In his acts of dissidence, my grandfather did not seek support in the West. He only tried to work within the system (and, obviously, failed). Nonetheless, his family (especially his son Valeriu and daughter Zvetlana, who were in the middle of starting families and developing their careers) suffered some adverse effects in terms of intimidation (as the regime wanted to be sure that they are "safe" and will not be disseminating hostile information either outside or inside the country) and were passed for promotions or denied foreign trips even inside the communist lager. My grandfather was a private, modest person even before all this and became even more so after. It wasn't hard for the regime to "keep a lid" on his actions, which were known only to a very small group of people. This damnatio memoriae on Gheorghe's actions created a fertile ground after 1989 for his former tormentors to spread rumors and continue to intimidate him and our family in an effort to escape justice and preserve their socio-economic advantages. My grandfather was thus pressed by circumstances to make his actions known.

He reluctantly visited a students' newspaper in early 1990. They followed up with an article in September of that same year. Despite his reluctance to talk about his actions, my grandfather was even featured in a documentary. You may find the files listed in PDF format or go to VIMEO and watch the documentary: http://vimeo.com/4582710. In particular, the mass-media echoes are:

September 23, 1974 - Letter to the XI Congress

• original

• typed

• French

February 13, 1990 - In 1974, Motiune Impotriva Dictaturii de Petru Agachi (Opinia Studențească)

• • Original scan (PDF)

  • Typed article RO-PDF)

September 1990 - Taci, tovarășe, nici nu vrem sa auzim de scrisoare de Dan Radu (Opinia Studențească)

• • large and small

Documentary (2005?) - Interviu cu o umbra vie - Gheorghe Zodian

• • The last echo in the mass-media was of course the documentary made by Tele'M, the local TV station in Iasi, directed by Titus Ceia and initiated by Architect Vericeanu, former Chief Architect of the city: http://vimeo.com/4582710

  • A transcript will soon be available.

This page is part of the Zodian family site.