THE STRUGGLE FOR SOULS - Youth Communities in the 1960s

STRUGGLE FOR SOULS - Church Youth Communities in Communist Hungary in the Late 1960s (1958–1973) Exhibition and book launch of Signs of Life, organized by the National Remembrance Committee (NEB).

Following the suppression of the 1956 Revolution, the restructuring of the one-party state system began. In the course of this, anti-church and anti-religious measures were implemented primarily on a generational basis. Church youth communities became the target of the ideological struggle.

Following a resolution adopted by the Political Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party in the summer of 1956, an anti-religious campaign modeled on the Soviet example began in Hungary, affecting numerous areas of the cultural life and was intended to influence all age groups, from preschool education to university instruction.

Anti-church tropes became firmly embedded in educational materials, works of art, and, ultimately, the entirety of socialist culture.

Following the exhibition opening, Signs of Life – Church Communities in the Late 1960s
will be presented.

The exhibition and book will be presented by: Dr. Viktor Attila Sóos, church historian, university professor, and member of NEB

Date: June 3, 2026 (Wednesday) 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Admission: Free
Location: The cellar gallery and courtyard of Ruttner House
(8 Jókai Street , Veszprém 8200)