Children of Ceausescu

Decades after the fall of the iron curtain and the overthrow and execution of brutal Romanian dictator Nicholas Ceausescu, the worst AIDS epidemic among children in the world bears out its infamous legacy in Romania, still one of the poorest and most fractured societies in Eastern Europe.

Beginning in 1994 and for the next five years, Magnum photographer Kent Klich traveled to Romania to document the appalling aftermath of Ceausescu’s horror. Nobel winner Herta Müller contributed a poignant essay to this project.

Deeply moving, even shocking, portraits of children with AIDS that are compassionate yet unflinching.

Kent Klich was born 1952 in Sweden. He studied psychology at the University of Gothenburg. After earning his degree, he worked with troubled adolescents before turning to photography. Klich is the recipient of numerous awards and grants for his work in film, photography, books, and exhibitions, including important projects in the field of human rights.