BUCHAREST, Romania — The last time Alexandru Socol saw Nicolae Ceausescu was in 1989, when the communist dictator visited Mr. Socol’s factory to inspect the components it produced for hydroelectric and nuclear power plants just as Europe’s old divisions were about to be blown apart.

At the time, Mr. Socol didn’t dare complain to Ceausescu about the cold and hunger his family was enduring as Romania’s state-controlled economy was collapsing. Instead, he cursed Ceausescu in private, knowing the Securitate, or secret police, operated among the factory’s workers.

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