Remains of socialism : memory and the futures of the past in postsocialist Hungary

Author(s)

    • Nadkarni, Maya

Bibliographic Information

Remains of socialism : memory and the futures of the past in postsocialist Hungary

Maya Nadkarni

Cornell University Press, 2020

  • hbk.

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-227) and index

Description and Table of Contents

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Banishing Remains 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

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