For millions of people across Eastern Europe, Radio Free Europe was the only connection to the free world. Funded by the American Congress and broadcast from Munich, the station transmitted in the languages of countries under communist rule, including Romanian.

Its programs aired uncensored news, political analysis, and — crucially — Western music. Rock, jazz, pop, everything communist regimes considered “decadent” or “dangerous” traveled over shortwave frequencies into apartments in Bucharest, Prague, Warsaw, and Budapest. People listened at night with the volume turned almost all the way down, often placing a blanket over the radio so neighbors would not hear through the walls.

In Romania, the Securitate systematically tried to jam the signal. Frequencies were constantly changed, and jamming antennas were installed throughout cities. But listeners adapted: they searched for the new frequencies, built improvised antennas, recorded broadcasts onto cassettes, and distributed the tapes from hand to hand.

Radio Free Europe was more than a radio station. It was an act of courage repeated every evening, every time someone turned the dial and searched for a forbidden frequency. It proved that a radio signal could frighten an entire regime.