The Montage Connection between John Heartfield and László Lakner

2019 ◽  
pp. 565-588
Author(s):  
Cristina Cuevas-Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Visual Culture ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Visual Language ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
The West ◽  
Weimar Germany ◽  
Cross Pollination ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Visual Cultures

This article argues that during the 1960s the Hungarian conceptualist and painter László Lakner defined through his works a paradoxical, yet distinctive lineage of a New Leftist visual culture. Based in the tradition of transnational communist, antifascist visual expression, Lakner’s art responded and critiqued the communist regime in Eastern Europe during the 1960s. The German political photomonteur John Heartfield initiated such an alternative leftist visual language in Weimar Germany in his antifascist photomontages, published by the German magazine Arbeiter-Illustrierte Zeitung, to create a politically engaged viewer from within the communist international movement. This essay compares the work of Lakner and Heartfield to show how the montage connection between these two artists stemmed from a transnational cross-pollination between communist visual cultures in the West and East that shared an international and oppositional character informed by radical social movements in the thirties and sixties.

scholarly journals The Psychoprophylactic Method of Painless Childbirth in Socialist Czechoslovakia: from State Propaganda to Activism of Enthusiasts

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 534-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ema Hrešanová
Keyword(s):  
Pain Relief ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
The West ◽  
Medical Journals ◽  
History Of ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Pharmacological Method ◽  
Insight Into

This paper explores the history of the ‘psychoprophylactic method of painless childbirth’ in socialist Czechoslovakia, in particular, in the Czech and Moravian regions of the country, showing that it substantially differs from the course that the method took in other countries. This non-pharmacological method of pain relief originated in the USSR and became well known as the Lamaze method in western English-speaking countries. Use of the method in Czechoslovakia, however, followed a very different path from both the West, where its use was refined mainly outside the biomedical frame, and the USSR, where it ceased to be pursued as a scientific method in the 1950s after Stalin’s death. The method was imported to Czechoslovakia in the early 1950s and it was politically promoted as Soviet science’s gift to women. In the 1960s the method became widespread in practice but research on it diminished and, in the 1970s, its use declined too. However, in the 1980s, in the last decade of the Communist regime, the method resurfaced in the pages of Czechoslovak medical journals and underwent an exciting renaissance, having been reintroduced by a few enthusiastic individuals, most of them women. This article explores the background to the renewed interest in the method while providing insight into the wider social and political context that shaped socialist maternity and birth care in different periods.

scholarly journals Activity of Albanian emigration in the West towards the issue of Kosovo and Metohija (1945-1969)

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-255
Author(s):  
Igor Vukadinović
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
The United States ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
National Committee ◽  
The West ◽  
Health Institutions ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Second World

After the Second World War, a large number of members of the fascist regime of the Kingdom of Albania found refuge in Italy, Turkey and the countries of Western Europe, where they continued to politically act. The leading political options in exile - Balli Kombetar, Zogists and pro-Italian National Independent Bloc, decided to cooperate with each other, so they have formed the Albanian National Committee in 1946. The turning point for the Albanian extreme emigration in the West is Operation Valuable, by which the United States and Great Britain sought to overthrow the Communist regime of Enver Hoxha in Albania. Although the operation failed, strong ties were forged between US and British intelligence and Albanian nacionalist emigration, which were further intensified in the 1960s. Xhafer Deva, who was dedicated to act on the annexation of Kosovo and Metohija to Albania, immigrated to the United States in 1956 and established cooperation with the CIA. Albanian emigration in the West applied different methods in politics towards Kosovo and Metohija. Some organizations, such as Xhafer Deva's Third Prizren League, have focused on lobbying Western intelligence. The Bali Kombetar Independent, headquatered in Rome, paid particular attention to working with Albanian high school and student youth in Kosovo and Metohija. The Alliance of Kosovo, formed in 1949, was engaged in subtle methods of involving Albanian nationalists in Yugoslav state structures, the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav People's Army, and educational and health institutions in Kosovo and Metohija. Albanian emigration was also involved in violent demonstrations in Kosovo and Metohija in 1968, and cooperated on this issue with the Communist regime of Enver Hoxha in Albania.

After the Wall II: The Fall and Rise of an Educational System

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G. Rodden
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Family Member ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Maximum Speed ◽  
The West ◽  
System P ◽  
Self Actualization ◽  
Journey To The West ◽  
The 1960S

In the fall of 1990, a hit movie comedy opened to packed houses in eastern German theaters. Go, Trabi, Go!—the producers gave the film an English title—celebrated with rollicking Weltschmerz the misadventures of Georg, a hapless baby-blue Trabant 601—whose jinxed capers make him the undeniable screen successor to Herbie, the Disney VW Beetle of the 1960s. Georg stalls pitifully on the Autobahn, is shorn of his bumper in Munich traffic, is robbed of all four tires by pranksters during a camping stop, and even gets mistaken for scrap near an auto junkyard, an obvious metaphor for the DDR running out of gas—as it lurches toward unity. Go, Trabi, Go! begins with DDR German teacher Udo Struutz deciding to fulfill a long-deferred dream: his first journey to the West will be to travel from his hellhole hometown of industrial Bitterfield, the dirtiest city in all of Eastern Europe, to balmy Naples, thereby tracing the footsteps of his beloved Goethe, whose Italian Journey recorded his own (less quixotic) southern pilgrimage from Weimar in the 1780s. Herr Struutz packs his wife and daughter into little Georg, a family member for 20 years whom Herr Struutz lovingly wipes down with his own washcloth. “See Naples and Die!” scrawls Herr Struutz on Georg’s trunk, recalling Goethe’s clarion call to self-actualization: “Sterbe und werde!” (“die and become!”). The adventure turns out to be a story of Innocent Ossis Abroad and their psychological collision with the West. Numerous scenes in Go, Trabi, Go! allude to the region’s plight: putt-putting along on the Autobahn, little Georg strains to do his maximum speed of 60 mph as contemptuous Mercedes-Benzes, Porsches, and BMWs fly by; broken-down in Bavaria, Georg costs the Struutz family a steep (an outrageously inflated) price for repair, which the intrepid socialist entrepreneurs earn by charging curious Bavarians DM 5 for a “Trabi Peep Show” and a five-minute joy ride in Georg. Reassuringly, the Struutz family eventually does reach its destination, albeit with the accident-prone but indomitable Georg—now minus his top—as a breezy convertible.

Bucking the postdramatic: Epic plays by Tom Stoppard

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-81
Author(s):  
Elena Dotsenko
Keyword(s):  
Current Trend ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
The West ◽  
Contemporary Theatre ◽  
Tom Stoppard ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
The 1960S

Tom Stoppard’s drama has been one of the eminent and internationally known phenomena of contemporary theatre for several decades. Nevertheless, the polemics are still relevant whether Stoppard’s plays belong to postmodern or postdramatic or any other current trend. The article regards Stoppard’s theatrical experiment as a postmodern one. Moreover, the use and even development of postmodern techniques are noted not only as far as his early plays of the 1960s and 70s are concerned, but as a characteristic of the later dramas by Stoppard. Recently the playwright has created three major epic plays characterized by a deep understanding of historical context: “The Coast of Utopia”, “Rock’n’Roll”, and “Leopoldstadt”. The author of the article considers two later plays as original pieces, having in common some autobiographical details. “Rock’n’Roll” presents the years from 1968 to 1990 in Czechoslovakia and compares the interpretation of “freedom” in the West and that under the Communist regime. “Leopoldstadt” is a play about Austrian Jews and the Holocaust. The article analyzes the artistic devices of representation of the cultural and historical background in each of the plays.

The Phoenix that Could Not Rise: Politics and Rock Culture in Romania, 1960–1989

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 255-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caius Dobrescu
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Youth Culture ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
The West ◽  
Cultural Policies ◽  
Rock Band ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Phoenix

AbstractThe article addresses the emergence and development of the rock scene under the very specifi c circumstances of Romanian communism. While pointing to the extension and complexity of this social-musical phenomenon, it tries to explain the paradox that the rock scene could coexist with what is currently perceived as one of the most repressive and unreformed social systems in communist Eastern Europe. The analytical part of the paper is centered around two case studies: 1) the artistic and intellectual evolution of the rock band Phoenix, from its 1962 beginnings to the 1977 spectacular escape to the West of most of its lineup, 2) and the strange combination of nationalist-Stalinist mobilizationism and flower power Woodstock-like poetry of the cultural activist Adrian Păunescu and his Flacăra Cénacle of the Revolutionary Youth, from the mid-1970s to the last part of the 1980s. Alluding to the name of the cult act Phoenix, the title of the paper suggests that, once dissipated under the impact of repressive and manipulative cultural policies, the overwhelming creative energies manifested in the Romanian youth culture of the second half of the 1960s were almost completely lost to the cause of a gradual, peaceful opening of the Romanian society.

A note on John Hawkins (1761–1841) and the Hawkins archive

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-268
Author(s):  
R. J. CLEEVELY
Keyword(s):  
Major Part ◽  
Reference Lists ◽  
The West ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S

A note dealing with the history of the Hawkins Papers, including the material relating to John Hawkins (1761–1841) presented to the West Sussex Record Office in the 1960s, recently transferred to the Cornwall County Record Office, Truro, in order to be consolidated with the major part of the Hawkins archive held there. Reference lists to the correspondence of Sibthorp-Hawkins, Hawkins-Sibthorp, and Hawkins to his mother mentioned in The Flora Graeca story (Lack, 1999) are provided.

Studying Modern Arabic Literature

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Public Intellectual ◽  
Arabic Literature ◽  
Global Culture ◽  
The West ◽  
Teaching And Research ◽  
The Face ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Modern Arabic

This book is devoted to the life and academic legacy of Mustafa Badawi who transformed the study of modern Arabic literature in the second half of the twentieth century. Prior to the 1960s the study of Arabic literature, both classical and modern, had barely been emancipated from the academic approaches of orientalism. The appointment of Badawi as Oxford University's first lecturer in modern Arabic literature changed the face of this subject as Badawi showed, through his teaching and research, that Arabic literature was making vibrant contributions to global culture and thought. Part biography, part collection of critical essays, this book celebrates Badawi's immense contribution to the field and explores his role as a public intellectual in the Arab world and the west.

State-run celebration of Liberation Day in Czechoslovakia (based on audiovisual sources)

2019 ◽  
pp. 251-268
Author(s):  
Timur Gimadeev
Keyword(s):  
Political Development ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
The Political ◽  
Historical Experience ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Military

The article deals with the history of celebrating the Liberation Day in Czechoslovakia organised by the state. Various aspects of the history of the holiday have been considered with the extensive use of audiovisual documents (materials from Czechoslovak newsreels and TV archives), which allowed for a detailed analysis of the propaganda representation of the holiday. As a result, it has been possible to identify the main stages of the historical evolution of the celebrations of Liberation Day, to discover the close interdependence between these stages and the country’s political development. The establishment of the holiday itself — its concept and the military parade as the main ritual — took place in the first post-war years, simultaneously with the consolidation of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Later, until the end of the 1960s, the celebrations gradually evolved along the political regime, acquiring new ritual forms (ceremonial meetings, and “guards of memory”). In 1968, at the same time as there was an attempt to rethink the entire socialist regime and the historical experience connected with it, an attempt was made to reconstruct Liberation Day. However, political “normalisation” led to the normalisation of the celebration itself, which played an important role in legitimising the Soviet presence in the country. At this stage, the role of ceremonial meetings and “guards of memory” increased, while inventions released in time for 9 May appeared and “May TV” was specially produced. The fall of the Communist regime in 1989 led to the fall of the concept of Liberation Day on 9 May, resulting in changes of the title, date and paradigm of the holiday, which became Victory Day and has been since celebrated on 8 May.

Book Reviews

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 88-107
Author(s):  
Louise K. Davidson-Schmich ◽  
Jennifer A. Yoder ◽  
Friederike Eigler ◽  
Joyce M. Mushaben ◽  
Alexandra Schwell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Print Media ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The West ◽  
Politics Of Memory ◽  
German State ◽  
East German ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S

Konrad H. Jarausch, United Germany: Debating Processes and Prospects Reviewed by Louise K. Davidson-Schmich Nick Hodgin and Caroline Pearce, ed. The GDR Remembered:Representations of the East German State since 1989 Reviewed by Jennifer A. Yoder Andrew Demshuk, The Lost German East: Forced Migration and the Politics of Memory, 1945-1970 Reviewed by Friederike Eigler Peter H. Merkl, Small Town & Village in Bavaria: The Passing of a Way of Life Reviewed by Joyce M. Mushaben Barbara Thériault, The Cop and the Sociologist. Investigating Diversity in German Police Forces Reviewed by Alexandra Schwell Clare Bielby, Violent Women in Print: Representations in the West German Print Media of the 1960s and 1970s Reviewed by Katharina Karcher Michael David-Fox, Peter Holquist, and Alexander M. Martin, ed., Fascination and Enmity: Russia and Germany as Entangled Histories, 1914-1945 Reviewed by Jennifer A. Yoder

Building hydrosocialism in Czechoslovakia

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 610-633
Author(s):  
Jiří Janáč
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
State Socialism ◽  
Communist Society ◽  
The West ◽  
Transformative Power ◽  
Reflexive Modernity ◽  
The 1960S

Throughout the period of state socialism, water was viewed as an instrument of immense transformative power and water experts were seen as guardians of such transformation, a transformation for which we coin the term 'hydrosocialism'. A reconfiguration of water, a scarce and vital natural resource, was to a great extent identified with social change and envisioned transition to socialist and eventually communist society. While in the West, hydraulic experts (hydrocrats) and the vision of a 'civilising mission' of water management (hydraulic mission) gradually faded away with the arrival of reflexive modernity from the 1960s, in socialist Czechoslovakia the situation was different. Despite the fact they faced analogous challenges (environmental issues, economisation), the technocratic character of state socialism enabled socialist hydraulic engineers to secure their position and belief in transformative powers of water.

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