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87-461: The prison began as Fort 13, part of the fortifications of Bucharest built in the 1870s and 1880s. It served as an arms deposit and garrison until 1907, when people arrested during the peasants' revolt were brought there. It then served as a military prison until 1948. It held soldiers charged with insubordination and civilians accused of military offenses. During World War I, it first held soldiers who refused mobilization and then, after occupation by

174-492: A Marxist–Leninist government in a Warsaw Pact country during the events of 1989, and the only one that violently overthrew a country's leadership and executed its leader; according to estimates, over one thousand people died and thousands more were injured. Following World War II , Romania found itself inside the Soviet sphere of influence , with Communist rule officially declared in 1947. In April 1964, when Romania published

261-568: A drumhead military tribunal on charges of genocide , damage to the national economy, and abuse of power to execute military actions against the Romanian people. They were convicted on all charges, sentenced to death, and immediately executed on Christmas Day 1989. They were the last people to be condemned to death and executed in Romania , as capital punishment was abolished soon after. For several days after Ceaușescu fled, many would be killed in

348-475: A brief hesitation. Stănculescu, however, ordered the troops back to their quarters without Ceaușescu's knowledge, and also persuaded Ceaușescu to leave by helicopter, thus making the dictator a fugitive. At that same moment angry protesters began storming the Communist Party headquarters ; Stănculescu and the soldiers under his command did not oppose them. By refusing to carry out Ceaușescu's orders (he

435-477: A defensible barricade in front of the Dunărea ("Danube") restaurant, which stood until after midnight, but was finally torn apart by government forces. Intense shooting continued until after 03:00, by which time the survivors had fled the streets. Records of the fighting that day include footage shot from helicopters that were sent to raid the area and record evidence for eventual reprisals, as well as by tourists in

522-457: A general policy paper worked out under Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej 's instructions, the country was well on its way of carefully breaking away from Soviet control . Nicolae Ceaușescu became the country's leader the following year. Under his rule, Romania experienced a brief waning of internal repression that led to a positive image both at home and in the West. However, repression again intensified by

609-612: A hard political line and cult of personality. The austerity programme started in 1981 and the widespread poverty it introduced made the Communist regime very unpopular. The austerity programmes were met with little resistance among Romanians and there were only a few strikes and labour disputes, of which the Jiu Valley miners' strike of 1977 and the Brașov Rebellion of November 1987 at the truck manufacturer Steagul Roșu were

696-503: A lost cause and made no effort to keep their men loyal to the regime. This effectively ended any chance of Ceaușescu staying in power. Accounts differ about how Milea died. His family and several junior officers believed he had been shot in his own office by the Securitate, while another group of officers believed he had committed suicide. In 2005 an investigation concluded that the minister killed himself by shooting at his heart, but

783-482: A political party, installed a series of economic and democratic reforms, with further social policy changes being implemented by later governments. In 1981, Ceaușescu began an austerity programme designed to enable Romania to liquidate its entire national debt ( US$ 10,000,000,000). To achieve this, many basic goods—including gas, heating and food—were rationed, which reduced the standard of living and increased malnutrition . The infant mortality rate grew to be

870-404: A public protest in response to an attempt by the government to evict Hungarian Reformed church Pastor László Tőkés . In July of that year, in an interview with Hungarian television, Tőkés had criticised the regime's Systematisation policy and complained that Romanians did not even know their human rights. As Tőkés described it later, the interview, which had been seen in the border areas and

957-581: A riot; the crowd took to the streets, placing the capital, like Timișoara, in turmoil. Members of the crowd spontaneously began shouting anti-Ceaușescu slogans, which spread and became chants: "Jos dictatorul!" ("Down with the dictator"), "Moarte criminalului!" ("Death to the criminal"), "Noi suntem poporul, jos cu dictatorul!" ("We are the people, down with the dictator"), "Ceaușescu cine ești?/Criminal din Scornicești" ("Ceaușescu, who are you? A criminal from Scornicești "). Protesters eventually flooded

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1044-623: A short introduction from Barbu Petrescu, the mayor of Bucharest and organiser of the rally, Ceaușescu began to speak from the balcony of the Central Committee building, greeting the crowd and thanking the organisers of the rally and the residents of Bucharest. Just over a minute into the speech, a high-pitched scream was heard in the distance. Within seconds, this developed into widespread shouting and screaming, as Ceaușescu looked on while speaking. A few seconds later, he ceased speaking completely, raised his right hand and stared silently at

1131-488: The Communist regime , the prison was one of transit and triage for "counter-revolutionaries": members of banned political parties, Guardists, spies, accused war criminals and members of anti-Communist organizations. It had a small women's section isolated from the rest. The detainees were held for several months awaiting trial and transfer to other prisons or labor camps, or were brought from other prisons for interrogation by

1218-538: The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 . Expecting that they would be fired upon, they started to sing " Deșteaptă-te, române! " ( "Awaken thee, Romanian!" ), an earlier patriotic song that had been banned in 1947 (but then partially co-opted by the Ceaușescu regime once he fashioned himself as a nationalist). Ethnic Hungarian protesters also chanted "Români, veniți cu noi!" ("Romanians, come with us", to convey that

1305-962: The Iron Guard , who killed 64 officials who had served under King Carol II . Part of the Guard members arrested in January 1941 during the Legionnaires' rebellion were sent to Jilava. In May 1946, the accused war criminals tried by the Romanian People's Tribunals were incarcerated at Jilava, including Ion Antonescu , Mihai Antonescu , Constantin Pantazi , Eugen Cristescu , and Radu Lecca . Both Antonescus were executed there on June 1, along with Gheorghe Alexianu and Constantin Vasiliu  [ ro ] . Between 1948 and 1964, under

1392-616: The Ottoman Empire , undertook this enormous effort in keeping with the prevailing military doctrine of the day, which said the capital city should be defended at all costs. In case of invasion, Bucharest was to be the point of retreat, but also the place where significant military operations would begin, spreading from the Danube to the Carpathians . At the beginning of the 20th century, chemical and aeronautical advances rendered

1479-696: The Prague Spring —an invasion Ceaușescu openly denounced —while Romanian athletes competed at the Soviet-boycotted 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (receiving a standing ovation at the opening ceremonies and proceeding to win 53 medals, trailing only the United States and West Germany in the overall count). Conversely, while Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev spoke of reform, Ceaușescu maintained

1566-546: The Securitate secret police. Arriving detainees had to run a gauntlet of guards armed with bats and other weapons; after being beaten on the head and elsewhere, their clothes were inspected while they sat naked on the cement floor. They were then thoroughly inspected for contraband in every bodily orifice. Once in the cells, new prisoners would sleep on the floor, rising to the first and then the second bunk as spaces opened up. One bucket contained water for washing while another

1653-548: The Securitate , which was both one of the largest in the Eastern Bloc and for decades had been the main suppressor of popular dissent, frequently and violently quashing political disagreement, ultimately proved incapable of stopping the looming, and then highly fatal and successful revolt. Social and economic malaise had been present in the Socialist Republic of Romania for quite some time, especially during

1740-502: The 1970s. Amid tensions in the late 1980s, early protests occurred in the city of Timișoara in mid-December on the part of the Hungarian minority in response to an attempt by the government to evict Hungarian Reformed Church pastor László Tőkés . In response, Romanians sought the deposition of Ceaușescu and a change in government in light of similar recent events in neighbouring nations. The country's ubiquitous secret police force,

1827-590: The Central Powers, Romanian prisoners of war. Members of the fledgling Romanian Communist Party were taken there in 1921 and after it was outlawed in 1924. During the Grivița strike of 1933 , several communists were sent to Jilava, including Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej , Chivu Stoica , Alexandru Drăghici , and Gheorghe Vasilichi . On the night of November 25/26, 1940, the Jilava massacre was carried out by members of

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1914-774: The Communist Party was enshrined in their constitutions and the party militia was active. The lone exception was Hungary, where, in October 1989, the leading role of the party was rescinded from the constitution and the party militia was abolished. However, very soon after Ceaușescu's reelection, the other communist regimes in the Warsaw Pact began to crumble as well. The party militia was abolished in Poland on 23 November and then in Bulgaria on 25 November. The leading role of

2001-518: The Communist insignia cut out quickly became widespread. As the hours passed many more people took to the streets. Later, observers claimed that even at this point, had Ceaușescu been willing to talk, he might have been able to salvage something. Instead, he decided on force. Soon the protesters—unarmed and unorganised—were confronted by soldiers, tanks, APCs, USLA troops ( Unitatea Specială pentru Lupta Antiteroristă , anti-terrorist special squads) and armed plainclothes Securitate officers. The crowd

2088-541: The German Army was approaching Bucharest, the forts had already been abandoned, and the city was taken without much difficulty. Today, the military has abandoned most of the forts. Stray dogs seek shelter in some of them; storage space and mushroom-growing facilities are other reported uses. During the Communist era , Fort 18 in Chiajna was used as a pickled goods market. However, the military still employs some of

2175-553: The Opera, there was wild shooting, including the area of Decebal bridge, Calea Lipovei (Lipovei Avenue) and Calea Girocului (Girocului Avenue). Tanks, trucks and TABs blocked the accesses into the city, while helicopters hovered overhead. After midnight, the protests calmed down. Colonel-General Ion Coman, local Party secretary Ilie Matei, and Colonel-General Ștefan Gușă ( Chief of the Romanian General Staff ) inspected

2262-399: The Romanian head of state and party highly praised the "brilliant programme for the work and revolutionary struggle of all our people," as well as the "exemplary fulfillment of economic tasks." What had happened 1,500 km (930 mi) northwest of Bucharest, in divided Berlin , during those days is not even mentioned. Socialism is praised as the "way of the free, independent development of

2349-486: The United States , he went from cell to cell, removing those pinpointed as the ringleaders. Six guards beat each man mercilessly before covering his head with a bag, stepping on him and beating him with truncheons and revolvers. Returned to his cell wrapped in a blanket, the victim often suffered from split eardrums and broken ribs, while blood flowed from his mouth and nose. According to prisoner accounts, most guards were Roma recruited from surrounding villages. After 1967,

2436-438: The annual army budget. The forts took over two decades to build, and work was quite complex; the walls are two metres thick in places. All eighteen forts were linked by a road and a railway, which today is DN100, Bucharest's ring road . Eighteen subterranean batteries were placed between the forts, and the fortification ring included some 240 pieces of artillery in all. Romania, which had recently won its independence from

2523-577: The assurance they would not be tried. Present-day Romania has unfolded in the shadow of the Ceaușescus along with its Communist past, and its tumultuous departure from it. After Ceaușescu was summarily executed, the National Salvation Front (FSN) quickly took power, promising free and fair elections within five months. Elected in a landslide the following May, the FSN reconstituted as

2610-418: The austerity years of the 1980s. The austerity measures were designed in part by Ceaușescu to repay the country's foreign debts, but resulted in widespread shortages that fomented unrest. Shortly after a botched public speech by Ceaușescu in the capital Bucharest that was broadcast to millions of Romanians on state television, rank-and-file members of the military switched, almost unanimously, from supporting

2697-415: The bullet missed the heart, hit a nearby artery and led to his death shortly afterward. Some believe that he only tried to incapacitate himself in order to be relieved from office, but it is unclear then why he would shoot in the direction of the heart and not something non-vital like arms or legs. Upon learning of Milea's death, Ceaușescu appointed Victor Stănculescu minister of defence. He accepted after

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2784-533: The capital of Romania . A report by the War Ministry led the celebrated Belgian military architect Henri Alexis Brialmont (who made several visits to Bucharest, meeting with King Carol I in the process) to draft a plan for the city's fortifications, with construction beginning in 1884. The forts, about 4 km apart, cost 111.5 million gold lei (the equivalent of 614 mil euro of today, of which only 15 million were initially allocated), or three times

2871-469: The city centre area, from Piața Kogălniceanu to Piața Unirii , Piața Rosetti and Piața Romană . A young man waved a tricolour with the communist coat of arms torn out of its centre while perched on the statue of Mihai Viteazul on Boulevard Mihail Kogălniceanu in the University Square . Many others began to emulate the young protester, and the waving and displaying of the Romanian flag with

2958-690: The city. About 100,000 protesters occupied Piața Operei (Opera Square – today Piața Victoriei, Victory Square) and chanted anti-government slogans: "Noi suntem poporul!" ("We are the people!"), "Armata e cu noi!" ("The army is on our side!"), "Nu vă fie frică, Ceaușescu pică!" ("Have no fear, Ceaușescu is falling!") Meanwhile, Secretary to the Central Committee Emil Bobu and Prime Minister Constantin Dăscălescu were sent by Elena Ceaușescu (Nicolae being at that time in Iran) to resolve

3045-453: The city. Some areas looked like the aftermath of a war: destruction, rubble and blood. On the morning of 18 December, the centre was being guarded by soldiers and Securitate agents in plainclothes. Ceaușescu departed for a visit to Iran , leaving the duty of crushing the Timișoara revolt to his subordinates and his wife. Mayor Moț ordered a party gathering to take place at the university, with

3132-406: The countryside. For some time his parishioners gathered around his home to protect him from harassment and eviction. Many passersby spontaneously joined in. As it became clear that the crowd would not disperse, the mayor, Petre Moț, made remarks suggesting that he had overturned the decision to evict Tőkés. Meanwhile, the crowd had grown impatient and, when Moț declined to confirm his statement against

3219-415: The couple onto the roof. At 11:20 on 22 December 1989, Ceaușescu's personal pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Vasile Maluțan, received instructions from Lieutenant General Opruta to proceed to Palace Square to pick up the president. As he flew over Palace Square he saw it was impossible to land there. Maluțan landed his white Dauphin , #203, on the terrace at 11:44. A man brandishing a white net curtain from one of

3306-577: The crossfire between civilians and armed forces personnel which believed the other to be Securitate ‘terrorists’. Although news reports at the time and media today will make reference to the Securitate fighting against the revolution, there has never been any evidence to support the claim of an organised effort against the revolution by the Securitate . Hospitals in Bucharest were treating as many as thousands of civilians. Following an ultimatum, many Securitate members turned themselves in on 29 December with

3393-559: The crowd from the balcony of the Central Committee of the Communist Party building, but his attempt was met with a wave of disapproval and anger. Helicopters spread manifestos (which did not reach the crowd, due to unfavourable winds) instructing people not to fall victim to the latest "diversion attempts," but to go home instead and enjoy the Christmas feast. This order, which drew unfavourable comparisons to Marie Antoinette 's haughty (but apocryphal) " Let them eat cake ", further infuriated

3480-417: The crowd, he and Elena fled into a lift headed for the roof. A group of protesters managed to force their way into the building, overpower Ceaușescu's bodyguards and make their way through his office before heading onto the balcony. They were unaware they were only a few metres from Ceaușescu. The lift's electricity failed just before it reached the top floor, and Ceaușescu's bodyguards forced it open and ushered

3567-467: The dictator to backing the protesters. Riots, street violence and murders in several Romanian cities over the course of roughly a week led the Romanian leader to flee the capital city on 22 December with his wife, Elena. Evading capture by hastily departing via helicopter effectively portrayed the couple as both fugitives and also seemingly guilty of accused crimes. Captured in Târgoviște , they were tried by

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3654-528: The doctor was not happy about getting involved and, after a short time driving the Ceaușescus, faked engine trouble. A bicycle repairman was then flagged down and drove them in his car to Târgoviște . The repairman, Nicolae Petrișor, convinced them that they could hide in an agricultural technical institute on the edge of town. When they arrived, the director there guided the Ceaușescus into a room and then locked them in. They were arrested by local police at about 15:30, then after some wandering around, transported to

3741-549: The evening of 20 December, the situation became even more tense, and he gave a televised speech from the TV studio inside the Central Committee Building (CC Building) in which he spoke about the events at Timișoara in terms of an "interference of foreign forces in Romania's internal affairs" and an "external aggression on Romania's sovereignty." The country, which had no information about the Timișoara events from

3828-495: The events of Timisoara and blaming them on imperialist circles and intelligence services that wished to destroy the integrity and sovereignty of Romania and halt the construction of socialism. He continued in this nationalist and Marxist–Leninist vein, referencing his speech of 21 August 1968, where he had asserted Romania's independence within the Warsaw Pact at the time of the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and promising to continue to defend socialist Romania as before. In all, following

3915-582: The forts obsolete soon after their completion. Explosives and aerial bombardment made classical fortifications useless in modern warfare. In 1914, the Battle of Liège , in which the German Army broke through fortifications also designed by Brialmont with greater ease than expected, alarmed the authorities in Bucharest. The forts' artillery pieces—all top-notch Krupp cannons—were quickly dismantled and transformed into mobile artillery. By 1916, when

4002-408: The forts, those to the southwest of the city in particular. They serve as firing ranges and munitions deposits, also housing army units; civilians are forbidden entry. The best-known fort is number 13, at Jilava —a military prison from 1907, a feared destination for political prisoners and place of execution during the Communist era, and now still a penitentiary. Another well-known fort—and

4089-418: The four seats in the back ... As I pulled Ceaușescu in, I saw the demonstrators running across the terrace ... There wasn't enough space, Elena Ceaușescu and I were squeezed in between the chairs and the door ... We were only supposed to carry four passengers ... We had six." According to Maluțan, it was 12:08 when they left for Snagov . After they arrived there, Ceaușescu took Maluțan into

4176-541: The high tower of the centrally located InterContinental Hotel, next to the National Theatre and across the street from the university. It is likely that in the early hours of 22 December that the Ceaușescus made their second mistake. Instead of fleeing the city under cover of night, they decided to wait until morning to leave. Ceaușescu must have thought that his desperate attempts to crush the protests had succeeded, because he apparently called another meeting for

4263-558: The highest in Europe. The secret police , the Securitate , had become so omnipresent that it made Romania a police state . Free speech was limited and opinions that did not favor the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) were forbidden. The large numbers of Securitate informers made organised dissent nearly impossible. The regime deliberately played on this sense that everyone was being watched to make it easier to bend

4350-412: The interruption, the speech and the associated exhortations continued for over 13 minutes, and ended with Ceaușescu waving to the crowd. Bullhorns then began to spread the news that the Securitate was firing on the crowd and that a "revolution" was unfolding. This persuaded people in the assembly to join in. The rally turned into a protest demonstration. The protest demonstration soon erupted into

4437-415: The mass protests, but after a brief encounter they ended up joining the protests. One worker explained, "Yesterday our factory boss and a party official rounded us up in the yard, handed us wooden clubs and told us that Hungarians and 'hooligans' were devastating Timișoara and that it is our duty to go there and help crush the riots. But I realised that wasn't the truth." Upon Ceaușescu's return from Iran on

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4524-431: The microphone, trying to call the attention of the crowd. After the tumult died down to some extent, live TV service resumed as Ceaușescu announced that a decision had been taken that morning to raise several allowances, including the minimum wage, from 2,000 to 2,200 lei per month (an increase of 13 U.S. dollars at the time), and the old age pension from 800 to 900 lei per month. Ceaușescu continued his speech, addressing

4611-537: The morning of 21 December, Ceaușescu addressed an assembly of approximately 100,000 people to condemn the uprising in Timișoara. Party officials took great pains to make it appear that Ceaușescu was still immensely popular. Several busloads of workers, under threat of being fired upon, arrived in Bucharest's Piața Palatului (Palace Square, now Piața Revoluției – Revolution Square) and were given red flags, banners and large pictures of Ceaușescu. They were augmented by bystanders who were rounded up on Calea Victoriei. After

4698-463: The most notable. In March 1989, several leading activists of the PCR criticised Ceaușescu's economic policies in a letter , but shortly thereafter he achieved a significant political victory: Romania paid off its external debt of about US$ 11,000,000,000 several months before the time that even the Romanian dictator expected. However, in the months following the austerity programme, shortages of goods remained

4785-548: The most visited one—is Battery 9-10, located in Cățelu , to the south-east of Bucharest. Romanian Revolution [REDACTED] Government [REDACTED] Revolutionaries After 22 December 1989: The Romanian revolution ( Romanian : Revoluția română ) was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around

4872-407: The national flights denial and had to land to not get shot down by the army. He did so in a field next to the old road that led to Pitești . Maluțan then told his four passengers that he could do nothing more. The Securitate men ran to the roadside and began to flag down passing cars. Two cars stopped, one of them driven by a forestry official and one a red Dacia driven by a local doctor. However,

4959-441: The national media, heard about the Timișoara revolt from Western radio stations like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe , and by word of mouth. A mass meeting was staged for the next day, 21 December, which, according to the official media, was presented as a "spontaneous movement of support for Ceaușescu," emulating the 1968 meeting in which Ceaușescu had spoken against the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact forces. On

5046-454: The next morning. However, before 07:00, his wife Elena received the news that large columns of workers from many industrial platforms (large communist-era factories or groups of factories concentrated into industrial zones) were heading towards the city centre of Bucharest to join the protests. The police barricades that were meant to block access to Piața Universității (University Square) and Palace Square proved useless. By 09:30 University Square

5133-486: The outside world. Holding an average of 3,000 prisoners, Jilava saw them beaten, tortured, starved and denied adequate medical care. The most brutal conditions prevailed under Nicolae Moromete  [ ro ] , the warden between 1949 and 1952. During one episode in December 1950, after informants reported that detainees were holding discussions about the political situation and the possibility of being liberated by

5220-543: The party was rescinded from the constitution of Czechoslovakia on 29 November and from that of East Germany on 1 December. Even the Soviet Union's Communist regime had started to unravel while Ceaușescu was still in power: on 7 December 1989, one of its 15 Union Republics, Lithuania , removed the leading role of the Communist Party from its constitution. On 16 December 1989, the Hungarian minority in Timișoara held

5307-632: The party's XIV Congress. On that same day, Ceaușescu's counterpart in Czechoslovakia , Miloš Jakeš , resigned along with the entire Communist leadership, effectively ending Communist rule in Czechoslovakia . The three students, Mihnea Paraschivescu, Grațian Vulpe, and the economist Dan Căprariu-Schlachter from Cluj, were detained and investigated by the Securitate at the Rahova Penitentiary on suspicion of propaganda against

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5394-464: The penitentiary is Cristina Antoanela Teoroc. As of December 2023, there are 1,049 detainees at Jilava. The Romanian government has nominated the facility, along with four other prisons used during the communist era, to be included as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . Fortifications of Bucharest The fortifications of Bucharest are a ring of thirty six fortifications (18 forts and 18 batteries) built in late 19th century that surround Bucharest ,

5481-654: The people to the Party's will. Even by Soviet Bloc standards , the Securitate was exceptionally brutal. Ceaușescu created a cult of personality , with weekly shows in stadiums or on streets in different cities dedicated to him, his wife and the Communist Party. There were several megalomaniac projects, such as the construction of the grandiose House of the Republic (today the Palace of the Parliament )—the biggest palace in

5568-430: The people who did read the manifestos; many at that time had trouble procuring basic foodstuffs such as cooking oil. At approximately 09:30 on the morning of 22 December Vasile Milea , Ceaușescu's minister of defence, died under suspicious circumstances. A communiqué by Ceaușescu stated that Milea had been sacked for treason, and that he had committed suicide after his treason was revealed. The most widespread opinion at

5655-495: The peoples." The same day, on Bucharest's Brezoianu Street and Kogălniceanu Boulevard, a group of students from Cluj-Napoca attempted a demonstration but were quickly apprehended. It initially appeared that Ceaușescu would weather the wave of revolution sweeping across Eastern Europe, as he was formally re-elected for another five-year term as General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party on 24 November at

5742-469: The planned eviction in writing, the crowd started to chant anti-communist slogans. Subsequently, police and Securitate forces showed up at the scene. By 19:30 the protest had spread and the original cause became largely irrelevant. Some of the protesters attempted to burn down the building that housed the district committee of the PCR. The Securitate responded with tear gas and water cannons, while police beat up rioters and arrested many of them. Around 21:00

5829-535: The presidential suite and ordered him to get two helicopters filled with soldiers for an armed guard, and a further Dauphin to come to Snagov. Maluțan's unit commander replied on the phone, "There has been a revolution ... You are on your own ... Good luck!". Maluțan then said to Ceaușescu that the second motor was now warmed up and they needed to leave soon but he could only take four people, not six. Mănescu and Bobu stayed behind. Ceaușescu ordered Maluțan to head for Titu . Near Titu, Maluțan says that he received

5916-475: The prison housed common, recidivist criminals under a harsh regime. From the 1970s, they were moved into a new building. Protesters arrested during the Romanian Revolution of 1989 were thrown into the old fort, which was used for storage after 1990, meanwhile decaying. This is a partial list of notable inmates of Jilava Prison; the symbol † indicates those who died there. The current director of

6003-418: The protest was by and for all citizens of Romania, not an ethnic minority matter). They were, indeed, fired upon; some died and others were seriously injured, while the lucky ones were able to escape. On 19 December, local Party functionary Radu Bălan and Colonel-General Ștefan Gușă visited workers in the city's factories, but failed to get them to resume work. On 20 December, massive columns of workers entered

6090-462: The purpose of condemning the "vandalism" of the previous days. He also declared martial law , prohibiting people from going about in groups of larger than two. Defying the curfew, a group of 30 young men headed for the Orthodox cathedral, where they stopped and waved a Romanian flag from which they had removed the Romanian communist coat of arms, leaving a distinctive hole, in a manner similar to

6177-515: The rioters withdrew. They regrouped eventually around the Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral and started a protest march around the city, but again they were confronted by the security forces. Riots and protests resumed the following day, 17 December. The rioters broke into the district committee building and threw party documents, propaganda brochures, Ceaușescu's writings, and other symbols of Communist power out of windows. The military

6264-526: The same as before. Like the East German state newspaper , official Romanian news organs made no mention of the fall of the Berlin Wall in the first days following 9 November 1989. The most notable news in Romanian newspapers of 11 November 1989, was the "masterly lecture by comrade Nicolae Ceaușescu at the extended plenary session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Romania," in which

6351-473: The situation. They met with a delegation of the protesters and agreed to free the majority of the arrested protesters. However, they refused to comply with the protesters' main demand— the resignation of Ceaușescu—and the situation remained essentially unchanged. The next day, trains loaded with workers from factories in Oltenia arrived in Timișoara. The regime was attempting to use them to repress

6438-545: The socialist society. They were released on 22 December 1989 at 14:00. There were other letters and attempts to draw attention to the economic, cultural, and spiritual oppression of Romanians, but they served only to intensify the activity of the police and Securitate. On 20 November 1989 (the day when Ceaușescu was reelected as leader of the Romanian Communist Party ) almost all of the Warsaw Pact Communist regimes were institutionally intact. The leading role of

6525-455: The time was that Milea hesitated to follow Ceaușescu's orders to fire on the demonstrators, even though tanks had been dispatched to downtown Bucharest that morning. Milea was already in severe disfavour with Ceaușescu for initially sending soldiers to Timișoara without live ammunition . Rank-and-file soldiers believed that Milea had actually been murdered and went over virtually en masse to the revolution. Senior commanders wrote off Ceaușescu as

6612-417: The unfolding chaos. The TV image then shook noticeably and video interference appeared on screen. At that point, Florian Rat, Ceaușescu's bodyguard, appeared and advised Ceaușescu to go inside the building. Censors then cut the live TV feed, but it was too late. The disturbance had already been broadcast, and viewers realised that something highly unusual was occurring. Contrary to many reports, Ceaușescu

6699-448: The windows waved him down. Maluțan said, "Then Stelica, the co-pilot, came to me and said that there were demonstrators coming to the terrace. Then the Ceaușescus came out, both practically carried by their bodyguards ... They looked as if they were fainting. They were white with terror. Manea Mănescu [one of the vice-presidents] and Emil Bobu were running behind them. Mănescu, Bobu, Neagoe and another Securitate officer scrambled to

6786-401: The world, primarily within the Eastern Bloc . The Romanian revolution started in the city of Timișoara and soon spread throughout the country, ultimately culminating in the drumhead trial and execution of longtime Romanian Communist Party (PCR) General Secretary Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena , and the end of 42 years of Communist rule in Romania. It was also the last removal of

6873-653: The world—the adjacent Centrul Civic and a never-completed museum dedicated to Communism and Ceaușescu, today the Casa Radio . These and similar projects drained the country's finances and aggravated the already dire economic situation. Thousands of Bucharest residents were evicted from their homes, which were subsequently demolished to make room for the huge structures. Unlike the other Warsaw Pact leaders, Ceaușescu had not been slavishly pro- Soviet but rather had pursued an "independent" foreign policy; Romanian forces did not join their Warsaw Pact allies in putting an end to

6960-413: Was a chamber-pot; the cells reeked of feces and urine. After two detainees escaped in 1951, the windows were sealed. Three prisoners died of asphyxiation in the first month, while the rest were covered in sores. Prisoners were not allowed visitors, packages or letters. Given its transit role, Jilava served as a place where news was exchanged; new arrestees were especially prized, as they would bring news from

7047-455: Was jammed with protesters. Security forces (army, police and others) re-entered the area, only to join with the protesters. By 10:00, as the radio broadcast was announcing the introduction of martial law and a ban on groups larger than five persons, hundreds of thousands of people were gathering for the first time, spontaneously, in central Bucharest (the previous day's crowd had come together at Ceaușescu's orders). Ceaușescu attempted to address

7134-435: Was not at this point hustled inside the building. Instead, undeterred, he and his wife, Elena, along with other officials, spent almost three minutes trying to understand what was happening and haranguing the confused crowd, some of whom appeared to be trying to leave the area, while others moved towards the Central Committee building. Elena wondered aloud whether there was an earthquake in progress. Ceaușescu repeatedly tapped

7221-499: Was only an illusion that the Army was on the revolutionaries' side. A French journalist, Jean-Louis Calderon, was killed. A street near University Square was later named after him, as well as a high school in Timișoara. Belgian journalist Danny Huwé was shot and killed on 23 or 24 December 1989. Firefighters hit the demonstrators with powerful water cannons, and the police continued to beat and arrest people. Protesters managed to build

7308-580: Was sent in to control the riots, because the situation was beyond the capability of the Securitate and conventional police to handle. The presence of the army in the streets was an ominous sign; it meant that they had received their orders from the highest level of the command chain, presumably from Ceaușescu himself. The army failed to establish order, and chaos ensued, including gunfire, fights, casualties, and burned cars. Transportor Amfibiu Blindat (TAB) armoured personnel carriers and tanks were called in. After 20:00, from Piața Libertății (Liberty Square) to

7395-603: Was soon being shot at from various buildings, side streets and tanks. There were many casualties, including deaths, as victims were shot, clubbed to death, stabbed and crushed by armoured vehicles. One APC drove into the crowd around the InterContinental Hotel , crushing people. Physician Florin Filipoiu , who took part in the protests at the InterContinental, declared in a 2010 interview that "it

7482-454: Was still technically commander-in-chief of the army), Stănculescu played a central role in the overthrow of the dictatorship. "I had the prospect of two execution squads: Ceaușescu's and the revolutionary one!" confessed Stănculescu later. In the afternoon, Stănculescu "chose" Ion Iliescu 's political group from among others that were striving for power in the aftermath of the recent events. Following Ceaușescu's second failed attempt to address

7569-457: Was then spread all over Romania, had "a shock effect upon the Romanians, the Securitate as well, on the people of Romania. […] [I]t had an unexpected effect upon the public atmosphere in Romania." At the behest of the government, his bishop removed him from his post, thereby depriving him of the right to use the apartment to which he was entitled as a pastor, and assigned him to be a pastor in

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