The Tomato Smuggler: True Story of One Man's Courage Against Communism - Inspiring Historical Book for Cold War Enthusiasts & Freedom Fighters
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DESCRIPTION
A son's tribute.His father waged war without bullets, triumphing over communist oppression during Dictator Ceauşescu's final decade in rural Romania. Communism robbed freedom, so Nicolae's father led the family to subtle and overt resistance to retain their dignity. The Cismigiu family built a thriving tomato business and smuggled tomatoes to market to survive. Creatively defying tyranny brought harassment and intimidation directed at what was most valued: family, a prized workhorse, and their tomato farm. Zeal to keep the spirit of freedom alive came at a cost many could not pay, even the death of a friend during one of their harrowing, midnight tomato smugglings. Joy and sorrow were interwoven into the fabric of the family's life story, but they focused on happiness and contentment. Grandpa always believed the Americans would come and liberate Romania after WWII but never lived to see the day. Ironically, his dream did come true. It skipped a generation and impacted Nicolae.
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A boy grows up during the worst years of Nicolae Ceaușescu's repressive regime. He sees his father tortured by agents of the state. He sees the family tomato farm – their only livelihood – devastated by those agents. He watches their horse stolen by the state. But he also watches his father stoically replant the farm and recover the horse. The farm produces more tomatoes than the communists allow – part of the communists' way of keeping people poor and in servitude to the state. The boy accompanies his father on a midnight journey through a dark forest to smuggle “surplus” tomatoes to market. As an adult living in the United States, the boy tells his father's story, and his own, to a patient and talented biographer. These stories are at once gripping and cathartic. The "Tomato Smuggler" offers an example of courage, perseverance, and paternal love – a must-read.
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