if I have to pick one, it’s the opening of the Hungarian border with Austria. That I think that is to me the turning point where basically you have an opening of an opportunity for people to vote with their feet and to just get out. They don’t have to express themselves inside of Eastern Europe in opposition. They just leave and so, of course, when you have, you know, hundreds of thousands of people doing that, it becomes a very important moment and movement and there’s a real effect to it. It’s not just, you know, a speech or a symbolic act. It has real effect.

How to Cite

Maria Bucur, interview, "Is there one moment that stands out in your experience?." Making the History of 1989, Item #601 (accessed May 28 2021, 3:26 pm)