„A rendszer rajtuk tartotta óvó szemeit” Megfigyelések az egykori Gulag-rabok körében

Author(s): András Murai,Brigitta Németh / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 79/2020

The study investigates how surveillance affected the lives of former Gulag prisoners. In nearly thirty oral history interviews, children of former Gulag prisoners all noted the parent’s surveillance and some related how their parents’ fear of informers affected their childhood. Individuals returning from Soviet prison camps in 1953 and 1955 were treated as political prisoners and they were monitored in the Kádár Era for a long time. Both their employers and their building’s caretaker were approached to provide information about them, their neighbours reported about them, and some of them were approached to cooperate with state security at their workplace. Due to their fear of surveillance they chose not to keep in touch with each other or met only in secret. This was revealed by members of the second generation, the children of the Gulag prisoners during their interviews. The story of János Rózsás is also part of this study of former Gulag prisoners and surveillance. Rózsás was the first former prisoner to publish his tragic life story, Keserű ifjúság (Bitter Youth) but in the early 2010s he, too, was found to have worked as an informant for a couple of years in the mid-1970s. Using survivor accounts, own interviews with the second generation, and archival sources, the present study describes how surveillance was conducted among former prisoners returning from the Soviet Union and what it meant for them in their everyday lives.

„Această țară ajunsă pe mâini bune ar putea deveni o perlă…”

România la începutul verii anului 1945 văzută de membrii unei delegații de intelectuali sovietici

Author(s): Aleksandr S. Stykalin / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1-2/2020

In early summer 1945 the first visit to Romania by a fairly representative delegation of Soviet artists and scientists took place. It was fully used by the Allied Control Commission and the Romanian Communist Party to propagate the achievements of Soviet culture and science, and indirectly the advantages of the Soviet system and its ideology. The arrival of a number of really large musicians and ballet dancers in the country attracted the Romanian public, and interest in the lectures of prominent Soviet scientists was demonstrated in the academic and university circles. A reduced record of the meeting in Moscow in June 1945 which discussed the results of the trip of the Soviet cultural delegation to Romania is published below. It may be seen that the members of the Soviet delegation, persons formed under the Soviet system and absolutely loyal to the Soviet regime, looked at the realities of postwar Romania through the prism of their ideology. But this view even not objective, but nevertheless, as a rule, benevolent, let them assess the enormous potential of Romania, which, according to Soviet observers – convinced communists, could be realized only under communist rule. Besides, even through the pink glasses of their stereotypes and their ideas about the inevitable triumph of communist project, the Soviet visitors could not help but see the real moods in Romanian society

„Addig a békesség, míg szomszéd akarja” Trianon és a magyar-szomszéd viszony napjainkban

Author(s): Csaba Zahorán / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 04/2019

The keynote paper of Csaba Zahorán examines the role and possibilities of historians and historiographies in the region with regard to Trianon in the triangle of history writing, politics and everyday life. On the occasion of the centenary of the end of World War I, and focussing primarily on the period following the changes of 1989-90, the author explores the phenomenon of Trianon, which determined the relations between Hungary and her neighbours, and in some way concerns everyone in the region, while emphasising the importance of dialogue and the need to somehow settle the problem.

„Akce K“ aneb likvidace klášterů na území Československa v roce 1950

Author(s): Tomáš Tuza / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 76/2019

The article describes the course of assault and liquidation of all male monasteries in Czechoslovakia in April 1950. This joint act of the National Security Corps, the State Secret Security and the Communist Party fighters, called People’s Militias, was referred to by the Communists as “Action K”. The author presents the broader context of this act, from intimidation of Church superiors and believers, death by torture of parish priest Josef Toufar, through monstrous trials with male religious superiors, to the ultimate elimination of the influence of orders on the society.

„an die besten Traditionen der Ersten und Zweiten Republik anknüpfend“ : Polnische Erinnerungskultur im öffentlichen Raum nach 1989

Author(s): Heidi Hein-Kircher / Language(s): German / Issue: 3/2010

In the early years of what is generally known as the Third Republic, which was brought to an end by the 1997 Constitution, the politics of history and memory reflected the new Polish society’s search for a fresh conception of itself, a conception that would displace that of communist times. To this end a specific effort towards the creation and search for historical continuities was characteristic of this stage: new and renewed national themes, new and renewed rituals, symbols and political myths formed important elements in political psychology and political culture. These were not only used to create a new identity, but also to legitimise the revolution and the new political system. As will be shown, the historical memory of the Second Republic, in particular of its founder and dictator Józef Piłsudski, as well as of the (negatively perceived) Soviet occupation and hegemony over Poland, became the focus of the politics of memory in public discourse. In this process, the problematic history of German-Polish relations was all but excluded, in order to build up a new, positive national image, as well as from political necessity, in the efforts to join NATO and the EU. The memory of the German crimes committed during the Second World War was now – in contrast to position in the communist era – just one element in historical consciousness and collective memory. Hence the culture of memory as a whole was characterised on the one hand by linking up with the historical traditions of the Second Republic, and on the other by attempts to remove the boundaries to the culture of memory set under communism. Thus the change in the culture of memory reflects political change, i.e. the change of system, as Poles were now able to set their own markers in the culture of memory. Since the end of the 1990s, it has become ever clearer that what was really happening was a form of suppression of historical memory, especially with regard to German-Polish relations.

„Apsimetinėjo banditais“: kriminalinių gaujų mimezės 1945–1957 metais Lietuvoje analizė

Author(s): Darius Indrišionis / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 43/2019

During the 1940s–1950s, the Supreme Court of the Lithuanian SSR solved 44 criminal cases of “banditry” (Article 59 part 3 of RSFSR Criminal Code of 1926) with some noticeable facts of mimesis: these bandits, during their raids, were trying to create an illusion to their victims that these raids were performed by Lithuanian partisans (freedom fighters) or by some Soviet officials (militia officers, the “defenders of the People,” or Soviet army personnel). This article focuses on the mimesis of various criminal groups in Soviet Lithuania of the 1940s–1950s. The first issue to solve in this research is the problematic terminology used by the Soviets: the term bandit was often used in Soviet ideological discourse: an attempt to intertwine anti-Soviet partisan operations (“political banditry,” according to Soviet terminology) and the activities of “simple criminals” (burglars, raiders, rapists, murderers – any of such organized groups were referred to as “criminal bandits” by Soviet terms) under a single dubious term – the banditry. An analysis of criminal raids performed by fake partisan (or fake Soviet) bandit groups showed that criminals were more often inclined to appear as if they were Soviets rather than partisans (21 bandit group used the mimesis of partisans, and 27 bandit groups used the mimesis of Soviets, while there were also 4 bandit groups that used both roles: fake partisans during one raid and fake Soviets during another). This can be explained by the bandits’ avoidance of becoming the targets of partisan revenge or by a large number of various criminals that migrated to Soviet Lithuania from the eastern republics of the Soviet Union. It may also be explained in terms of simpler imitation: for these criminals, it was more difficult to imitate Lithuanian partisans than Soviet militia. The real widespread effect of this phenomenon cannot be easily revealed. As there several few different types of courts (Soviet military courts, the “People’s” courts) that could solve the criminal cases of various criminal bandits, it is not even possible to give a real number of all mimetic bandits that were active in Soviet Lithuania. Also, not every raid case was documented by the Soviet side; not every raid case was even reported to the Soviets. Sometimes, Lithuanian partisans used to catch and punish these criminals themselves – all these circumstances makes the task of stating the real number of bandit groups who used various mimesis techniques an unsolvable one.

„Az amerikai érdekek európai ügynöksége”? XII. Piusz keleti politikájának historiográfiai mérlege

Author(s): András Fejérdy / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 1/2021

This historiographical survey, focusing on the Ostpolitik of the Vatican after the Second World War and particularly its interaction with the policy of the United States towards Central and Eastern Europe, first summarises the changes and dynamics of the American policy between 1945 and 1958, then discusses various assessments of the Vatican’s actions, arranged around three key concepts that are fundamental to an understanding of Pius XII’s Ostpolitik. First of all, it examines questions associated with the concept of intransigence, that is how much the Vatican’s Ostpolitik was guided by the pope’s anti-communist principles and how these were manifested in practice. Second, it considers the historiographical treatment of problems centred around the concept of pragmatism, the extent to which Pius XII was able to conform to the Vatican’s tradition of entering diplomatic dialogue with its opponents to serve the interests of the faithful. Thirdly, it examines the assessment of Pius XII’s impartiality: what was more characteristic of Pius’s papacy – an attempt, in the Vatican tradition, to stand above the opposition of the two Cold War blocs or a commitment to the US and the Western world? The investigation of these three themes attempts to derive the main lessons from the historiographical debates and to determine the areas that the newly-opened Vatican sources might qualify, alter or add to our knowledge of Pius XII’s Ostpolitik.

„blitzlichtszenen meiner brennenden erinnerung“. Zur narrativen Gestaltung von Trauma und Schuld in Thomas Lehrs Novelle Frühling

Author(s): Claudia Benthien / Language(s): Polish,German / Publication Year: 0

The book presents various aspects of literary representations of post-Holocaust trauma in texts of Polish and German literature. The phenomena of transgenerational memory transmission or – as Marianne Hirsh puts it – "postmemory" are an important element of the author’s reflections.

„BYŁAŚ PRZEZ WIEKI MATKĄ I KRÓLOWĄ” MARYJNY ASPEKT MSZY ŚW. ZA OJCZYZNĘ SPRAWOWANEJ PRZEZ BŁ. KS. JERZEGO POPIEŁUSZKĘ – 29 MAJA 1983 R.

Author(s): Grzegorz Kamil Szczecina / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 27/2020

Holy Masses for the Homeland exercised by Bl. Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko in Warsaw’s Żoliborz, in the years 1982-1984, are one of the basic identifying elements of his ministry. During these liturgies, he delivered famous sermons, which with time became, among others, the reason for the actions of the communist repression apparatus aimed at the chaplain of “Solidarity”. Each of the monthly Eucharists was devoted to a specific topic, which was marked by a historical anniversary or a current social event. It was similar in May 1983, when Fr. Jerzy in the message of the Holy Mass for the Homeland, he focused on showing the Marian aspect of Polishness, as well as pointing to the Mother of God as the surest intercessor for the oppressed nation. This theme was contained in a broader Marian dimension manifested in the life and activity of the martyr of communism. The main idea of the Mass for the Homeland of May 29, 1983, was expressed primarily in the preaching of the blessed, sung songs, prayers of the faithful, artistic decorations decorating the chancel of the Żoliborz temple, as well as in the poetry recited at the end of the liturgy. Fr. Popiełuszko, referring to specific events in the past of Poland and to the suffering of his countrymen at that time, pointed to the accompaniment of Mary to the Nation, which, despite situations and adversities, always resorted to her, recognizing her as King. Fr. Jerzy portrayed the Blessed Mother as the surest confidant of hardships and suffering experienced by her countrymen during martial law. Thus, the blessed maintained hope and faith in Poles, and formed the religious and patriotic attitudes of his countrymen who at Mass. for their homeland they treated as an exceptional “island of freedom”

„CÓŻ CENNIEJSZEGO NIŻ MĄDROŚĆ?” (MDR 8,5) O MĄDROŚCI, GŁUPOCIE I JEJ UNIKANIU BIBLIOGRAFIA WYPOWIEDZI PAPIEŻY JANA PAWŁA II, BENEDYKTA XVI I FRANCISZKA Z LAT 1978-2021

Author(s): Maria Filipiak / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2021

„Cvijeće zla” – Bijela knjiga Saveza komunista Hrvatske

Author(s): Davor Marijan / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 1/2021

The White Book is the popular name for the internal analysis of the League of Communists of Croatia from March 1984, in which anti-system occurrences in the public space—i.e. those that were at odds with the policies of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia—from 1982 to 1984 and mostly from Serbia, were gathered. It was the result of the consistent implementation of the policies of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in Croatia as well as in most parts of the other Yugoslav republics and autonomous provinces. In Serbia, this was done only partially, obviously due to a desire to avoid a thorough settling of accounts with the media and anti-communists, because they were important to a part of the political leadership that wanted a change of the political system, which was a euphemism for redefining Yugoslav federalism. The goal of the Analysis was to highlight this issue, while the Consultations of Cultural Creators held on 23 May 1984 were intended to offer help from Zagreb. It appears that the White Book purposefully ended up in the hands of persons in Belgrade for whose eyes it had not been intended, and thus worsened relations between the Leagues of Communists of Croatia and Serbia. The White Book was also the cause of long-lasting media polemics, despite the Party leadership’s demands that they be stopped. It is a concrete example that there existed serious differences in the approach to the topic of ideological struggle within the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, and that the conclusions of the League’s Central Committee were not being conducted according to the principles of ‘democratic centralism’.

„Czas strefowy”. transformacja na Węgrzech w świetle kilku powiązań regionalnych

Author(s): CSABA KiSS / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2020

This article examines certain parallels in the political transformation in Hungary in the context of events in other Central and Eastern European countries. The starting point for the text is the outstanding role of culture, and particularly of writers, in the activities of the opposition in our region. Time Zone had a decisive influence on the course of political events. Most points in common are to be found in the developments in Hungary and Poland. The events of 1988 in both countries had a mutual impact on each other, like two gearwheels (as in 1956). The Round Table talks in Warsaw are an example of this, for they sent an important signal to the opposition in Hungary. This regional interaction led to a strengthening of relations within Central and Eastern Europe.

„Czego pragnie gospodyni?” Asortyment codziennego użytku reklamowany w kobiecym tygodniku „Dobra Gospodyni” (1901–1915)

Author(s): Agnieszka Goluch / Language(s): Polish / Publication Year: 0

The article discusses the topic of the newspaper advertisement at the beginning of the 20th century on the example of weekly women magazine called “Dobra Gospodyni” [“Good Housewife”]. The magazine published in Warsaw in 1901–1915, gave advice that was designed to help run a household. The article analyzes advertisements of everyday objects including cosmetic and confectionery industry, agricultural products, household items and groceries.

„Dodatak udžbenicima za najnoviju povijest“

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Croatian / Publication Year: 0

Kada je 1998. god. došlo do reintegracije Podunavlja u sastav Republike Hrvatske Vlada Republike Hrvatske je u dogovoru s UNTAES-om donijela odluku o petogodišnjem moratoriju na učenje najnovije povijesti u školama na srpskom jeziku u Podunavlju. U stručnim raspravama koje je organiziralo Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i športa zaključeno je da prestanak moratorija treba iskoristi kao prigodu da se nastava povijesti toga razdoblja uskladi sa suvremenim dostignućima u metodici nastave povijesti. Zbog toga je ovaj udžbenik (priručnik?) namijenjen svim školama u Republici Hrvatskoj. U njemu ćeš naći ne samo podatke o zbivanjima u razdoblju od 1989. god. do danas, već također gradivo - izvorne tekstove, članke, govore, slike, tablice i sl. - koji će ti pružiti priliku da pokušaš, uz upute tvog nastavnika, sam zaključivati o uzrocima zbivanja i različitih tumačenja povijesnih zbivanja u razdoblju velikih promjena u svijetu, Europi, bivšoj Jugoslaviji i Hrvatskoj.

„Dwulicowa istota”. Wizerunek Marii Kazimiery w dziewiętnastowiecznej prasie kobiecej

Author(s): Agnieszka Goluch / Language(s): Polish / Publication Year: 0

The aim of the text is to analyse the figure of queen Maria Kazimiera (17th c.), the wife of Jan III Sobieski, in the 19th c. women’s press. The paper focuses on four issues: Maria Kazimiera’s character, her appearance, queen as a wife and as a mother. The article shows negative attitude towards politically active women, especially those who were foreigners.

„Ekumenistička” politika Katoličke crkve u Crnoj Gori (1965. – 1970.)

Author(s): Dragutin Papović / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 2/2021

The ecumenical initiative of the Catholic Church was one of the main outcomes of the Second Vatican Council. Ecumenism aimed for the unification of Christian churches, partnership with other religious communities, and a conciliatory relationship with the socialist regime. In this period, the traditional tolerance between religious communities was practised and the Church established relatively good relations with the government of Montenegro. This is why the Catholic Church in Montenegro embraced ecumenism, which was expressed through the work of the Archdiocese of Bar and the Diocese of Kotor. The Archbishop of Bar, Aleksandar Tokić, and the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Kotor, Gracija Ivanović, made a personal contribution to this initiative. They established close ties with the Orthodox Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Danilo Dajković, and the President of the Islamic Community (IC) in Montenegro, Šukrija Bakalović. They succeeded in engaging the Orthodox and Islamic leaders in Catholic religious celebrations, while the Catholic priests attended the religious celebrations of the Orthodox and the Muslims. The Montenegrin authorities had their representatives participate in these ceremonies too. This was all prompted by Catholic ecumenism, while the ecumenical strivings of the Catholic Church in Montenegro were also encouraged by the Vatican, i.e. the highest representatives of the Holy See and Pope Paul VI.The ecumenism of the Catholic Church in Montenegro had special features. It was of pro-Yugoslav orientation. It respected the religious, national, and traditional characteristics of Montenegro, and aimed for a partnership with the socialist regime. Archbishop Tokić and Administrator Ivanović also felt a strong attachment to Montenegro and Yugoslavia, and therefore cultivated a genuine friendship with the Orthodox and the Muslim population. Despite the sincere efforts and initial enthusiasm, their ecumenism failed because the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) in Montenegro did not accept such politics of the Catholic Church. The SOC was willing to maintain good relations and promote the traditional inter-religious tolerance, but no more than that, because it thought that the Catholic Church’s ecumenism was just a new attempt to impose its dominance. This ecumenism failed to achieve unity or the unification of Christians and churches, though it did succeed in strengthening and expanding interfaith cooperation and dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox Christians in Montenegro. Therefore, this policy can only be conditionally called ‘ecumenical’. The Islamic Community accepted a call to strengthen inter-religious dialogue, but it also produced limited results. It was based solely on the contacts between the religious leaders.

„Felix Culpa” Prymasa Polski Augusta Hlonda?

Author(s): Waldemar Witold Żurek / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 41/2020

The change of the border of Poland after the Second World War and the process of the relocation of Poles to the newly established Polish People’s Republic created a kind of melting pot in the Western and Northern Territories, in which transports arrived from the Eastern Borderlands, Central Poland and Little Poland, as well as from Western countries. In these lands abandoned by Germans, it was the emerging population and religious issues that had the greatest importance. In the post-war reality, the integration process was rather slow in these areas, but it must be noted that the establishment of the organization of the Polish church administration and the pastoral work of the Polish Catholic clergy were invaluable in this matter.After the war, Primate of Poland August Hlond returned to Poland on 20 July 1945, at a time when the fate of the state borders, of the system and, above all, of the Church, so severely afflicted by the war and occupation, was to be decided. The post-war reforms, which were introduced by communists and justified by democratic phraseology, were aimed at building socialist democracy. The church at that time suffered due to implementing land reform. Another clear warning was the annulment of the concordat by communists on 12 September 1945. As a result of Poland’s isolation from the West, Cardinal Hlond considered it necessary to make decisions about establishing Polish organization and the church hierarchy in the Regained Territories without cooperation with the Holy See. He thought that the German church administration could not be maintained in the former German lands. Moreover, he believed that these organizational and legal actions would prevent the communist government from creating areas without the influence of the Church, or from establishing Polish church organization completely dependent on communists, which was attempted in 1950.The establishment of the Polish hierarchy in place of the German was seen as lawless in Germany and partly in the Vatican as early as 1945. On 24 October 1945 Cardinal Hlond sent the document (40 pages) to Rome justifying his actions. He stated that seeing the objections expressed by Rome, he realized that he had misinterpreted the powers and instructions of Tardini obtained from the Pope. As a counter-argument, he described the situation in the Recovered Territories and explained that he had had to act quickly in church matters in order to prevent communists from making decisions in this matter, which would have happened if the German church administration had remained. Hlond’s report to Rome was factually credible, and his territorial divisions of the Church and the establishment of the apostolic administrations did not invoke the Pope’s intervention. Soon it transpired that Hlond’s actions were convenient for the Vatican, and thus he saved Catholicism in one of the countries of the Soviet Bloc. That is why Hlond was never disapproved by the Holy See for what he had done. August Hlond’s beatification process began in 1992. It ended in 1996 at the diocesan level. The Federation of Expellees and the German episcopate were against Hlond’s beatification. In 2017, the Theological Commission of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints gave a positive opinion about the Positio of 2008. In 2018, the same was done by the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. On 19 May 2018, Pope Francis signed a decree on the heroic virtues of Cardinal Hlond. Since then he has had the title of the Venerable Servant of God.

„Film nowofalowy”. Rola kina w poezji pokolenia ’68

Author(s): Kamila Czaja / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 23/2021

Artykuł prezentuje rolę filmu w poezji pokolenia ’68 – głównie Stanisława Barańczaka, ale także Juliana Kornhausera, Ewy Lipskiej i Adama Zagajewskiego. Nowofalowi twórcy sięgali w wierszach po postacie aktorów (m.in. Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, duet Laurel i Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Ali McGraw), bohaterów, tytuły, sceny, gatunki filmowe oraz związane z kinem czy, rzadziej, produkcjami telewizyjnymi przeżycia i wnioski. Pozwalało to werbalizować, wręcz „tłumaczyć” na zmysłowe kategorie kwestie dotyczące wyborów etycznych, kondycji człowieka zagubionego w zderzeniu ze światem i nieraz z góry skazanego w tym starciu na porażkę, przemijania oraz prób ominięcia jego bezlitosnych praw.

„Fratele mai mare”. O nouă contribuție la studierea relațiilor româno-sovietice

Author(s): Gheorghe Onisoru / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1-2/2020

This is a review of Vasile Buga' book Lumini și umbre. Relațiile economice româno-sovietice, 1965 – 1989.

„Gorki okus tkanine” – zagrebačka i jugoslavenska tekstilna industrija 1960-ih u svjetlu odabranih hrvatskih tiskovina

Author(s): Tihana Petrović Leš,Andrea Klobučar / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 1/2021

In this paper, the authors examine the yard goods industry in Zagreb in the 1960s, in the context of the Yugoslav textile industry. Due to the complexity of the textile industry as a topic, the paper examines a longer period, from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, as it has been accepted in historiography.Using an analytical-interpretative method, qualitative and quantitative results have been obtained from newspapers and journals from 1959 to 1972. A chronological overview of the studied periodicals has shown more clearly the impressions of the political and economic events on the development and business of the textile industry. The influences of the so-called ‘small reforms’ of 1961, the economic reform of 1965, and the events of 1968 and the subsequent liberalisation process are noticeable. The difference between the first and second half of the 1960s is particularly prominent. The first half was characterised by the production of heavy woollen fabrics for making women’s and men’s tops, particularly coats. The textile industry was slow to adapt to the market through its reorganisations, i.e. attempts to merge, change product ranges, and switch from heavy to light, artificial fabrics. Simultaneously, there was a reorientation towards foreign markets, which had numerous problems related to the import of poor raw materials and finished fabrics as well as exports aimed at keeping labour costs low. Other significant problems were bonification and the trading of imported textiles on the black market. In the second half of the decade, following international trends, the focus was on producing textiles from artificial fabrics, which were easier to maintain, cheaper, and expressed new social trends, especially making the lives of employed women easier.In the 1965–1971 period, stronger demands to transition to a market-based business model are evident in the yard goods industry, but a strong influence of the state is also visible in various aspects: firstly, through ideology, as there was an effort to achieve full employment, develop industry and cities, which led to overemployment and employment that was not in line with the needs of the market; secondly, through direct interference in business activities via legislations, such as the regulations on compulsory export; thirdly, through the Yugoslav international policy of non-alignment, but maintaining simultaneous economic links with the West, which led to unequal relationships (forced import of large quantities of goods, much of them of poor quality, and cheap exports). Insufficient investment in modernisation, which was the result of income being diverted to salaries, led to a lack of competitiveness on the new consumer market. This paper concludes that, despite all modernisation and liberalisation processes, obsolete technology, an unqualified female workforce, and the lowest income among all industries were permanent problems of the yard goods industry from 1959 to 1971.