Czechoslovakia and Eastern Europe in the Era of Normalisation, 1969-1989

0565326 - ÚSD 2023 RIV CH eng M - Monography Chapter
Vaněk, Miroslav
Twenty Years in Shades of Grey? Everyday Life During Normalisation Based on Oral History Research.
Czechoslovakia and Eastern Europe in the Era of Normalisation, 1969-1989. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022 - (McDermott, K.; Stibbe, M.), s. 144-169. ISBN 978-3-030-98270-6
Institutional support: RVO:68378114
Keywords : everyday life * normalization * Czechoslovakia * oral history
OECD category: History (history of science and technology to be 6.3, history of specific sciences to be under the respective headings)

The article is a reflection on the 'gray' period of the so-called normalization in Czechoslovakia. On the basis of more than two hundred oral history interviews conducted at the Oral History Center of the Czech Institute for Contemporary History, it is pointed out that it is not very valid to point to the period 1970 - 1989 as a gray period. After all, this period of normalization “took hold” only after 1989. The article focuses on three key aspects of normalization everyday life - fashion, housing and the environment - it can be concluded that Czechoslovak citizens creatively adapted to the times' pressure and used often modest resources and opportunities. The multifaceted nature of normalization emerges. Colorful tones rather than dull gray.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0336877