Cold War Conversations

Emanuela Grama was born in the mid-1970s’ in a small provincial town in Eastern Romania. She provides us with a great insight into life in the Romanian provinces during the 1980s.  Emanuela lived in a small two-bedroom flat and tells of her parents working in a factory while her grandparents looked after her. Her father listened secretly to Radio Free Europe and collected stamps so he could legitimately write to people in the West. Her parents told her not to talk at school about what was said at home and to be very careful what she said to friends. Emanuela vividly recalls the day the revolution started in 1989, Emanuela was at home alone and she described the instant atmosphere of change and the weeks and months after.  We also hear about Emanuela’s book, Socialist Heritage: The Politics of Past and Place in Romania which traces the transformation of Bucharest’s Old Town district where under socialism, politicians and professionals used the district’s historic buildings to emphasize the city’s Romanian