Mezi pionýrským šátkem a mopedem - Děti, mládež a socialismus v českých zemích 1948-1970 – Franc Martin (2018)

The book prepared by experienced researchers Jiří Knapík and Martin Franc, along with a collective of Czech and German historians of the middle generation, offers insights into the lives of Czech children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 from 1948 to 1970. It addresses the conditions in families at that time, the material culture surrounding schoolchildren, their extracurricular activities, and how they spent their summer vacations. It notes the efforts of the political sphere to influence the youngest generation, the functioning of official children's and youth organizations, as well as the growing importance of mass media in the lives of children and youth. It does not overlook important specifics of apprentice youth or the less joyful issues of childhood and youth at that time—crime associated with this age group, children's homes, suicidality, and the care of mentally, physically, and socially disadvantaged youth. While most chapters are primarily based on archival research and period literature, the memories of witnesses were also an inseparable part of the research. Its results are summarized in a special chapter that contributes to the revitalization of the narrative and fills history with specific fates. The publication is complemented by partial excursions into a very broad and still comprehensively unexplored issue in our country, as well as...