Timișoara - The first Romanian city liberated from communism

In December 1989, the dictatorial regime of N. Ceaușescu was overthrown and the spark that started the revolution was Timișoara, the city where solidarity with the reformed pastor Laszlo Tokes turned into an uprising against Ceaușescu.

The residents of Timișoara overcame their fear on December 16, 1989, when at about 6:00 p.m. they stopped a tram in Sf. Maria Square and shouted for the first time the slogans "Down with Ceaușescu!" and "Freedom!".

New days of protests followed, which were cruelly suppressed. On December 17, bullets were fired at those gathered in front of the cathedral in Timișoara, and on December 20, workers from all the factories in the city went out into the streets and occupied the area between the cathedral and Opera Square. Thousands shouted "Down with Ceaușescu!", "Down with the dictator!" and "Today in Timișoara, tomorrow in the whole country!". By December 22, the day N. Ceaușescu fled by helicopter from the Central Committee building in Bucharest, 73 people had lost their lives and become victims of repression.

Excerpt from Nelepcu, Raluca. Ereignisse der Revolution von 1989. In ADZ (14.12.2019). URL:  https://adz.ro/lokales/artikel-lokales/artikel/ereignisse-der-revolution-von-1989 [15.12.2022].

Author: Nicolae Șerban

Translator: Nicole Olariu