Každodenní život v Československu 1945/48-1989
Everyday Life in Czechoslovakia 1945/48-1989
Author(s): Robert Kvaček, Martin Franc, Jan Rychlík, Petr Bednařík, Zuzana Beňušková, Alžběta Čornejová, Michal Ulvr, Miroslav Vaněk
Contributor(s): Jaroslav Pažout (Editor)
Subject(s): History, Social Sciences, Education, Cultural history, Economic history, Political history, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today), Special Historiographies:, History of Education, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism
Published by: Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů
Keywords: Czechoslovakia; everyday life; 20th century; 50s; 60s; political regime; culture; media; film; education; economy; automotive industry; unions;
Summary/Abstract: Z desetidílné kroniky Josefa Holečka Naši mám nejraději hned první svazek Jak u nás žijou a umírají z roku 1898. Je obsažným poetickým obrazem venkovského života v polovině 19. století naplněného ještě i napětím mezi feudálním a selským světem, dramatickými osudy protagonistů. Nic pro historiky, zdá se na první a asi i další pohled, ve skutečnosti jde o pramen mluvný a sdělný, jen ho náležitě číst a vést s ním rozhovor, v němž je dějepisec naslouchajícím a dozvídajícím se. Zdrojů poznání, jak u nás žili a odcházeli – i ti včerejší, a zvláště ti včerejší – je téměř neomezeně, vzhledem k lidské mnohosti i jedinečnosti, jen je umět vřazovat do heuristiky.
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-80-87912-35-5
- Page Count: 240
- Publication Year: 2015
- Language: Czech
Životní styl a každodennost v Československu v padesátých a šedesátých letech 20. století
Životní styl a každodennost v Československu v padesátých a šedesátých letech 20. století
(Lifestyle and everyday life in the Czechoslovakia during the 1950s and 1960s)
- Author(s):Martin Franc
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Political history, Social history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism
- Page Range:18-32
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:Czechoslovakia; 20th century; 50s; 60s; everyday life; communism; culture; Soviet Union;
- Summary/Abstract:This study contemplates basic factors of the style of life in Czechoslovakia during the 1950s and the 1960s with focus on the generation gap and opinions of young people. It attempts to analyze historical progress in that area and show phenomena typical for each period. For the 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s it is the general pursuit of collectivity. Really strong collectivist pressures attacked the foundations of the individuality only during a relatively short period and addressed only specific groups in the society, especially amongst young people, who are susceptible to it in general under other circumstances. Beyond the collectivism the Sovietisation and the ostentatious acceptance of Soviet practices and inspirations were another distinct and represented phenomenon. The Sovietisation, in spite of its obtrusiveness and omnipresence, did not make an essential mark on the everyday life. The extensive adoration of the manual labour and the working class is also often mentioned when talking about the everyday life of the beginning of the 1950s as well as general application of the class principles to the everyday life of the people and resulting decline from previous social order. Basically there was a struggle between two leading lifestyle philosophies at the beginning of the fifties. While the first one made an effort to establish genuine culture of the proletariat, the second one tried to adopt the lifestyle of the existing middle class. Since the half of the 1950s the second conception established itself distinctively. The “Khrushchevism” of the second half of the 1950s attempted to harmonize the divergence between ideology and products of the modern civilization that often came from the officially hated western countries. The range of food and consumer goods was widened more attention was paid to their aesthetic values as well. Renewed were also the attempts to create “a new socialist individual” and also the image of the socialist lifestyle as full-fledged alternative to the western consumer society (at least on the theoretical level). The economic depression and resulting shortages at the beginning of the 1960s dispersed any naive ideas about the life in socialism and early transition into the communist society. But it was not only the depression influencing the lifestyle, but also the coming of age of the post-war population boomers, which resulted in evolution of the popular art culture. Czech and Slovak youths discomforted party ideologists with their distaste for involvement in politics and inclination to some features of the western consumer society. The depression forced opening of the country to the western tourists and the build-up of the related infrastructure. And the foreign impulses and following changes like shift to more or less western type consumer society became the basic factors of the sixties’ lifestyle. It is of course necessary to mention that it was very often only a game imitating elements of the western consumer society. This build-up of the virtual bubble culminated in 1968 was numbed by the normalization for only a certain time and in some aspects.
Každodennost v Československu v období tzv. normalizace
Každodennost v Československu v období tzv. normalizace
(Everyday life in Czechoslovakia during the so called normalization)
- Author(s):Jan Rychlík
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Political history, Social history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism, Socio-Economic Research
- Page Range:34-47
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:Czechoslovakia; everyday life; 50s; 60s; normalization; communism; human rights; employment;
- Summary/Abstract:After 1989 the research of communism focused moreover on repressions in the fifties and human rights violation during the so called normalization. In fact, most people from the middle and lower classes, factory workers, collective farmers and lower engineering personnel did not feel the lack of essential liberties. They did not discuss or comment politics in public and whatever they said in private, the regime really did not care. Most of the Czechoslovak citizens did not openly act against the communist regime: they were also not willing to support the regime in case of crisis, which became obvious during November 1989. They were willing to tolerate it as a necessary evil. The regime made an attempt to pacify masses with generous social policy, which aspired to make the society politically passive in spite of ostentatious request for its active role in politics. The citizens were asked to care mainly about themselves and their family. Social policy played a fundamental role in the policy line of the communist party during the so called normalization. The main effort of the party was to ensure full employment as the foundation of the social stability. The social interventions of the state were presented as the results of the socialist state’s care for people and especially young families.
Média v Československu v letech 1945–1989 a jejich vliv na každodenní život
Média v Československu v letech 1945–1989 a jejich vliv na každodenní život
(Media in Czechoslovakia 1945-1989 and their participation on forming the everyday life of the inhabitants)
- Author(s):Petr Bednařík
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Media studies, Political history, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today), WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism
- Page Range:49-91
- No. of Pages:43
- Keywords:Czechoslovakia; media; 20th century; everyday life; communist regime;
- Summary/Abstract:From 1945 to 1948 the media in Czechoslovakia lived through rough changes. The system of media was established on the bases that the main publishers of the periodicals were to be only political parties and state institutions. Private enterprise was excluded from the media. The time of changes claimed the existence of many periodicals from the first republic and gave life to some new ones, which were released during the rest of the existence of the communist regime. After the end of the world war a new system was introduced, which rationed paper to issuers and publishers. The system was in existence till 1980s and became a tool to favor some periodicals or authors. Offer did not meet demand and readers had often a problem to buy their favorite magazine or a book of their fancied author. During the fifties the regime started to closely watch over all media information passed forward to Czechoslovak citizens. The Central Press Supervision Office was established to control newspaper, magazines, television and radio broadcasting, screenplays, theater productions and even maps and postcards through precensorship. Citizens were constantly persuaded by the media that the communist regime is the best one and therefore every citizen should support the policy of the Communist party. The television broadcasting started in Czechoslovakia in 1953, but its reach was extended slowly over the territory. The basic net of transmitters was completed in 1961, when the broadcasting incidentally reached the number of one million concessionaires. During the sixties the TV became an increasingly more popular form of spending leisure time and its viewers balanced the number of radio listeners. In the time of Prague spring the media distinctively supported policy of Dubček’s communist leadership. People learned important information about actual political situation from the media. During August 1968 the media also informed people about the Warsaw pact forces invasion. During normalization the media were under control of the communist party and supported its home and foreign policy. From 1970 the TV broadcasted on two channels and the Czechoslovak radio also changed the channel structure, which stayed till the fall of the communist regime.
Sviatok a jeho inštitucionalizácia v období socializmu (1948-1989) ako nástroj politického marketingu
Sviatok a jeho inštitucionalizácia v období socializmu (1948-1989) ako nástroj politického marketingu
(Institutionalization of the festivities during socialism (1948-1989) as the tool of the political marketing)
- Author(s):Zuzana Beňušková
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Political history, Social history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism, Marketing / Advertising
- Page Range:92-115
- No. of Pages:24
- Keywords:Czechoslovakia; socialism; festivities; institutionalization; 20th century; political marketing;
- Summary/Abstract:Human collectives tend to divide time between everyday time and the time of the festivities. The feasts have special meaning for them, which is accented by making rituals. A sophisticated system of festivities was created in the ancient empires. The Church decided what the life of the Christian people should look like during festivities and in consequence partly uniformed their living. The representatives of the forming modern national states took control over the festivities during the modern period as a part of the fight for deconsecration. During the time of socialism the festivities became a battlefield of the furious fight between the communist ideology and religion. Secular and national values were thoughtfully linked to the socialist state and the communist ideology in the new system of festivities. That differentiated them from civilian ceremonies and festivities in Western Europe. Festivities with its ritualized representation introduced by state functioned as tools to internalize socialist values and norms and in the same to vent emotions. The new system of festivities was conveniently combined with the holiday and the system of citizen ceremoniousness oriented on the human life cycle was created. In the conditions of the socialist system some people completely refused them, some adapted them in various ways to their own needs, some got around them and some accepted them completely. The religious ceremonies existed at the same time. The duality of the official ceremonies with informal ceremonies created a three part model typical mostly for the 1970s and 1980s. But even the religious ceremonies are not resistant to change and adjust to present needs of their participants.
Odborové rekreace v Československu v padesátých a šedesátých letech
Odborové rekreace v Československu v padesátých a šedesátých letech
(Union recreation in Czechoslovakia in 1950s and 1960s)
- Author(s):Alžběta Čornejová
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Political history, Social history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism, Tourism
- Page Range:116-133
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:Czechoslovakia; union recreations; 20th century; 50s; 60s; collective holiday; communism;
- Summary/Abstract:This study analyzes the system of union recreations, a popular way of spending leisure time before 1989. It also focuses on the pioneer camps, which in mass numbers provided recreation in the countryside for children. The introduction also mentions the ways of care and support provided to the laborers by the Nazi regime, either through the Kraft durch Freude organization in the 1930s or the so called Heydrich recreational action in the time of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The beginnings of the collectively spent holidays are connected to the immediate post-war period. In May 1945 the Central Union Council (ÚRO) became the main union institution authorized to take under its control all existing union associations and federations in the Czech countries. The first vacationers left for their holiday roughly during the same time. This was not one of the massive organized events; the vacationers were previous prisoners from concentration camps and Nazi penitentiaries. The organisation changed qualitatively and quantitatively after February 1948, when Central recreational department, later Central administration of recreational care ROH started to attend to everything connected to holiday. At the same time three basic types of a vacation were created: centrally operated and selected recreation (native or abroad), company vacation and since 1955 pioneer (child) recreation. The focus on the deserved rest after work became an important and constant part of the official propaganda. Recreations turned into a very desired article. More requested were the so called selected recreations, which were based on a number of properties, for example hotels confiscated from previous German owners or so called collaborators and traitors. New recreational facilities were constructed and vacations abroad were very popular since the sixties. The ideological under-meaning of the union organized vacation gradually dissipated and the collective cheap vacation remained. Smaller company chalets outfitted modestly were quite familiar to employees and their families. Pioneer camps helped the parents (especially mothers, whose employment rate rose considerably) to deal with a relatively long time of the school holidays. The union recreations remain till this day to a well known phenomenon of the previous regime. It was a cheap alternative to the vacation and for many people remained to be a sole opportunity to travel abroad. The theme of the recreations is getting more interesting every day, it is maybe caused by the evident nostalgia coming from many TV programmes.
Na cestě k lidovému vozu - Stručná charakteristika československého a amerického automobilového průmyslu od počátku hospodářské krize po období revolučních technologických změn v šedesátých letech 20. století
Na cestě k lidovému vozu - Stručná charakteristika československého a amerického automobilového průmyslu od počátku hospodářské krize po období revolučních technologických změn v šedesátých letech 20. století
(On the path to the car for the people. Brief characteristics of the Czechoslovakian and American automotive industries since the beginning of the Depression till the times of the revolutionary technological changes during the sixties)
- Author(s):Michal Ulvr
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Geography, Regional studies, Economic history, Social history, Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism
- Page Range:134-152
- No. of Pages:19
- Keywords:Czechoslovakia; America; automotive industry; 50s; 60s; depression;
- Summary/Abstract:This study focuses on the car as a typical symbol of the consumer society and the general situation in the automotive production in Czechoslovakia and the United States of America since the beginning of the Great Depression till 1964. It analyses the main factors influencing the construction but more importantly the attainability of the car by the general masses. It analyses especially the transition from the war time to the post-war production, which proved to be considerably different in both states. In fact the American car factories managed to set on a completely different course in car construction and manufacturing during the fifties. Whereas the Czechoslovakia and almost all other countries of the world with the ability to manufacture passenger vehicles constructed in the times of insufficiency light and often even two-stroke machines, Americans made a simple calculation, that the manufacturing process of a small or big car costs them roughly the same, but the big car can be sold for considerably more money. As a result till the seventies typical American cars looked like gigantic cruisers of the highways and became satirized targets of the Eastern bloc propaganda. The Czechoslovakian nationalized industry led by AZNP Mladá Boleslav and Tatra had a hard time renewing production and sale in the times, when usage of vehicles for personal needs was disapproved. But during the fifties circumstances changed when under the influence of the Western consumerism, the Czechoslovakian people themselves required better access to the symbol of the affluent society.
(Ne)oficiální kulturní aktivity mládeže v Československu v období tzv. normalizace
(Ne)oficiální kulturní aktivity mládeže v Československu v období tzv. normalizace
((Un)official cultural youth activities in Czechoslovakia during so called normalization)
- Author(s):Miroslav Vaněk
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Political history, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism
- Page Range:154-179
- No. of Pages:26
- Keywords:Czechoslovakia; 20th century; communism; cultural activities; youth; normalization; political regime;
- Summary/Abstract:The fall of the regime in 1989 was of course caused by many factors - external (western pressure, M. S. Gorbachev in the role of the General Secretary of the USSR) and internal (economics, environment, opposition). The coming of the new youth generation in the 1980s was also an important internal factor. After many years it was a generation not afflicted and traumatized by living through the events of 1968 (but also 1938 or 1948). The term “youth” did not acquire its new meaning, it was comprehended as a specific entity, but also something that is advisable to keep under control. Democratic, authoritative and totalitarian regimes boasted about their best intentions and care not only for children, but also for young people. Politicians accepted their existence, but at the same time drew the lines for their activities, strictly watched and organized by real adults. The Czechoslovak communist regime was perfectly aware of the potential “threat” of the free time. Till its fall and depending on the situation it tried in the name of so called “battle for juvenils” to hold back and fight the activities of youths. During the 1980s the regime was short-winded in its campaign and was forced to relieve the pressure somewhere. The youth took the opportunity and their new activities could be pointed out as the seeds of the new civil society. They themselves understood them as “freedom islands” that helped them survive the pre-revolution regime. Young environmentalists, punk fans, new wave fans (and rock fans in general), peace activists, young Christians in various groups and slowly forming student activities created a platform ready to support changes coming with the year 1989 and some of them really acted on it. The old regime was not dissolved by the juveniles, but they surely did contribute to the changes not only before 1989 but also after it.
„Podivné přátelství“ režiséra Steklého - Krátká poznámka o dlouhé barrandovské kariéře (1945-1985)
„Podivné přátelství“ režiséra Steklého - Krátká poznámka o dlouhé barrandovské kariéře (1945-1985)
(“Strange friendship” of director Steklý - Short observation about a long Barrandov career (1945-1985))
- Author(s):Petr Kopal
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Political history, Recent History (1900 till today), History of Communism, Film / Cinema / Cinematography
- Page Range:180-191
- No. of Pages:12
- Keywords:Czechoslovakia; 20th century; politics; culture; movies; Jiří Menzel; Barrandov; Miroslav Müller; Karel Steklý;
- Summary/Abstract:The text comprehends the relation between the politics and culture (movies), everyday life of the filmmaker – especially after beginning of the normalization. It analyses the subject on the bases of the life of director Karel Steklý (1903–1987) and his long Barrandov career and quite a different example of Jiří Menzel (1938), the representative of the “new wave”, young but internationally famous holder of an Oscar for Closely Watched Trains (1966). At the beginning of the 1970s Barrandov’s new leadership made it impossible for him to work in the field. Menzel like other filmmakers naturally wanted to do his work and shoot movies. The conditions were clear: try to come to an agreement with normalization authorities, who on purpose dragged out the time of uncertainty, vagueness and humiliation (from the viewpoint of the cultural anthropology it could be specified as the clear linear phase of transition) with those “sinners”. Steklý became a holder of the Venice prize Golden Lion for the movie Sirens (1947) and in 1952 created movie Anna the Proletarian. After the beginning of normalization he certainly did not belong to the ostracized workers of Barrandov studios, on the contrary: Czechoslovak State Film strived after his services. In spite of that and for the sake of his career he entered into a “strange friendship” with Miroslav Müller, secretary and director of culture department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (1972–1989).
Svazáci a páskové - „jiná“ padesátá léta
Svazáci a páskové - „jiná“ padesátá léta
(The Svazarmists and the rebels – “different” fifties)
- Author(s):Jaroslav Pinkas
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Education, Political history, Social history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism, Film / Cinema / Cinematography
- Page Range:193-215
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:education environment; ideology; 20th century; 50s; youth groups; Svazarmists; rebels; film;
- Summary/Abstract:This study applies Alf Lüdtke’s and Thomas Lindenberger’s concept of a wide spectrum of the society’s attitude towards ideological directions into school educational environment. Following the research of Matěj Kotalík, Martin Franc and Jiří Knapík it comprehends two youth groups living in the fifties: Svazarmists and the rebels (in Czech called “Pásci” – it literally means “Belts”), that represent two completely different youth attitudes towards the regime. Phenomenon of the rebels is analysed in this study as independent, in part socially pathological subculture of young people, which shaped itself politically just under the influence of the regime. The political views were often imposed on it. The study also comprehends the representation of the rebels in the film from the 1950s till present day. Didactic application is based on the confrontation of multimedia, utilization of memories depicting life in the rebel gangs and period ideologically influenced cartoons. The theme of nonconformist young people makes it possible to draw the multi-perspective image of the fifties and demonstrate the oppressive actions of the regime on the basis of adequate social and cultural context, call attention to the limitations of these actions and to strategies some youth groups used to avoid these actions.
Každodennost perspektivou školních pramenů
Každodennost perspektivou školních pramenů
(Everydayness through the eyes of school sources)
- Author(s):Kamil Činátl
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Christian Theology and Religion, Political history, Social history, History of Education, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism
- Page Range:216-224
- No. of Pages:9
- Keywords:Czechoslovakia; everyday life; school sources; 20th century; 50s; 60s;
- Summary/Abstract:The study focuses on the utilization of the methodological concepts of the everydayness in the context of the history education. It uses a didactic concept of the historical mind outlined by Hans-Jürgen Pandel. In the center of attention stand school sources (photography, school memorials, testimonies witnesses, period textbooks), that can bring along testimony to the period everydayness in the school. General reflection is enriched by the illustrative case study derived from the sources of Jan Amos Komenský elementary school in Písek. The selection of the materials also focuses on the period of Stalinism. The methodological procedures which aim to fulfill Curriculum Goals and Objectives are based on concrete examples. School sources have a strong motivational effect on students because of their connection to the place they know. The educational potential of the sources is related also to the connection to the familiar social environment. Thanks to their knowledge of the social mechanisms of the school, they can easily reflect the differences between the actual state and the fifties for example. The study aims to prove that the methodological historiographical innovations connected to concepts of everydayness and historical anthropology can be used in history education as well.
Summaries
Summaries
(Summaries)
- Author(s):Author Not Specified
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Political history, Social history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism
- Page Range:225-232
- No. of Pages:8
- Keywords:Czechoslovakia; 20th century; 50s; 60s; everyday life; politics; ideology; education; culture; summaries;
Přehled autorů
Přehled autorů
(List of authors)
- Author(s):Author Not Specified
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Recent History (1900 till today)
- Page Range:233-233
- No. of Pages:1
- Keywords:authors list;
Seznam zkratek
Seznam zkratek
(List of abbreviations)
- Author(s):Author Not Specified
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Recent History (1900 till today)
- Page Range:234-235
- No. of Pages:2
- Keywords:abbreviations list;
Osobní rejstřík
Osobní rejstřík
(Personal register)
- Author(s):Author Not Specified
- Language:Czech
- Subject(s):Recent History (1900 till today)
- Page Range:236-240
- No. of Pages:5
- Keywords:personal register;
