Cold Waves

Inside Radio Free Europe’s hidden war against communist Romania

Cold Waves revisits one of the least visible yet most influential fronts of the Cold War: the Romanian section of Radio Free Europe. Broadcasting from Munich and financed by the United States, the station became the most listened to foreign radio in Romania during the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, offering information and a sense of connection to a world beyond the Iron Curtain.

Directed by Romanian filmmaker Alexandru Solomon, who himself grew up under communism, the documentary looks behind the microphone to question how propaganda functioned even on the side that claimed to defend freedom. Through extensive archival material, interviews with former Radio Free Europe editors, listeners, Western officials and former members of the Securitate, the film constructs a complex portrait of a media operation that was both a source of hope and a strategic tool.

The documentary also explores the violent countermeasures taken against the station, including surveillance, intimidation and terrorist plots, one of them allegedly involving Carlos the Jackal. As these different voices confront each other, Cold Waves avoids simple moral divisions and instead reveals a grey zone where political ideals, manipulation and personal responsibility intersect.

Released in 2007 in both a feature-length and a television series version, the film stands as an important historical document on socialist Romania and a reflection on propaganda that remains relevant in today’s media-saturated world.