A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 48. (2009)

Szűts István Gergely: A szervezett szabadidő jellegzetességei Miskolcon az 1950-60-as években

RAINER M. János (szerk.) 2003 Múlt századi hétköznapok. Tanulmányok a Kádár-rendszer kialakulásának időszakáról. Budapest SÁNDOR György 1970 A szabadidő alakulása ma és holnap. Társadalmi Szemle 7. szám 75-82. SIMÓ Tibor 1970 A szakszervezetek kulturális, agitációs és propaganda munkája. Budapest, Kossuth Kiadó VALUCH Tibor 2004 A lódentől a miniszoknyáig. A XX. század második felének magyar öltözködéstörténete. Budapest 2005 Magyarország társadalomtörténete. Osiris Kiadó. Budapest 2006 A mindennapi élet Kádár János korában. Budapest ORGANISED LEISURE TIME IN MISKOLC IN THE 1950S AND 1960S With most studies focusing on the political history of the 1950s and 1960s, there has been very little interest in everyday life during this period, despite the fact that an examination of daily life in Miskolc, one of the centres of industrialisation during the period of Socialist dictatorship, might offer interesting new aspects regarding the period's history. This study presents some of the findings of one particular theme of a complex research project conducted in 2008 and 2009, namely the local characteristics of organised leisure time based on written documents and personal interviews. The period in question saw a lively community life in Miskolc, though obviously under strict political control. Each factory and production unit strove to organise community events for its workers during the after-hours. The work brigades played an important role because their members often kept together as small social community in their leisure time too. Work brigades functioned as unique economic and social units, and it is therefore hardly surprising that the political administration kept a close eye on them. In addition to the work brigades, workers could choose between several closely watched "alternatives" if they ran out of ideas on how to spend their leisure time. The bestknown and most popular form of spending leisure time was vacationing in a resort maintained by the company, especially from the 1960s. The residents of Miskolc also spent much of their free time in places like the Árnyaskert, the Culture House in Szinvavölgy and the town's sports ground. There is no sharp distinction between organised and private leisure time in the recollections of the interviewees. There is no indication in their reminiscences that they had the feeling that decisions on how to spend their leisure time were not brought independently. Insofar as they were asked to draw a distinction, they associated organised leisure time activities with their workplace and colleagues. However, knowing that work brigades were often also companies of friends, the lack of a sharp boundary between private and organised activities is understandable. The sUidy offers an overview of how leisure time was spent during a specific period (or, better said, of some typical patterns), providing an interesting glimpse into daily life during the decades of Socialist dictatorship. István Gergely Szűts