As the year 1989 ran its course, it seemed as if it had been designated for this part of Europe as the main act of a joyous drama. In January, there was merely a hint of the impending changes to the political system in our countries. By December, independence was a reality in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, while in East Germany, Bulgaria, Romania and the Baltic Republics of the USSR the vision of regime changes had already become deeply rooted.
That year was a veritable relay race, run by the peoples of our individual countries. Without any direct communication, without agreeing a programme or even exhorting each other to act -the baton was passed by one community to the next. Spring belonged to the Poles. The summer -to the Hungarians and to the inhabitants of the Baltic States. Autumn - to the Germans, Czechs, Slovaks and Bulgarians. In the first days of winter, the Romanians could already feel that the changes taking place in their country were also irreversible. This is a picture of that remarkable year.