{"id":23347,"date":"2020-10-28T12:19:54","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T12:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=23347"},"modified":"2020-10-28T12:19:54","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T12:19:54","slug":"labor-in-state-socialist-europe-1945-1989-contributions-to-a-history-of-work-edited-by-marsha-siefert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=23347","title":{"rendered":"Labor in State-Socialist Europe, 1945\u20131989: Contributions to a History of Work. Edited by Marsha Siefert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Labor regimes under communism in East-Central Europe were complex, shifting, and ambiguous. This collection of sixteen essays offers new conceptual and empirical ways to understand their history from the end of World War II to 1989, and to think about how their experiences relate to debates about labor history, both European and global.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The authors reconsider the history of state socialism by re-examining the policies and problems of communist regimes and\u00a0recovering the voices of the workers who built them. The contributors look at work and workers in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. They explore the often contentious relationship between politics and labor policy, dealing with diverse topics including workers\u2019 safety and risks; labor rights and protests; working women\u2019s politics and professions; migrant workers and social welfare; attempts to control workers\u2019 behavior and stem unemployment; and cases of incomplete, compromised, or even abandoned processes of proletarianization. Workers are presented as active agents in resisting and supporting changes in labor policies, in choosing allegiances, and in defining the very nature of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Table of contents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Acknowledgments<br>List of Tables and Figures<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>List of Abbreviations<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marsha Siefert<br>Introduction<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Finding Work, Making Workers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Natalia Jarska<br>Unemployment in State Socialism: An Insight into the Understanding of Work in 1950s Poland<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alina-Sandra Cucu<br>The Impossibility of Being Planned: Slackers and Stakhanovites in Early Socialist Romania<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ulf Brunnbauer and Visar Nonaj<br>Finding Workers to Build Socialism: Recruiting for the Steel Factories in Bulgaria and Albania<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alena K. Alamgir<br>\u201cInappropriate Behavior\u201d: Labor Control and the Polish, Cuban and Vietnamese Workers in Czechoslovakia<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Workers, Rights, and Discipline<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ma\u0142gorzata Mazurek<br>Dishonest Saleswomen: On Gendered Politics of Shame and Blame in Polish State-Socialist Trade<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ulrike Schult<br>Labor Discipline in Self-Managed Socialism: The Yugoslav Automotive Industry, 1965\u20131985<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eszter Bartha<br>\u201cThis Workers\u2019 Hostel Lost Almost Every Bit of Added Value It Had\u201d: Workers\u2019 Hostels, Social Rights and Legitimization in Hungary and the German Democratic Republic<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chiara Bonfiglioli<br>Discussing Women\u2019s Double and Triple Burden in Socialist Yugoslavia: Women Working in the Garment Industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Workers, Safety, and Risk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thomas Lindenberger<br>Governing the State of Emergency: Large Industrial Accidents in Communist East Germany<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adrian Grama<br>Labor\u2019s Risks: Work Accidents, the Industrial Wage Relation and Social Insurance in Socialist Romania<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marko Miljkovi\u0107<br>Nuclear Yutopia: The Outcome of the First Nuclear Accident in Yugoslavia, 1958<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Workers, Protest, and Reform<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Peter Heumos<br>Strikes in Czechoslovakia, 1945\u20131968: Systems Analysis and the Debate over the Causes of the Collapse of State Socialism<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Susan Zimmermann<br>\u201cIt Shall Not Be a Written Gift, But a Lived Reality\u201d: Equal Pay, Women\u2019s Work, and the Politics of Labor in State-Socialist Hungary, Late 1960s to Late 1970s<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sabine Rutar<br>Labor Protest in the Italian-Yugoslav Border Region During the Cold War: Action, Control, Legitimacy, Self-Management<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rory Archer and Goran Musi\u0107<br>When Workers\u2019 Self-Management Met Neoliberalism: Positive Perceptions of Market Reforms among Blue-Collar Workers in Late Yugoslav Socialism<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Toward an Inclusive History of Work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anca Glont<br>Not Just Socialist Miners, but Miners of the World: Internationalism, Global Trends and Romanian Coal Workers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>List of contributors<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eloisa Betti, Adjunct Professor of Labor History at the University of Bologna<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the first comprehensive labor history focusing on Eastern Europe during the Cold War Era written for an international audience. The authors in this collection analyze specific forms of work, categories of workers, and sectors in diverse countries using new approaches and topics suggested by global labor history, which represents an added value of the volume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lewis H. Siegelbaum, Jack and Margaret Sweet Professor Emeritus of History at Michigan State University<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This exciting collection advances our understanding of the complexities, contradictions, failures, but also successes of a state-socialist approach to workers and exemplifies the best of what is being done in labor history not only in east-central Europe but around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Part of series:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ceupress.com\/series\/work-and-labor-transdisciplinary-studies-21st-century\">Work and Labor \u2013 Transdisciplinary Studies for the 21st Century<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Publication date:&nbsp;2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>484 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ceupress.com\/book\/labor-state-socialist-europe-1945-1989\">https:\/\/ceupress.com\/book\/labor-state-socialist-europe-1945-1989<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-knjige","category-novosti"],"acf":{"facebook_opis":""},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/siefert.jpg?fit=684%2C1006&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55062,"url":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=55062","url_meta":{"origin":23347,"position":0},"title":"CfP: The Making of Solidarity: A\u00a0Conference on Eastern and Central European Dissidents, 1945-1991","author":"Branimir Jankovi\u0107","date":"24. kolovoza 2026.","format":false,"excerpt":"This open call invites proposals for an interdisciplinary conference on Eastern and Central European dissidence, solidarity, and anti-imperial thought. The Making of Solidarity: A\u00a0Conference on Eastern and Central European Dissidents, 1945-1991 16.-17. November 2026 A close reading of Ivan Dziuba\u2019s classic\u00a01965 essay Internationalism or Russification? offers a\u00a0useful lens through which\u2026","rel":"","context":"U &quot;Novosti&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Novosti","link":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/The-Making-of-Solidarity.png?fit=883%2C662&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/The-Making-of-Solidarity.png?fit=883%2C662&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/The-Making-of-Solidarity.png?fit=883%2C662&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/The-Making-of-Solidarity.png?fit=883%2C662&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52673,"url":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=52673","url_meta":{"origin":23347,"position":1},"title":"TWO POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS IN THE &#8220;PROLETGARD ERC STARTING GRANT PROJECT&#8221;, KASS\u00c1K FOUNDATION, BUDAPEST (DEADLINE: 1ST MAY 2026)","author":"Branimir Jankovi\u0107","date":"27. travnja 2026.","format":false,"excerpt":"This five-year ERC-funded project examines how avant-garde art contributed to the formation of a workers\u2019 movement counterculture in East Central Europe after 1918. It argues that socialist and avant-garde periodicals, groups, and figures shaped both avant-garde culture and transnational workers\u2019 movements. Focusing on the successor states of the Austro\u2013Hungarian Empire\u2026","rel":"","context":"U &quot;Novosti&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Novosti","link":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54517,"url":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=54517","url_meta":{"origin":23347,"position":2},"title":"CfP: Entangled Transformations: Temporalities, Experiences, and Critical Histories of Postsocialist Change in Europe","author":"Branimir Jankovi\u0107","date":"8. srpnja 2026.","format":false,"excerpt":"International Workshop organised by the Department of History, University of Warsaw and the Department of Public History, FernUniversit\u00e4t in Hagen Often framed within the triumphalist narrative, most prominently articulated in the \u201cend of history\u201d concept (Fukuyama, 1989), transformations that reshaped the socialist states in Europe in the late twentieth century\u2026","rel":"","context":"U &quot;Novosti&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Novosti","link":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53473,"url":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=53473","url_meta":{"origin":23347,"position":3},"title":"CfP: Those Who Serve: Service, Labor, and Social Hierarchies in Historical Perspective","author":"Branimir Jankovi\u0107","date":"19. svibnja 2026.","format":false,"excerpt":"Doctoral and Postdoctoral Workshop: Ljubljana, 12\u201313 November 2026 Keynote: prof. dr. Jane Whittle (University of Exeter) From domestic servants and agricultural laborers to apprentices, soldiers, and clerks \u2013 countless people across history lived and worked in the service of others. This workshop explores service not merely as a job category,\u2026","rel":"","context":"U &quot;Novosti&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Novosti","link":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hsozkult.png?fit=1006%2C241&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52516,"url":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=52516","url_meta":{"origin":23347,"position":4},"title":"Marko Grde\u0161i\u0107, Mislav \u017ditko, \u201eSocialist Economics in Yugoslavia: A Critical History\u201c","author":"Branimir Jankovi\u0107","date":"17. travnja 2026.","format":false,"excerpt":"This book presents a critical history of Yugoslav socialist economics, from its inception in the late 1940s to its dissolution in the late 1980s. After the dramatic break with the Soviet Union in 1948, Yugoslavia found itself in urgent need of a third way: A socialist trajectory which would not\u2026","rel":"","context":"U &quot;Knjige&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Knjige","link":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?cat=8"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zitko_Grdesic.jpg?fit=350%2C535&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":54844,"url":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?p=54844","url_meta":{"origin":23347,"position":5},"title":"Marcel van der Linden, &#8220;The World Wide Web of Work: A history in the making&#8221;","author":"Branimir Jankovi\u0107","date":"30. srpnja 2026.","format":false,"excerpt":"Global Labour History has rapidly gained ground as a field of study in the 21st century, attracting interest in the Global South and North alike. Scholars derive inspiration from the broad perspective and the effort to perceive connections between global trends over time in work and labour relations, incorporating slaves,\u2026","rel":"","context":"U &quot;E-knjige&quot;","block_context":{"text":"E-knjige","link":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/?cat=19"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Linden-2.jpg?fit=652%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Linden-2.jpg?fit=652%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historiografija.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Linden-2.jpg?fit=652%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23347"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23349,"href":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23347\/revisions\/23349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historiografija.hr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}