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Rebellion and resistance / edited by Henrik Jensen - Pisa : Plus-Pisa university press, 2009. - (Thematic work group. 2, Power and culture ; 4)

303.6 (21.)1. Conflitto sociale I. Jensen, Henrik

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Rebels and Rule-Abiders. Hungarian Youth in the 1950s and the Early 1960s

Balázs CzetzUniversity of Miskolc

AbstrAct

This chapter presents the forms of rebellion Hungarian youth in the 1950s and the early 1960s employed in order to express their dissatisfaction with the regime. In par-ticular it concentrates on the youth subcultures and subcultural phenomena (clothing, hairstyle, dance) in Hungary. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to present the communist youth organizations and their ways of operation, the only aim of which was the ideological education of young people.

Magyarországon és a keleti blokk más országaiban uralomra jutó kommunista vezetés megkülönböztetett figyelemmel fordult az ifjúság felé. Felismerték, hogy az ideológiai és politikai nevelést nem lehet elég korán kezdeni és minden lehetőséget megragadtak arra, hogy a „jövő reménységeit” a fiatalokat maguk mellé állítsák. Pénzt, időt, fáradságot nem kímélve ifjúsági szövetségeket hoztak létre, ahol szervezett keretek között alapos ideológiai felkészítést kaphattak az ifjak. Mindezen erőfeszítések ellenére azonban a fiatalok között is voltak olyanok, akik nem elégedtek meg a statiszta szereppel, akiket nem elégítettek ki a központi hatalom üres frázisai, és akik nem találták a helyüket az új világban. Az alábbi-akban kísérletet teszek arra, hogy bemutassam a lázadás azon formáit melyekkel hazánk korabeli ifjúsága kifejezte nemtetszését a rendszerrel szemben. Mindemellett azonban szükséges, hogy – ha csak vázlatosan is – ismertessem azokat az ifjúsági szervezeteket és működésüket melyek egyetlen célja az ifjúság világnézeti nevelése volt.

The Communist leadership of Hungary and other countries of the Eastern Bloc turned its attention to youth. They realized that ideological and political education could not be started early enough and seized every opportunity to place the ‘hope for the future’, young people, on their side. Sparing no time, effort or money, they established youth organizations where children and youngsters could get thorough ideological prepara-tion within well-determined bounds. Despite all their efforts, some of the young were not satisfied with the role of walk-ons, or with the empty phrases of the central power, and never found their places in this new world. In chapter paper, I wish to present the

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forms of rebellion that Hungarian youth at the time chose in order to express their dis-satisfaction with the regime. In order to do that, it is necessary to present – or rather, outline – the official youth organizations and their ways of operation, the only aim of which was the ideological education of young people.

One of the significant outcomes of Western social developments after the Second World War was the appearance of independent youth subcultures. They had numerous manifestations and versions in different countries and areas, but what they all had in common was the opposition, the distancing from the official, adult society. Young peo-ple expressed a general feeling of being outsiders much more openly than ever before. This appeared from their behaviour and uses of public places, from their clothing and usually from their consumer and entertainment habits. Often these subcultures were formed around music, originating mainly from the USA. Rock ‘n roll and its different trends demonstrated best the independent identities of the new generations, or at least the quest for a new self-consciousness, significantly different from that of their fathers.

The Eastern part of the world, governed by communist dictatorship, was struggling with similar problems, but because of the closure of borders and governmental control that spread to all spheres of social life, the Western models managed to penetrate only later and to a smaller extent. Because the subcultures defined themselves as opposing existing norms, proclaiming these to be invalid, they were treated as forms of deviant conduct for a long time. The lack of comprehension and the indignation of ‘honourable citizens’ on both sides of the Iron Curtain, caused by hair length and clothing different from ‘the usual’, were often followed by police reprisals. However, society gradually tamed and as-similated the successive waves of rebellion, in the process changing itself too. In North America and Western Europe this meant commercializing the rebellion, whereby the val-ues of the rebellious subcultures became products, consumable by the wider masses.

In Hungary, the Communist party gained absolute power in 1949 and thereby the op-portunity to execute the social and economic changes it saw necessary. The aim of the dictatorial political system was to raise the so far ‘oppressed’ working class to power, and form a new economic and political elite. This required getting rid of the leaders of the old system, and starting the ideological education of the masses.

Great attention was paid to the ideological education of youth inside and outside school. This was the purpose of the Magyar Úttörők Szövetsége [Hungarian Pioneer Association], officially formed in Hungary in July 1946 following the model of Soviet pioneer move-ment1. In the following years, groups were formed in schools and in 1949 it became the only officially permitted children’s organization in primary schools, ousting other youth movements (for example the Scouts). A red tie was chosen as the symbol of the movement, which was later completed by a full uniform (white shirt, dark trousers, belt, pioneer whistle and cap). A special march of the movement was composed by Zoltán Kodály2 in 1947, its slogan, “Előre!” [Ahead!], appearing on flags and objects related to the pioneer movement.

Rebels and Rule-Abiders. Hungarian Youth in the 1950s and the Early 1960s 169

Generational Conflict, Rebellious Youth

Fig. 1“Peace, friendship and solidarity”.Youth from the eastern block in the 1950s and the 1960s.

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Among the aims of the pioneer movement was to distract children’s attention from re-ligious education, wherefore forest trips, obstacle races and other group activities were scheduled for Sunday mornings, the usual time for religious education and mass. The movement was characterized by a strict hierarchical structure, which was very similar to the structure of the army. The primary target-group of the organization was children, aged 10-14, practically primary school pupils, attending middle school3.

In order also to include the younger age group in ideological education, pajtás [fellow pioneer] and kisdobos [drummer-boy] movements were formed. Pupils, just starting school, joined the organization, and remained there until their initiation as pioneers. The aim and structure of these movements, organized in ascending order, was the same as that of the pioneers, the only differences being the symbols, as the tie here was blue. After schooling, children automatically became members of the politicized youth orga-nization, and it accompanied them through the primary school years.

Middle school was the time for the more important youth movement, which was of course arranged in the appropriate way. The ceremony of pioneer initiation, choosing the ‘godparents’, tying the ties and taking the oath, all served to strengthen the feeling in the children of ‘being the chosen ones’, gaining their loyalty in the fullest way. Beyond formalities, the popularity of the movement was fostered by institutions, which were in accordance with the characteristics of the pupils’ life and satisfied children’s needs. These institutions were established relatively early, at the end of the forties. An outstand-ing example was the Csillebérci Úttörő Tábor [Csillebérc Pioneer Camp], which was the place for central programs and summer camps. Here, and in other less cultic places of the country, the pajtások chosen on the basis of their school results and excellent work in the movement were trained to be úttörővezetők [pioneer troop leader] and őrsvezetők [patrol leader]4. The so-called Úttörővasút [Pioneer Railway] was established in 1948. Only the outstanding pioneers were selected for this place as well, and it was a kind of reward to get the opportunity to participate in what was for them extremely exciting work.

With the supervision of MÁV [Hungarian State Railways], the railway line that set off at Széchenyi hill was operated mainly by children who performed most of the duties: traffic managers, conductor, etc. – of course under the supervision of real train staff to prevent accidents. The children went to school, and at the same time carried out duties in turns in the boarding school system. The time spent there was surely a determining experience for them5. Therefore, it is not surprising that the pioneer movement devel-oped dynamically, so that by the mid 1950s 80% of the 6-14 year old children were members. We have to add, however, that in reality neither the children, nor the parents, nor even the teachers (who became úttörővezető), had any other options than joining the kisdobos movement and pioneer association. Participation was obligatory, although just by implication. On the other hand, just like the cserkészek [scouts], the pioneers strongly influenced the children’s mentality, relying on their desire for adventure, so there was no need for special insistence. Of course, we cannot speak of a firm, unshakeable ideological



commitment of the children, as this could not have been the aim at that age. The leaders of the movement, on the other hand, could with good reason assume that a person who had once experienced a feeling of belonging to a group, and the advantages that go with it, would later be less likely to leave the path determined by the party.

For the ideological education of children older than 14, the Dolgozó Ifjúság Szövetsége (DISZ) [Working Youth Association], was founded in June 1950. Its predecessor, Mag-yar Ifjúság Népi Szövetsége (MINSZ) [Hungarian Youth People’s Association], had been established 2 years before, by merging different strata organizations. The DISZ consid-ered the unified communist ethical-political education of the youth to be its task and therefore propagated the studies of Marxism-Leninism. Its ideal of a centralized, bureau-cratic organization was the Soviet Komszomol6. Its organizations were mostly founded in institutions of higher education and production sites (e.g. factories, farmers’ agricul-tural co-operative), although it was difficult to promote among the rural youth. DISZ membership was considered to be the ‘entrance’ to party membership, so it demanded a much stronger ideological attachment than for example the pioneer movement7.

Beside political training, members participated actively in propaganda campaigns. As well as performing canvassing activities, DISZ ‘shock-brigades’ appeared on bigger con-struction sites or in plants when big projects were carried out, to set an example to the workers and urge them to work even harder. The structure of the only mass youth or-ganization copied the party bureaucracy. Its most essential functions were control and supervision. At the same time its goal was to satisfy the young people’s desires beyond work and studying, although this proved impossible, due to the organization’s unilat-eralism and strict control. Only few people came to consider the DISZ an intellectual and ideological cornerstone of their life.

The majority became DISZ members in secondary school, as being a member of the only mass organization was an advantage with regard to higher education, and yielded better chances for future success. The party and the institutions of the ministry of home affairs shared the ideological and practical supervision of the youth. The former worked visibly, the latter invisibly. In higher education institutions, it was the task of young lecturers, teaching national ideology and Marxism-Leninism, to supervise the DISZ organization.

It is not a coincidence that just before the revolution of 19568, the majority of young peo-ple turned their backs on the DISZ and established ‘free’ youth organizations, indepen-dent of the party. However, these did not last long following the revolutionary events9.

Youth Politics After the revolution

The successor of the DISZ, the Kommunisták Ifjúsági Szövetsége (KISZ) [Communist Youth Organization], was established on 21 March 1957, the anniversary of the dec-laration of Tanácsköztársaság [Republic of Council]10, as a nation-wide, unified and

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solitary mass youth organization under the direction of the Communist party. Its estab-lishment was an important element of the restoration of Soviet political institutions. This is proven by the fact that the youth organization was put on the agenda by the Idei-glenes Intéző Bizottság [Temporary Executive Committee] at a meeting on 5 December 1956. However, the situation was not yet considered to be appropriate. The MSZMP [Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party] made the decision about the establishment of the organization on 26 February 1957. A committee was established, whose task was to consult about the organization of the KISZ with the leaders of the similar Soviet orga-nization, the Komszomol. The Hungarians and the Soviets agreed that the KISZ must be established before 15 March11. The careful preparation was justified by the fact that youth had played an important role in all phases of the revolution12. At the time of the establishment of the KISZ, many other youth organizations were operating. Most of those were liquidated, and their suspension of activities or self-liquidation announced in the first half of 1957. The others gave up their independence by declaring to be part of the KISZ13. According to the central principle, it was laid down that the KISZ was the youth institution of the MSZMP and that therefore the party’s resolutions were obligatory for KISZ organizations. The task of the KISZ was the following: to serve in the building of socialist society, to fight for the objectives of the party and to educate youth in a Communist spirit.

By the summer of 1957, the new organization had 130,000 members, whereas in later years, after organization was completed, membership was always around 900,000. The first phase of organizing the KISZ was officially concluded at the first national meeting on 25-27 October 1957 when the KISZ defined itself as the youth- and at the same time national mass-organization of the Communist party, successor of the party’s for-mer youth organization. In the beginning of the 1960s, the emphasis was placed on activating young people and on “tasks related to adapting the new generation to soci-ety”. The activities organized by the KISZ in those years were very similar to the former DISZ activities (drainage work in the Hanság moors, lasting for years, and building camps, planting trees, numerous spectacular competitions and races, etc.), and suitable for experiencing communal life and activities for different youth groups.

For young people, KISZ membership came automatically by starting secondary educa-tion, and paying the symbolic membership fee and resulted in instant advantages in relation to, for example, further education, jobs and career opportunities. KISZ camps opened opportunities for spending summer holidays in economically feasible ways14. Beside the organization, there was a security unit, the Ifjú Gárda [Youth Guards], originally set up to secure KISZ programs and strengthen patriotic and national de-fence education under the overall political direction of the KISZ. The organization of the Youth Guards was based on secondary schools and work places with only very few regional subunits operating. The organizational structure was based on the military – squad-platoon-company-battalion – and the commanding staff composed of profes-



sional army officers from county level. Thus the inclusion of members into the military hierarchy was ensured. The structure also ensured reserves for the armed forces, and security forces. The Youth Guards (boys and girls) served from the age of 14. It was vol-untary but the superior KISZ committee could check participation. The guards wore uniforms, which were the same all over the country.

The KISZ at the same time was a ‘voluntary’ (so organized by the state) mass organization, and served to prepare the education of the vanguard. In case of cadres it operated as a pre-school for party work and a training place for school, university, and regional officials.

the ‘rebels’

The concept of subculture was introduced to sociology by Albert Cohen. Subculture refers to the distinctive norms, values, beliefs and lifestyles of a group that distances itself from other groups and from the higher cultural and normative system it is part of. Although being connected to the larger society and culture through the network of

Fig. 2For members of the Communist Youth Organization, construction camps offered a good opportunity to spend the summer holidays in eccomically useful ways.

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Fig. 3Loyalty to the people, loyalty to the party. Communist Youth Organization.



social institutions and shared values, subcultures are characterized by specific orienta-tions and a whole range of components starting from the theoretical to those of a physi-cal or material nature, which distinguish them from the broader culture15.

Subcultures are often formed from various interactions or contact patterns among in-dividuals with similar social status. In time, a system of norms, values and beliefs, i.e. a subculture, comes into existence, and through interpersonal communication, mass communication and other forms of communication contact it may spread within the social networks of individuals, who, although scattered and living far from each other, can identify with it.

Developed industrial societies did not face the problem caused by a young generation, increased in number and shopping power, until the 1950s. Resulting from relative well-being, prolongation of education, material independence and more leisure time, young people turned into an independent class that emphatically wanted to impose its own demands, achieve its expectations, and promote its own forms of entertainment – and, by doing so, a new youth culture.

In the first part of the 1960s, 40% of the Hungarian population was born after 1945. Around half a million minors lived in Budapest16. These masses of young people were, here as well, looking for their proper place and entertainment and although they could not enjoy the consumer goods directly, the music coming from the ‘West’ and the ‘life-style’ related to it enthralled them.

In the propaganda of the period, young people were represented as the hope for the so-cialist future. Yet, it was among them that subcultures – whose values were not any lon-ger bound to official norms, but had taken an alternative route – spread. Representative groups of youth subcultures had appeared in Western Europe and overseas even before the war, but they did not spread to the masses until the 1950s. This was when the concept of anti-fashion, closely related to music, appeared. It was not by chance that the formation of youth subcultures came about simultaneously with the expansion of mass media. Al-though a bit later than in the West, the different waves of musical subcultures also arrived in Hungary, where their countercultural character was even more strongly expressed. This can be explained by the difference in the character of the two political systems17.

The most characteristic youth subculture in Hungary was that related to the ‘jampec’ [spivs] phenomenon, which drew the attention even of the official propaganda18. Jam-pec is a Yiddish loan word, which means a garish, flighty youngster. It was first men-tioned in 1928, originally relating to a ‘stupid, foolish’ person from which the meaning of a fop, a dandified young man developed in Hungarian19. The youngsters referred to by this attribute embodied a group, who, by following ‘capitalist values’ served as a neg-ative example for their peers. The phenomenon was known in the Soviet Union as well, where the members of this kind of group were referred as dandified young men (piz-soni). Before the World War II the fop, originating from rich families pursuing spend-

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thrift lifestyles, were characterized by the attribute jampec, characterizing one who was mad about fashionable things (dance, motorbikes, thrillers, etc.). Thanks to the image of a fashionable, independent lifestyle, this style became popular after World War II as well, among young, well-paid skilled workers, who tried to imitate the example of their pre-war predecessors.

It is clear from earlier reports that a jampec was primarily characterised by particular clothes. It was a political and ideological expectation in the 1950s that individuals should express the break with the old civil world through clothing. Uniformity was an expression of the social changes. ‘Being trendy’ was despised as a petty bourgeois remnant20, the hats, ties, jewellery and make-up that recalled the previous world be-came undesirable. The same loden coats and cloth caps were seen everywhere; print dresses and flannel blouses for women spread, pastel colours were dominant. People wore products from the garment industry whose quality was rather poor, but at the same time very expensive due to the shortage of goods and raw material21.

In this monotonous dullness, the jampec fashion exploded: drainpipe trousers, colour-ful shirts, patterned ties or scarves for girls, tight skirts, thick-soled shoes and tight coats22. Just one piece of clothing was enough to look like a jampec, it was not neces-sary to wear a full set of clothes, especially if the hairstyle reflected that style. Later, the jampecs were also the first to wear jeans, which caused a public outcry. Besides clothing, jampec youth were characterized by their wild dance style and insolent speech. That is why it is not surprising that the official term jampec, besides indicating the ethically rot-ten, meant ‘anti-fashion’ as well.

The subculture related to the jampec phenomenon was not only resistant to official values, but also changed the leisure-time culture of workers, for whom the main scene of social contact was the pub. Instead, the most important meeting place for the jampec young people became the community centre, the dance hall or the cinema, where they felt at home. The jampec not only rebelled against existing norms but also wanted to be different from the majority23.

As a result of the country’s isolation, Western influences appeared later and in distorted forms. Young people used slang and foreign words, correctly or incorrectly borrowed, which were often in English, but some expressions and greetings (e.g. ciao, which was registered in a record of the time as “csau”) were taken from Italian24. For using such ‘Western’ expressions and greetings, especially if they were coupled with ‘improper, gar-ish clothes’, students could easily get unsatisfactory marks or, in graver cases, even be expelled from school. As a reaction, common courtesy classes began to appear on tele-vision and in the radio, as well as caricatures and articles in the press, demanding more determined action against the new phenomenon. Older people tried to persuade the jampec youth travelling in public transportation or just strolling in the street to change their ways (without a lot of success, we have to add).



Music as a basic ‘accessory’ of entertainment had a considerable impact on young peo-ple. There had been high life in Budapest between the two world wars, but it decayed slowly first due to German, later Russian presence. After the advent of the Iron Curtain in 1946, one of the aims of cultural politics was to sift out art and intellectual attitudes alien to socialism, to liquidate all cultural life with civil content or structure. First, the Budapest nightlife and entertainment industry had to pay the price. Clubs, dance halls and entertainment places disappeared as the new system became stronger and stronger. Deteriorating standards of living and an atmosphere of fear also did not favour such in-stitutions25. The self-aware workers kept to their work, thereby dealing the ‘imperialists’ a blow. They were not interested in the grossness that might be collected from fashionable rubbish heaps, which is why they also did not carouse at entertainment places, but in-stead attended party meetings and literary and debating schools, where they got to know the newest socialist achievements. If they felt like singing, they sang a movement song.

After 1948, ‘the change’ encompassed cultural life as well, and Western or Western-like trends were not tolerated any more. Jazz, previously the music of entertainment, and dance music of American origin disappeared from the scene. According to the charges brought against it, its lyrics were nonsensical and disgusting, which might be said about the music as well. People ‘adoring the West’ could not expect tolerance either. According to Népi Ifjúság: “The musical culture of the urban petty bourgeoisie leads to insane peo-ple. It suffices to consider the effects of the recent Western dances, songs, cabarets, revues, which are producing morally and intellectually insane people, the well-known jampec. These people are enemies of both communal life and work”26.

The strict prohibitions were not in vain. In the West blues and country songs emerged in addition to the traditional dance music and jazz, and the performers started using not only acoustic, but electronic instruments with a new and greater effect. This was out of question in Hungary. The characteristic hits of the age could be heard at school ceremonies or workplace events (e.g. Dal az ötéves tervről [Song about the five-year plan], Sződd a selymet elvtárs [Weave the silk, comrade])27.However, all prohibitions turned out to be useless, as youth could not be prohibited from enjoying the Western cultural rubbish. They did not listen to admonitions. Swing started to spread and became the most popular among factory youth. ‘Swing Tóni-s’ ap-peared and shocked their audience with their tasteless dances and insane jerks. This be-haviour was ridiculed in a film (Dalolva szép az élet [Life is nice with singing]) produced in 1952, but this too was in vain, the phenomenon could not be stopped any more. After 195328 the cultural leadership was compelled to relax the prohibition system and did not condemn entertainment as rigorously as earlier, although modern dance music of American origin was still taboo. János Maróthy wrote: “The bourgeois pop music of recent times is one of the manifestations of American imperialism striving for world domination. The suppression of the masses’ creative force, the spread of a mendacious dream life, insane sadism – this is the characteristic of the capitalist mass musical life”.

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For ideologically less educated composers to be able to bypass the obvious pitfalls, the dance music composers and lyricist created the recipe for Hungarian dance music com-position. According to this, good dance music was optimistic (unlike American jazz, which is pessimistic), simple; the melody was dominant over the lyrics, the lyrics intel-ligible and dealing with contemporary themes (unlike American jazz lyrics which were idiotic with erotic overtones).

The cultural politics of the period were dominated by three artistic policies, namely copying, popularizing and following the example of folk art, Communist and Soviet art. Inevitably, these principles appeared in dance music compositions as well. For the sake of the cause, to save Hungarian dance music from stagnating and especially from American influence, it was necessary to make sacrifices, therefore the artistic level and aesthetic value did not matter a great deal29.

As a consequence of the 1956 revolution, hundreds of thousands left the country for fear of reprisal or for hope of a better and freer life. The majority of the ‘dissidents’ were young people who were extremely interested in Western influences. The great mass of those who under coercion chose a new country did their best, in spite of all prohibition, to keep in touch with relatives and friends who stayed at home, and an avalanche of letters and packages were sent to Hungary. They were naturally thoroughly checked by Hungarian authorities. In this way – carefully selected – the so-far prohibited artistic endeavours of the West arrived in Hungary after 1957 too, primarily the incredibly suc-cessful rock and roll of the mid 1950s, and later the beat music which grew out of it.

After suppressing the revolution, still in the period of reprisal, the Kadar system started to deal thoroughly with the education of youth, focusing on the influence that differ-ent forms of entertainment, such as dance music, beat and rock music had on young people30. News about the latest music and dance trends appeared in radio, television and media. However, there was not much positive commentary. The short reports ap-pearing from time to time tended to emphasize scandalous events and did not miss the opportunity to mention that such music and dance were of American origin and for this reason inevitably foreign to the socialist taste.

A part of the younger generation did not agree with this, and as soon as they heard a new style of music, they became fans and seized every opportunity to listen and dance to it. Signs saying, “We do not teach rock” were put on dance hall doors, and those who demonstrated steps related to this dance were instantly excluded from the dance schools31. However, at private parties, they listened to bakelite records sent from the West, or to Radio Free Europe (whose program, “Teenager Party”, especially targeting young people, started in 1959) and got to know the new trends.

For the generation growing up after the Second World War, the air of the 1950s was too cramped and the ‘brave new world’ of their fathers too stuffy. The instinctive fear, which had characterized their parents, had not necessarily survived in these young people. They



paid attention to a world beyond the Iron Curtain, which was becoming more liberal, and not to the ‘fraternal’ Soviet Union. They longed for independence and exciting new things and found all these, just as their American, English and other peers, in the new music, in rock and roll and related subcultural phenomena (clothing, hairstyle, dance).

At the same time, unlike English-American specimens of rampageous youth (hoboes, beatniks), conspicuous in the streets and producing new ideologies and utopias, in Hungary an instinctively rebellious generation was still yearning for the world and a place in the sun (indeed, taking to the streets against the oppressive power in Hungary would have been futile).

the ‘GAleri’The galeri-s [gangs]32, which were related to pop music and difficult to control, present-ed a problem for the central power that had to be taken seriously. Galeri is a German loan word meaning: hooligan company, gang33, and it emphasizes the coming together of the identical or same kind. Gangs were seen as groups with an anti-social attitude, made up of youth of approximately the same age, some of whom had already commit-ted some kind of crime. One of the most essential functions of the gang was to provide a form for self-expression to its members, against the usual supervision – parents, school, etc. Galeri formations appeared in Hungary in the mid 1950s, but spread in large num-bers only after 1956. There were 104 youth gangs in Budapest by 1961 – according to other data 226! – consisting of some 1020 youngsters, most of them underage. A survey from the 1960s that analyzes 54 gangs show that a significant number of them were created merely for entertainment, while a smaller part – 11 out of 54 – were organized specially for committing crime. At this time, the crime category included leaving the country illegally, plus organization activities, which were uniformly marked as “activi-ties directed at the overthrow of the democratic state” and which cannot be defined precisely nowadays. The author of the study bitterly points to the high number of youth gang members with hostile political views. He unambiguously indicates family back-ground and origin as a reason for this: it was only ‘natural’ that a child of a ‘class alien’, an admirer of the West, or someone who had taken part in the ‘counter-revolution’, would join such a group.

Members of such gangs above all missed the rights of freedom, “the right to the free choice of clothing”, “the right to the free choice of hairstyle”, the right to organize meet-ings and demonstrations, etc. Members of the youth gangs usually used nicknames, which often would refer to a physical feature or a skill, but some of them were nick-named after their ethnic characteristics. The hierarchy of the gang was usually deter-mined by physical power or skills, outstanding intellectual ability did not matter much. The leader had the crucial role and the members of the gang were organised around him; the gang was usually identified with the leader’s personality.

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The KISZ KB Intéző Bizottság [Executive Committee] dealt with the question of hoo-liganism in 1959 as a high priority. The committee discussed the “jampec question” which was, according to its members, closely related to the question of rock-and-roll and youth gangs. They concluded that although a high percentage of youngsters gath-ered into smaller or bigger communities, such as gangs, most of them had no relation to crime. To combat the phenomena, they wanted to increase the number of community centres and youth clubs, where musical but alcohol-free entertainment opportunities would be provided for the young people under the supervision of youth guards. Some even more radical ideas were suggested. The secretary of the party committee of Buda-pest advocated the principle of “first beat, then win” in the question of hooliganism.

The main reason for the emergence of gangs was considered to be the lack of entertain-ment places in Budapest where the youth might spend their time in a civilized way34. That was why they started to gather in gangs35. The prominent members of the party were not pleased by the existing community centres either. As they stated: “Most of the decent people are frightened away by the current audience. It would be good if some of these clubs were purged of such hooligans”36. For this reason, they increased the number of clubs by the already mentioned method, and moreover, the first bigger entertainment place, Budai Ifjúsági Park [Youth Park of Buda], was opened in summer 1961. Although within strict bounds, 2,000-3,000 youngsters could have a good time here every evening. In the beginning, folk and dance music were dominant, but the suburban gangs and downtown jampec soon discovered the place for themselves.In order to avoid scandals and fights, youth guards were in charge of maintaining order. The leadership did not tolerate rule-breaking behaviour: those who were dressed taste-lessly, those who cared about their appearance too much and those with long hair were excluded without further ado37. These actions were not very successful, although the police liquidated around fifty gangs every year using numerous means. Still, the gangs always reappeared. Then counter-intelligence agents and officers appeared in the clubs and entertainment places and tried to infiltrate the groups, with varied success. Youth gang members who were noticed by the authorities and stigmatized as troublemakers were subsequently not allowed to enter the public entertainment places, but more or less ‘compelled’ to provoke scandals and fights in front of clubs or nearby. The police arriving at the scene indiscriminately thrashed both the audience of the entertainment place and innocent and unfortunate passers-by.

Increasing the number of officially permitted clubs and entertainment places started an avalanche, which later could not be stopped. Artistic products, which were considered acceptable by the authorities, might appear in the media and even get state support, while those who were considered dangerous for ‘building socialism’ or ‘youth morals’ disappeared from the scene. This was the period of Tolerated, Forbidden and Support-ed art. Beat bands appeared after Western models, “Illés”, “Metró” and “Omega” being the most important, and although at first they belonged to the category of tolerated art,



they later became ‘supported’. The appearance of the musicians (long hair, jeans) would have shocked the ‘comrades’, but as the attitude inherent in beat music did not entail aggression or action against the system or express a political viewpoint, according to Kadar’s slogan of “those who are not against us, are with us” the bands were not banned. The only issue of confrontation was sexual ‘indecency’, as representations of the naked body under the Kadar regime were practically forbidden.

The system dreaded another event like 1956, and was open for any compromise in or-der to prevent it. It was, however, important that “non Communist youth groups” did not escape dictatorial control completely, so groups were continuously infiltrated by agents. Among the moles who wrote reports about their associates to the state authori-ties there were concert organizers, audience and even band members.

From the point of view of those in power, the 1950s and 1960s were still a golden age. The subcultures that developed around later musical trends were more determined to attack the system; thus it is not surprising that the party state considered ‘unorganized youth’, always trying to wriggle out of its control, to be a constant threat. They found the new wave extremely dangerous because it expressed a demand for an autonomous environment at a time when it looked as if cultural politics had managed to keep pop music within controlled bounds. What is more, the underground music ambitions of the 1970s and 1980s were really connected to intellectual circles, often even to circles of the political opposition. Therefore it is not an exaggeration to say that they contributed to the system’s failure.

notes1 L. Nádházi, A magyar úttörőmozgalom történeti kronológiája 1945-1998, Budapest 1999.2 Kodály Zoltán (1882-1967) composer, music teacher. Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

since 1943, its president in 1946-49. He received the doctoral degree at the University of Kolozsvár in 1944, at the University of Budapest in 1957, at Oxford University in 1960. He was awarded with Kos-suth Award three times (1948, 1952 and 1957). His work and music pedagogy works contributed to Hungary’s being considered “a power in classical music” worldwide.

3 The Hungarian Pioneer Association issued papers as well: “Pajtás”, “Tábortűz”, “Kisdobos”, “Dörmögő Dömötör”, “Úttörővezető”.

4 Nádházi, A Magyar cit.5 http://www.gyermekvasut.com/tort.html.6 VLKSZM, Vszeszojuznij Lenyinszkij Kommunyisztyicseszkij Szojuz Mologyozsi. 7 L. Eperjesi, A magyar ifjúsági mozgalom negyven éve, Budapest 1985, p. 25.8 The Revolution of 23 October - 4 November 1956; the Hungarian nation revolted against the com-

munist regime. Mass demonstrations were held in Budapest and other parts of Hungary. Finally armed conflict broke out in Budapest and in other cities. After the victory of the revolution on 30 October Soviet troops begin to withdraw from Budapest. On 31 October in Moscow the decision was taken to suppress the Hungarian revolution by military means. The Soviet military offensive began at dawn on 4 November 1956.

Balázs Czetz182

9 Eperjesi, A magyar cit., p. 34. 10 Declaration of the Republic of Council on 21 March 1919.11 15 March 1848 is the beginning of the 1848 revolution on Hungary.12 B. Csatári, A KISZ könnyűzenei politikája, in “Múltunk”, 2007, 3, p. 70.13 Eperjesi, A magyar cit., p. 34.14 Ibid., pp. 81-86.15 G. Alan, S. Kleinman, Rethinking Subculture: An Interactionist Analysis, in “The American Journal of

Sociology”, 1979, 1, pp. 1-20.16 T. Valuch, Magyarország társadalomtörténete a XX. század második felében, Budapest 2005, p. 38.17 T. Takács, Szajna parti séták Nyíregyházán. Punk és állambiztonság egy vidéki városban a nyolcvanas

évekbe, http://www.archivnet.hu/18 S. Horváth, A kapu és a határ: mindennapi Sztálinváros, Budapest 2004, pp. 173-174.19 G. Zaicz (ed.), Etimológiai Szótár, Budapest 2006.20 The petty bourgeois label was used for “marking the harmful ideological remains to be overcome”, as for

example, selfishness, extortion, speculation, sponging, narrow-mindedness, greed, materialism, etc. But condemnable forms of behaviour were individualism, insistence on private property and religion.

21 T. Valuch, Divatosan és jól öltözötten. A városi öltözködés és a divat néhány jellegzetessége Magyarországon az 1970-es és 1980-as években, in “Korall”, 2002, 10, pp. 72-74.

22 Id., A lódentől a miniszoknyáig. A XX. század második felének Magyarországi öltözködéstörténete, Buda-pest 2004, pp. 45-47.

23 S. Horváth, Huligánok, jampecok, galerik. A fiatalok szubkultúrái a hatvanas években, in R.M. János (ed.), “Hatvanas évek” Magyarországon, Budapest 2004, pp. 410-413.

24 Pusztavám Községi Tanács tanácsülési jegyzőkönyv 1957. május 5.25 J. Sebők, Magya-rock. A beat-hippi jelenség 1958-1973, Budapest 1983, pp. 24-25.26 “People’s Youth”, the official paper of the KISZ.27 B.Sz. Jávorszky, J. Sebők, A magyrock története. A beat kezdetektől a kemény rockig, Budapest 2005, pp.

12-13.28 In 1953, after the death of Stalin, winds of change started blowing in Hungary as well as elesewhere.

Imre Nagy was the minister till 1955, and numerous corrective steps had been taken in the fields of economic, social and cultural policies.

29 Sebők, Magyar-rock cit., pp. 42-47. 30 B. Csatári, Az ifjúság és a könnyűzene kérdései 1956-1989, in “Fons”, 2006, 1, p. 127.31 Dance classes were obligatory at school between 1956 and 1960. 32 Youth gangs.33 Zaicz (ed.), Etimológiai Szótár cit.34 It was said in the Budapest Party Committee meeting: “Thousands of youngsters depraved. In many

cases, this is because there is no place to entertain [...].” Csatári, Az ifjúság cit., p. 28.35 Csatári, A KISZ cit., pp. 72-73, old.36 ‘Hooligans’ here naturally referred to jampec people who behaved and dancing conspicuously. Csatári,

Az ifjúság cit., p. 128.37 Jávorszky (ed.), A magyrock története cit., pp. 29-32.



biblioGrAPhYAlan G., Kleinman S., Rethinking Subculture: An Interactionist Analysis, in “The American Journal of So-ciology”, 1979, 1, pp. 1-20.Csatári B., Az ifjúság és a könnyűzene kérdései 1956-1989, in “Fons”, 1, 2006, pp. 125-155.Id., A KISZ könnyűzenei politikája, in “Múltunk”, 2007, 3, pp. 66-103.Eperjesi L., A magyar ifjúsági mozgalom negyven éve, Budapest 1985.Id., A magyar ifjúsági mozgalom története 1956-1960, Budapest 1981.Horváth S., Huligánok, jampecok, galerik. A fiatalok szubkultúrái a hatvanas években, in Rainer M. János (ed.), “Hatvanas évek” Magyarországon, Budapest 2004.Id., A kapu és a határ: mindennapi Sztálinváros, Budapest 2004.Jávorszky B., Sebők J., A magyrock története. A beat kezdetektől a kemény rockig, Budapest 2005.Nádházi L., A magyar úttörőmozgalom történeti kronológiája 1945-1998, Budapest 1999.Sebők J., Magya-rock. A beat-hippi jelenség 1958-1973, Budapest 1983.Takács T., Szajna parti séták Nyíregyházán. Punk és állambiztonság egy vidéki városban a nyolcvanas évek-ben, http://www.archivnet.hu/Valuch T., Divatosan és jól öltözötten. A városi öltözködés és a divat néhány jellegzetessége Magyarországon az 1970-es és 1980-as években, in “Korall”, 2002, 10, pp. 72-95.Id., A lódentől a miniszoknyáig. A XX. század második felének Magyarországi öltözködéstörténete, Budapest 2004.Id., Magyarország társadalomtörténete a XX. század második felében, Budapest 2005.

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