Timisoara 1989

In 1989 the communist systems collapsed in Eastern Europe, especially Hungary and Poland. In November the Berlin Wall fell, in the same month the “soft revolution” took place in Prague, and in December 1989 the Ceauşescu system in Romania was overthrown, albeit violently. The starting point of the uprising was the city of Timisoara in the Banat. The large number of victims (376 dead and injured), many of whom were young adults, gave Timisoara the nickname “City of Martyrs”. On December 15, 1989, a handful of Timisoara citizens with vigils prevented the forced relocation of the reformed pastor of the Josefstadt parish, László Tökés. One day later, thousands were demonstrating for more democratic freedoms and the overthrow of the Ceauşescu dictatorship. The revolt spread across the country in a few days and led to the fall of the communist regime. Using photographs, press articles and manuscripts, the exhibition documents the decisive turning points of the revolution in Romania and the first free city of Timişoara / Timisoara.