Label
2024, "Beyond the Iron Curtain: Visions from the Cold War"
Nicolae Ceauşescu, the communist party dictator of Romania, implemented policies that caused the suffering of Romanian people for years, leading to the Romanian Revolution in December 1989. These riots resulted in the death of over 1,000 civilians, the execution of Ceauşescu, and power taken by the democratic National Salvation Front. This photograph was taken the day after the execution and transition of power. It shows a young man turned away from the camera, holding the Romanian flag with the center cut out, before a crowd of civilians scattered among parked military vehicles. As an act of revolution, protesters removed the communist symbol from the flag to represent their desire for change. Turnley’s framing hints at a sense of uncertainty over the future of Romania after communism. This revolution was one of many which led to the collapse of communism in the Eastern bloc and the end of the Cold War.
Text by Kelli Cummings, Washburn student