Founding of the Centre for the Study of Religion and Communism

Michael Bourdeaux, with help from Sir John Lawrence, Leonard Schapiro and Peter Reddaway, founded the Centre for the Study of Religion and Communism, forerunner of the Keston Center profiled in this registry. When the group purchased vacant property in Kent, England in 1974, the institution was renamed the Keston College. Active during the last two decades of the Cold War, the Keston College and Keston Institute (renamed 1994) called themselves as the “voice of the voiceless” and defenders of the faith. Dissemination of information on religious life in the Soviet countries was a crucial pillar of the institution’s mission. Thus, the staff committed personnel and resources to obtaining information on religious dissent and other oppositional movements on the part of repressed religious minorities.

Location:
- Kent, United Kingdom
Starting year of event:
- 1969
Main actors:
- Bordeaux, Michael
Event of:
- Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society

Constituent Congress of the Union of Gypsies-Roma

The Constituent Congress of the Roma-Gypsy Union was held in Brno on 30^th August 1969. There were 176 delegates from Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia with a majority of them being men. The downing session was opened by Antonín Daniel, a member of the Central Committee. Representatives of various ministries and state and party bodies attended the congress. After the initial welcome, the participants of the Congress greeted Roma victims of Nazism. The key speeches were the speech by Tomáš Holomek and Miroslav Holomek. Tomáš Holomek started the meeting and according to him the history of the Roma was characterised by "... oppression, persecution, racial discrimination and attempts to assimilate violently, with tendencies of physical liquidation and genocide." The period after the war saw a new hope for the Roma. According to Tomáš Holomek, the Union should become a means of "self-realisation of the Roma, of whom almost a third were illiterate, and most of them lived in difficult social conditions." After the opening speech of Tomáš Holomek, a discussion took place, where more than 20 delegates made their contributions. The final speech was given by Miroslav Holomek, who summed up the discussion and also characterised the future activity of the association and its focus. He outlined the most serious problems that the Roma community faces and identified them as priority tasks. These include, for example, health, social, educational, housing, etc. He also addressed the issue of the Roma community as well as the importance of promoting and creating Roma pride. This contribution ended the first congress of the Roma in the Czech lands.

Location:
- Brno, Czech Republic
Starting year of event:
- 1969
Main actors:
- Holomek, Miroslav
Event of:
- Museum of Romani Culture Collections

Acquisition of photographs of Promethean leaders by Józef Piłsudski Institute in London

In 1969, Mychailo Jeremijew, Ukrainian emigre and journalist, sold photographs of various Promethean leaders to Józef Piłsudski Institute in London. Resident of Geneva, Jeremijew mailed these photos to Colonel Edmund Charaszkiewicz, one of the founders and leaders of the Institute. Symbolically, this transaction marks the birth of Promethean Collection at Józef Piłsudski Institute in London.

Location:
- London, United Kingdom
Starting year of event:
- 1969
Event of:
- Prometheus Collection

Rudolf Altrichter: Nebezpečné známosti, 1969, papier, tlač, 84,5 x 59,5 cm - UP P 3026

Rudolf Altrichter (1916 - 1978) was a Slovak graphic designer; although he was an autodidact, he became one of the most famous Slovak poster designers. This poster was created for the French movie Dangerous Liaisons (1959).

Location:
- Bratislava Námestie Ľudovíta Štúra 1, Slovakia 811 02
Starting year of event:
- 1969
Main actors:
- Slovak National Gallery
Event of:
- Poster and Graphic Design Collection of the Slovak National Gallery

"The Fly Peacock". Folk song competition

The "Fly Peacock” folk song competition was the antecedent of the folk dance house movement. It was organized by the Committee of the Ministry of Culture and the KISZ Central Committee and declared by the Hungarian Television. It became famous and had social effects. Hungarians admired their own folk culture, and all around the country, many choral societies were founded. The "Fly Peacock" was presented in Hungarian Television. The editor of the program was Miklós Lengyelfi.
The first "Fly Peacock" folk song competition was organized 21 September 1969 in Sopron. The competition was popular from the beginning, and 6000 people applied for it. 79 singers and 12 choirs were presented on television. The final show was held on 29 March 1970. During the semi-finals and finals, people could hear many well-known and less famous folk songs. After the first competition held in 1969-70, there were three more: in 1973 the Aranypáva [Golden Peacock] international folk song competition where there were folk bands, in 1977-78 where groups from all around the country presented their folk crafts too. The last "Fly Peacock" was in 1983. In the Folk Dance House Archive, one finds posters of every competition.
Under socialism, the regime used peasant culture and wanted to present it as a foundation of socialist culture. The main aim of the political system was to fill the folk culture with socialist elements. During the Rákosist era it was stronger; however, the Kádárist era was a bit different. The political system allowed people to show an attachment to traditional peasant culture which was not influenced by socialism. As the result of “Fly Peacock,” the Hungarians recognized their own folk culture. The younger generation discovered peasant culture, and this peasant culture became the base of the urban revival movement in the 1970s.
Halmos, Béla, and Ferenc Sebő started working together from 1969. They created artifacts of genuine Hungarian folk culture. They got wise to the fact that the Hungarian people do not know their own culture. In 1969, they started to learn folk songs. and that same year they entered the competition to be a bird in China. "Fly Peacock" as it were. Halmos and Sebő presented their common performance, and Halmos also presented his solo performance. Halmos won with his solo performance. Thanks to “Fly Peacock,” folk culture became popular and helped further the organization of the first dance house in 1972, Budapest.

Location:
- Budapest, Hungary
Starting year of event:
- 1969
Main actors:
- Halmos, Béla
- Sebő, Ferenc
Event of:
- Folk Dance House Archives