THE STRUGGLE FOR SOULS - Church Communities in the 1960s

THE 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 culture, 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, there will be a presentation of Signs of Life – Church-Based Small Communities in the Late 1960s.

The NEB publication examines the battlegrounds of the “struggle for souls,” illustrating the functioning of the dictatorial one-party state regime.

The successive chapters highlight that in the implementation of political decisions, state authorities, educational and cultural institutions, as well as propaganda tools, the secret services all played a key role.

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

Date: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., June 3, 2026 (Wednesday) 

Admission: Free

Location: the cellar gallery and courtyard of Ruttner House

(8 Jókai Street, Veszprém 8200)