Perzekúcia tradičných bábkarov na Slovensku v rokoch 1948 – 1989
The Persecution of Traditional Puppeteers in Slovakia, 1948–1989

Summary/Abstract: This study analyses the development of itinerant puppetry in Slovakia from its earliest historical roots to its decline under the communist regime after 1948. It highlights the importance of family dynasties in preserving this tradition and the profound impact of state intervention, which resulted in the art form losing its autonomy and eventually disappearing. At the same time, it documents the consequences of persecution for the social status of puppeteers and emphasises the role of individuals in the preservation and revival of the tradition after 1989. Methodologically, the study is interdisciplinary, situated at the intersection of theatre history, cultural anthropology, oral history, and research on totalitarian cultural policies. It also has a reconstructive dimension, seeking to recover fragmentarily preserved knowledge of a vanishing tradition whose continuity was forcibly disrupted by the political interventions of the communist regime. Despite these adverse developments, Puppetry in Slovakia and the Czech Republic was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016.

• Details
• Contents