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The Hungarian city of Sztalinvaros, or "Stalin-City," was intended to be the paradigmatic urban community of the new communist society in the 1950s. In Stalinism Reloaded, Sandor Horvath explores how Stalin-City and the socialist regime were built and stabilized not only by the state but also by the people who came there with hope for a better future. By focusing on the everyday experiences of citizens, Horvath considers the contradictions in the Stalinist policies and the strategies these bricklayers, bureaucrats, shop girls, and even children put in place in order to cope with and shape the expectations of the state. Stalinism Reloaded reveals how the state influenced marriage patterns, family structure, and gender relations. While the devastating effects of this regime are considered, a convincing case is made that ordinary citizens had significant agency in shaping the political policies that governed them.
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S TA L I N I SM R E L OA DE D
S TA L I N ISM R E L OA DE D Everyday Life in Stalin-City, Hungary
Sándor Horváth
Translated by Thomas Cooper
Indiana University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis
This book is a publication of Indiana University Press Office of Scholarly Publishing Herman B Wells Library 350 1320 East 10th Street Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA iupress.indiana.edu Translation funded by the László Tetmájer Fund of the Hungarian Studies Program, Department of Central Eurasian Studies, Indiana University–Bloomington. © 2017 by Sándor Horváth All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Horváth, Sándor, author. | Horváth, Sándor. Kapu és a határ, mindennapi Sztálinváros. Title: Stalinism reloaded : everyday life in Stalin-City, Hungary / Sándor Horváth ; translated by Thomas Cooper. Description: Bloomington : Indiana University Press, [2017] | Partially based on 2004 dissertation entitled A kapu és a határ, mindennapi Sztálinváros. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016053492 (print) | LCCN 2016055324 (ebook) | ISBN 9780253025746 (cloth : alkaline paper) | ISBN 9780253026811 (paperback : alkaline paper) | ISBN 9780253026866 (eb) Subjects: LCSH: Dunaújváros (Hungary)—Social conditions—20th century. | Sztálinváros (Hungary)—Social conditions—20th century. | Dunaújváros (Hungary)—Social life and customs—20th century. | Sztálinváros (Hungary)—Social life and customs—20th century. | City and town life—Hungary—Dunaújváros—History—20th century. | Communism—Social aspects—Hungary—Dunaújváros—History—20th century. | Hungary—Social policy. | Hungary—Politics and government—1945–1989. Classification: LCC HN420.5.D85 H68 2017 (print) | LCC HN420.5.D85 (ebook) | DDC 306.09439/7—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016053492 1
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Contents
Acknowledgments Introduction
ix 1
Part I. Identities
13
1 Myths
15
2 Downtown America
47
3 Urban Villagers
81
Part II. Relationships
113
4 Family
115
5 Abortion
153
6 Divorce
174