Perceptions of society in communist Europe [electronic resource] regime archives and popular opinion

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Secret agents : reassessing the agency of radio listeners in Cold War Czechoslovakia (1945-1953) / Rosamund Johnston -- Practices of distance, perceptions of proximity : trade union delegates and everyday politics in post-World War II Romania / Adrian Grama -- A case study of legitimization practices : the Czechoslovak Stalinist elites at the regional level (1948-1951) / Marián Lóži -- Policing the police : the "instructor group" and the Stalinization of the Czechoslovak secret police (1948-1951) / Molly Pucci -- Constructive complaints and socialist subversion in Stalinist Czechoslovakia : E. F. Burian's Scandal in the picture gallery / Shawn Clybor -- Perceptions of society in Czechoslovak secret police archives : how a "Czechoslovak 1956" was thwarted / Muriel Blaive -- Crises and the creation of institutions for assessing popular consumption preferences in communist Bulgaria, 1953-1970 / Martin K. Dimitrov -- Who is afraid of whom? The case of the "loyal dissidents" in the German Democratic Republic / Sonia Combe -- Did communist children's television communicate universal values? Representing borders in the Polish series Four Tank-men and a Dog / Machteld Venken -- Between censorship and scholarship : the editorial board of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, 1969-89 / Libora Oates-Indruchová -- "How many days have the comrades' wives spent in a queue?" Appealing to the Ceaușescus in late socialist Romania / Jill Massino -- Authenticating the past : archives, secret police, and heroism in contemporary Czech representations of socialism / Veronika Pehe.

"Drawing on archival sources from Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany, Romania and Bulgaria, Perceptions of Society in Communist Europe considers whether and to what extent communist regimes cared about popular opinion, how they obtained their information, and how it helped them implement and maintain their rule. Contrary to popular belief, communist regimes sought to legitimise their domination with minimal resort to violence in order to maintain their everyday power. This entailed a permanent negotiation process between the rulers and the ruled, with public approval of governmental policies becoming key to their success. By analysing topics such as a Stalinist musical in Czechoslovakia, workers' letters to the leadership in Romania, children's television in Poland and the figure of the secret agent in contemporary culture, as well as many more besides, Muriel Blaive and the contributors demonstrate the potential of social history to deconstruct parochial national perceptions of communism. This cutting-edge v. is a vital resource for academics, postgraduates and advanced undergraduates studying East-Central European history, Stalinism and comparative communism."--

Also issued in print.

Electronic reproduction. London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014. Available via World Wide Web. Access limited by licensing agreement. s2014 dcunns