Maurice Nachtigal penned these memoirs with the aim of exposing the insidious grip of a totalitarian regime that consumed half of her lifetime. Her motivation stemmed from the resurgence of totalitarian ideologies, impacting individuals devoid of firsthand experience or comprehension of its perils.
Within this narrative, Nachtigal offers a succinct chronicle of Romania’s descent into totalitarianism—a nation initially averse to Communism and resistant to military dictatorship. She anticipates that readers encountering her recollections will question the plausibility of such events and perhaps discern early indicators of similar processes emerging within their own societies.
Following World War II, few in Romania could have fathomed the subsequent horrors, finding themselves ensnared within what effectively became an expansive concentration camp. Nachtigal fervently hopes that by disseminating his memories of one of Europe’s most abhorrent totalitarian regimes, it might modestly contribute to the global repudiation of such regimes. The responsibility lies with the countless individuals engrossed in their daily lives to thwart and dismantle any attempts to install such tyranny.