Remains of Socialism

Maya Nadkarni

Description

In Remains of Socialism, Maya Nadkarni investigates the changing fates of the socialist past in postsocialist Hungary. She introduces the concept of "remains"-both physical objects and cultural remainders-to analyze all that Hungarians sought to leave behind after the end of state socialism.Spanning more than two decades of postsocialist transformation, Remains of Socialism follows Hungary from the optimism of the early years of transition to its recent right-wing turn toward illiberal democracy. Nadkarni analyzes remains that range from exiled statues of Lenin to the socialist-era "Bambi" soda, and from discredited official histories to the scandalous secrets of the communist regime's informers. She deftly demonstrates that these remains were far more than simply the leftovers of an unwanted past. Ultimately, the struggles to define remains of socialism and settle their fates would represent attempts to determine the future-and to mourn futures that never materialized.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Ideology
• Eastern Europe
• History of Europe

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 juillet 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781501750205
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 7 Mo

Extrait

REMAINS OF SOCIALISM

REMAINSOF SOCIALISM Memory and the Futures of the Past in Postsocialist Hungary

MaYa NaDKaRni

CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA AND LONDON

Copyright © 2020 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.

First published 2020 by Cornell University Press

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Nadkarni, Maya, author. Title: Remains of socialism : memory and the futures of the past in postsocialist Hungary / Maya Nadkarni. Description: Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019039189 (print) | LCCN 2019039190 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501750175 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781501750182 (paperback) | ISBN 9781501750205 (pdf) | ISBN 9781501750199 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Postcommunism—Hungary. | Collective memory—Hungary. | Hungary—Civilization. | Hungary—Politics and government—1989– Classification: LCC DB958.2 .N33 2020 (print) | LCC DB958.2 (ebook) | DDC 943.905/4—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019039189 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019039190

Cover photo: Ostapenko statue on the outskirts of Budapest, 1976. FORTEPAN / Uvaterv.

To my parents, Ravindra and Sara Nadkarni And my sisters, Neela and Asha Nadkarni

Contents

List of Figures Acknowledgments List of Names and Abbreviations of Hungary’s Main Political Parties (1990–2010)

Introduction

1.  Banishing Remains: The Statue Park Museum 2.  The Hole in the Flag 3.  Nostalgia and the Remains of Everyday Life 4.  Recovering National Victimhood at the House of Terror 5.  Secrets, Inheritance, and a Generation’s Remains 6.  A Past Returned, A Future Deferred

Conclusion

Notes References Index

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xv

1

22

51

78

112

138

163

185

197 211 229

Fîgures

Figure 0.1 “National spring cleaning!” MDF campaign poster. 2 Figure 0.2 Interior of Marxim restaurant. 4 Figure 1.1 Monuments to the Buda Volunteers Regiment Memorial, Captain Ilya Afanasyevich Ostapenko, and Captain Miklós Steinmetz at Memento Park. 43 Figure 1.2 Lenin statue at Memento Park. 48 Figure 1.3 Three monuments from the “Endless Parade of Liberation Monuments” at Memento Park. 49 Figure 2.1 Statue of Imre Nagy at Martyrs’ Square. 62 Figure 3.1 Film still fromDolly Birds. 84 Figure 3.2 Interior of Chachacha Eszpresszó. 86 Figure 3.3 Bookstore display advertisingRainbow Department Store. 88 Figure 4.1 Exterior of House of Terror museum. 113 Figure 4.2 “Everyday Life” room at the House of Terror. 133 Figure 4.3 Interior of Terv Eszpresszó. 134 Figure 6.1 Exhibition at the Petőfi Csarnok commemorating everyday life during 1956. 164

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