Children as the Nation Future in Communist Romania
Children as the Nation Future in Communist Romania

Summary/Abstract: It is a well-known fact that in the socialist states children were seen as the main force for social changing, especially in those states having a long term perspective regarding their lasting. Education, child care or supportive measures were far from being sufficient for such a purpose; over organization, over-regulation and a strong discipline had to be enforced since the very first years of every child! The pre-school and school children were going to be integrated in the process of revolutionary education of the young generation. Soimii Patriei (The Country’s Hawks), an original creation of Nicolae Ceausescu – no other country of the communist block had a similar organization) and The Pioneers, played their role in the creation of the multilaterally developed society and in the revolutionary education of the young generation. In this paper I will analyse the main children organizations, their statute and regulations, but also their printed materials - magazines for children – with the purpose to present the ways and means used by the state to indoctrinate the children. The indoctrination goes so deep that, in many circumstances, we can think that the children did not belong to their parents but rather to the party and its leader, Nicolae Ceausescu. This type of analyse, including the degree of implication of the children in these organizations (especially the Pioneers) can reveal very interesting aspects about the sociological and psychological impact on children: numerous accounts testify that the position of group, detachment or unity commander (the three divisions in organization) was the first leadership experience in their personal history.

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