HUNGARY 1990

Hungary is at the forefront of the reform movements in Eastern Europe. The planned economy is followed by the market economy, private property is permitted again, and remuneration also depends on the performance of the individual. In the educational system and in the work process, performance has not yet been rewarded. For decades an anti-intelligence policy was pursued in the name of the working class, in which knowledge, education and culture were seen as weapons of the bourgeoisie against the proletarian order. Academics and intellectuals were not only respected less, but also paid less than workers, technicians and farmers. The pedagogical principle was education in obedience and integration into society, in which creativity and critical opinion-forming played no role. Now there should be work, especially in technical areas, only for the best and, what was previously unimaginable, workers can be laid off. Completely new demands are placed on a generation that is not prepared for them through school and upbringing.

Gordian Troeller
Collaboration: Ingrid Becker-Ross
Camera: Gordian Troeller,
Sound: Eva Hollo, Elmar Schmidt
Editor: Ingeburg Forth
Length: 30 minutes
First broadcast: RB, April 2nd, 199

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