Romania is coming to terms with the abuses committed under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, who was deposed in 1989. An 88 year old former prison commander, remembered as a "brutal sadist" by inmates, is the first person to be charged.
The article in the New York Times brings up many points similar to the discussion that we've been having about
The Reader: the national amnesia after the atrocities were committed, the continuity between the old and new elites after the dictatorship was ended, the excuses made by perpetrators ("I was just doing my job").
I guess what really needs to be thought about before responding to people's defensive statement of "I was just doing my job" is how this became their job. In cases, a choice was made to take this job, and in these cases there is clear fault. It is harder when the roll was forced, however I think it is still important to remember what was being done. Anyone who violates rights through deprivation and genocide (even if only enforcing rules that leads to this) should be held accountable.
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