Underground Streams : : National-Conservatives after World War II in Communist Hungary and Eastern Europe / / ed. by János M. Rainer.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Central European University Press eBook-Package 2023
• HerausgeberIn: Rainer, János M.,
• Place / Publishing House: Budapest ;, New York : : Central European University Press, , [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (260 p.)

The authors of this edited volume address the hidden attraction that existed between the extremes of left and right, and of internationalism and nationalism under the decades of communist dictatorship in Eastern Europe. One might suppose that under the suppressive regimes based on leftist ideology and internationalism their right-wing opponents would have been defeated and ultimately removed. These essays, on the other hand, recount the itinerary of survival and revival of ‘right-wing’ thought and activities under communist dictatorship. Resistance and accommodation are explored in the various phases from the Stalinist era to the demise of the Soviet Bloc, with the continuity provided by tacit or concealed right-wing discourses receiving particular consideration. The Eastern European right, both in its conservative and fascist version, centered on nationalism, a legitimizing factor that increased with the downfall of the regimes, and the authors thus accord nationalism special attention. Two documentary sources for these essays that stand out are files of the security services and the exceptionally rich Oral History Archive compiled by The 1956 Institute in Budapest.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Acronyms and Abbreviations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Underground Streams: National-Conservatives after World War II in Communist Hungary and Eastern Europe -- Part One: The Right-Wing Tradition in Eastern Europe after 1945 -- 1. The Romanian Ideology: Merging Political Extremes in a National Stalinist Discourse -- 2. Absent Traditions: Right-Wing Strands in Slovakian Politics -- 3. A Round-Trip through the Czech Lands: The Origins of a Liberal Right Revolution -- 4. Conservative Right-Wing Political Thinking in Hungary after 1945 -- Part Two: Right-Wing Enemies through the Lens of State Security -- 5. Social Resistance under the Kádár Regime and the “Right-Wing” Enemies of State Security -- 6. Christian Democrats under Fire from the Political Police, 1945–1989 -- 7. “Petty” Arrow Cross Supporters in the Interior Ministry Files -- Part Three: Personal Life Paths and Strategies -- 8. “I Was Brought up the Old Way, I’m a Conservative”: A Middle-Class Christian Looks Back on His Life -- 9. A Nationalist of Successive Periods: Miklós Mester (1906–1989) -- 10. From Right to Left – or Not? Béla Csikós – Nagy, a Paradigmatical Opportunist of Transition -- List of Contributors -- Index