A Secret Love Affair in Bucharest

Between the years 1965 and 1989, Romania was ruled by Nicolae Ceaușescu, and all aspects of people's lives, including family, were regulated by the Communist Party. Like Hitler, Stalin and Mao, Ceaușescu strictly regulated family life by adopting in 1974 a so-called Code of Ethics and Socialist Education, which prohibited abortion and required women to have four children. Escape to Western countries was also prohibited and was considered defamation of official policy. Of a population of over twenty million, about four million were party members. If a citizen violated the Code, they were submitted to a jury of their comrades, put under investigation, fired from their job and eventually sentenced. Furthermore, in the last years of the Ceaușescu regime, there was also an economic crisis and food shortage.

During that period, a love outside of marriage, in spite of all dangers, was an oasis of light and hope. This story is based on the real experiences of one of my friends from Bucharest.