Fraternity-Testvériség, 1962 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1962-12-01 / 12. szám
12 FRATERNITY A few items of many that have appeared in the press in the past years tell the story of this resistance. The “Középdunántuli Napló” (Middle-Transdanubian Journal) said on April 29, 1959: “A wave of passivity has swept over many party organizers and party officials.” “Petőfi Népe” (Petőfi’s People) in the same year on May 16 complained of lack of discipline of workers. A few days later, on May 24, the “Zalai Hírlap” (Zala County’s Journal) reported the arrest of a man by the name of Miklós József for distributing pamphlets which urged peasants to “resist the confiscation of your lands.” The same day “Kisalföld” (Small Low-Land) reported that the Communist Youth Organization of Győr County admitted that “the youth’s political education has been a failure.” On the same subject “Észak Magyar- ország” (Northern Hungary) warned the Party and the Communist Youth Organization a few weeks later that “no good can come of the widespread cynicism which has taken hold on the country’s youth.” The “Hajdu-Bihári Napló” (Hajdú and Bihar County’s Journal) complained about the difficulty in persuading Communist workers in the Debrecen Railroad Maintenance Works to take their party education seriously. Hundreds and hundreds of similar items have been published in the Budapest dailies and in the provincial press in the last years. The attitude of the youth has been particularly disturbing to the regime. Even the nihilism of many — which has been noted by such observers as the writer of the “Commonweal” article — is considered by some analysts as evidence that Communism has been unable to infuse idealism and firm convictions in them. Shorn of the ideals and beliefs of their elders with empty slogans to fill the vacuum, these young people can not be relied on to carry on the work assigned to them by the Party.
