On 19 December, in the conference room of the Bucharest office of the Sighet Memorial, pupils from the Genesis Upper Secondary School and the Dinu Lipatti Upper Secondary School for Arts in Bucharest met with the ‘children of the Revolution’ Nicoleta Giurcanu Matei, Marian Dedu, Sorin Radu, and Mihai Dodu.
The meeting started with a carol concert performed by the traditional vocal group Rădăcini from Dinu Lipatti Upper Secondary School, coordinated by teacher Ramona Urjan.
Mrs Ana Blandiana, President of the Civic Academy Foundation, extended a warm welcome to the young attendees. The dialogue was moderated by Virginia Ion, the Memorial’s scientific secretary.
We would like to convey our gratitude to the teachers at Genesis College, particularly to Mrs. Eliza Aftenie, with whom we collaborated on several educational projects.
The event was jointly organised by the Civic Academy Foundation – Memorial to the Victims of Communism and to the Resistance, along with the State Secretariat for the recognition of the merits of the fighters against the communist regime in Romania in the period 1945-1989. It was held in partnership with Genesis Upper Secondary School and Dinu Lipatti Upper Secondary School for Arts in Bucharest.
Nicoleta Giurcanu-Matei was among the children who participated in the December 1989 Revolution in Bucharest. On 21 December, Nicoleta, who was only 14 at the time, together with her father and 12-year-old brother, took to the streets to protest against the communist dictatorship. The three were detained, interrogated and beaten in the militia detention centre, before being transferred to Fort 13 Jilava.
Marian Dedu, aged 14 at the time in December 1989, was arrested on 21 December. He was detained in Jilava but later released. Undeterred, he returned to join the revolutionaries. On the night of December 23rd to 24th, he was shot in Palace Square in Bucharest.
Sorin Radu, aged 19 in December 1989, actively participated in the Revolution. He was among the protesters in front of the TV station. A shot to the head left him severely injured.
Mihai Dodu was 9 years old in December 1989. His father, Daniel Dodu, aged 28, became one of the more than 1,100 individuals who lost their lives during the Romanian Revolution. He was shot dead on December 22nd at the building of the Romanian Television in Bucharest.
