TURMOIL IN THE SOVIET BLOC : Ceausescus’ Firing Squad Grew From 5 Volunteers to 80

PARIS — Only five volunteers were asked to execute deposed dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife last month, but 80 insisted on shooting, a Romanian government official said.

In an interview published Monday in the newspaper Le Figaro, Silviu Brucan, a member of the 11-member executive council of the National Salvation Front, said the firing squad’s enthusiasm reflected popular support for the Dec. 25 execution.

“The officer in command asked for five soldiers to step forward and prepare to fire. The squad was made up of 80 men. All fired at the same moment. They found 120 bullet holes in the bodies of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu.”