Behind the Iron Curtain - vocabulary

Halibutt · 26-06-2002, 04:21

Many times I tried to describe what was it to live here, on the other side of the Iron Curtain. But most of my western friends just couldn't believe most of what I've said. When I think of it now - there's nothing strange about it: Central and Eastern Europe wasn't suffering from communism utopia itself. It was suffering from total absurds and idiotisms that barely can be translated onto any humans' language.

But guys! Let's make a dictionary or encyclopedia of all those idiotic things and everyday difficulties that made the life here hard to bare and that didn't exist in any normal country (except for our part of the world). There are lots of such things, that have their dictionary entries, but in here they ment something totally different. Get the point? Let's explain all our friends from the West - for instance - what a passport or gym-hall academy was.
_________________
First entries:
_________________
Internal export

In Poland (and in many other Eastern countries - if not in all of them) it was forbidden to posess any foreign currencies. Any money from abroad had to be exchanged in a state-owned bank at a depressing rate. But that was only a theory.

In fact many people, who had some relatives abroad and recieved some money from them, kept their currencies at home and exchanged them at a black market.

Polish government have always had problems with the money. All trade with USSR has been carried out on a "we give you coal - you give us -->Transfer Rubles" basis. Thus the government had to find some way of earning some foreign currencies. This became more and more important issue when the commies took up lots of credits in the 70's and couldn't repay them.

In the early sixties state-owned bank "Pekao" started printing hundreds of bonds. Each one of them could be bought in any bank in exchange for any western currency. Each bond had its' value printed in dollars. "Pekao Bonds" could've been easily traded (in contrary to foreign currency, as said before).

The sole purpose of "Pekao Bonds" was that they could've been used in Pekao shops (later renamed Pewex) - a huge net of shops filled with all the luxury goods of the world that were unavailable in normal shops: chewing gum, jeans, electronics, watches, american cigarettes, coke, newspapers, Lindt chockolate... The prices were very low (when compare them to the prices in countries of origins of the products) in order to make tourists buy there as well.

For most of us here Pekao shops meant a heaven on earth and unaffordable dream of luxury and western style of living.
____________________
Transfer Ruble:

A virtual currency introduced in all countries of the -->Council of Mutual Economical Help in 1964. All international trade was carried out in this currency and theorethically all eastern currencies (incl. Cuba, Vietnam, N.Korea and China) had a fixed rate. Practically, Soviet Union barely paid any debts (especially after the sixties).
____________________
Now it's your turn.
Cheers

Sheilbh · 26-06-2002, 16:45

Gearsticks of Socialism
----------------------------

Water towers that are shaped like a gearstick, dotted throughout the Czech Republic (I'd guess also Slovakia). You pass an awful lot on any busy road. Nick-named the gearsticks of socialism and now in a very ironic move the government of the Czech Republic rents the space on them to companies for advertising. So we now have the gearsticks of socialism brought to you by MacDonalds.

Zoltan · 04-07-2002, 01:45

Agents:
There were the goverments secret agent everywhere.They had civil life,but they made reports about the peoples behavior.You said something wrong,the agent heard it(you did not know he was an agent)and you were taken to prison.But if the party was "generous" you were allowed to continue your old life,but you had to make reports on your friends.Something wrong means:i believe in Jesus,i hope the English football team will win against the USSR,king xy was a good monarch,etc.
And unfortunately theese agents live among as today too.well,they do not make reports(but who knows,especially in countries with "socialist" goverment like Hungary),they have political roles,too!!!Even the Hungarian prime minister was an agent.(D-209)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sports:
A brief story:
Hungary vs USSR football:

Puskás,one of the best Hungarian strikers ever(may i say the best?) could hav scored a goal against the reds,he went with the ball towards the goal,and final stopped at the goal line.He beat the keeper,the defenders,he could have easily scored it,but he stopped.Why?Because we weren't to win against the "great brothers".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Imre Nagy:
He was Hungary's prime minister in 1956.In 1956 he stated that Hungary left the Varsaw Pact,and became inependent.He asked the Soviet forces to leave.The revolution was crushed by Kádár and the invading Soviet troops,and the terror began.Even Nagy was executed,the prime minister.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Péter Manszfeld:
He was executed after 1956 because of his role in the revolution.But he was under 18 in '56,so he was prisoned,and when became 18 was executed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nice things,aren't??

And the first of all is that theese people are still in power(D-209,and his goverment,they are allying with the Hungarian communist party(workers party,but they aere completely communist:i have read an article about them in one of the left-wing daily newspapers-except one all of them are left

-they have Kádár pictures on the walls,they are antisemitic,they are the heirs of the Party-even the Socialist party is their heir,with a lots of Party members))

So i am not sure this is only the past.Maybe the present,too.

Lindil · 07-07-2002, 20:44

In Poland situation is similar to the one described by Dugan, but:
“Lustracja”[Vetting]: Way to make impossible for heirs of PZPR [Polish United Labor Party] participation in government, by checking if they have ever cooperated with SB* [Kind of counter intelligence]. At the time being carried out by SLD [Democratic Left Alliance – heir of PZPR].
*At start it was assumed, that everybody who was higher in PZPR’s ranks actually cooperated with it. [And this is quite close to truth.]

Of course it’s present situation. You need to know, that as life behind Iron Curtain had his weird aspects, current one has its own. So this thread can as well exceed 45-89 era, and become “Behind the Iron Curtain and during transformation period – vocabulary”

26-06-2002, 04:21	#1
Halibutt Marshal of Poland Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Karma Café, Warsaw Posts: 3,074	Behind the Iron Curtain - vocabulary Many times I tried to describe what was it to live here, on the other side of the Iron Curtain. But most of my western friends just couldn't believe most of what I've said. When I think of it now - there's nothing strange about it: Central and Eastern Europe wasn't suffering from communism utopia itself. It was suffering from total absurds and idiotisms that barely can be translated onto any humans' language. But guys! Let's make a dictionary or encyclopedia of all those idiotic things and everyday difficulties that made the life here hard to bare and that didn't exist in any normal country (except for our part of the world). There are lots of such things, that have their dictionary entries, but in here they ment something totally different. Get the point? Let's explain all our friends from the West - for instance - what a passport or gym-hall academy was. _________________ First entries: _________________ Internal export In Poland (and in many other Eastern countries - if not in all of them) it was forbidden to posess any foreign currencies. Any money from abroad had to be exchanged in a state-owned bank at a depressing rate. But that was only a theory. In fact many people, who had some relatives abroad and recieved some money from them, kept their currencies at home and exchanged them at a black market. Polish government have always had problems with the money. All trade with USSR has been carried out on a "we give you coal - you give us -->Transfer Rubles" basis. Thus the government had to find some way of earning some foreign currencies. This became more and more important issue when the commies took up lots of credits in the 70's and couldn't repay them. In the early sixties state-owned bank "Pekao" started printing hundreds of bonds. Each one of them could be bought in any bank in exchange for any western currency. Each bond had its' value printed in dollars. "Pekao Bonds" could've been easily traded (in contrary to foreign currency, as said before). The sole purpose of "Pekao Bonds" was that they could've been used in Pekao shops (later renamed Pewex) - a huge net of shops filled with all the luxury goods of the world that were unavailable in normal shops: chewing gum, jeans, electronics, watches, american cigarettes, coke, newspapers, Lindt chockolate... The prices were very low (when compare them to the prices in countries of origins of the products) in order to make tourists buy there as well. For most of us here Pekao shops meant a heaven on earth and unaffordable dream of luxury and western style of living. ____________________ Transfer Ruble: A virtual currency introduced in all countries of the -->Council of Mutual Economical Help in 1964. All international trade was carried out in this currency and theorethically all eastern currencies (incl. Cuba, Vietnam, N.Korea and China) had a fixed rate. Practically, Soviet Union barely paid any debts (especially after the sixties). ____________________ Now it's your turn. Cheers __________________ You forgot Poland now version 1.0 (Sept.11) Originally posted by Juu: The Soviets won the war. We happened to be nearby.

26-06-2002, 16:45	#2
Sheilbh Uncle Monty Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Bristol, EU Posts: 278	Gearsticks of Socialism ---------------------------- Water towers that are shaped like a gearstick, dotted throughout the Czech Republic (I'd guess also Slovakia). You pass an awful lot on any busy road. Nick-named the gearsticks of socialism and now in a very ironic move the government of the Czech Republic rents the space on them to companies for advertising. So we now have the gearsticks of socialism brought to you by MacDonalds. __________________ "I had rather have a plain russet-coated captain that knows what he fights for, and loves what he knows, than that which you call a gentleman and is nothing else." A Letter from Cromwell to Sir William Spring. Sept. 1643

04-07-2002, 01:45	#3
Zoltan First Lieutenant Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Királyi Magyarország-Gömör vármegye- Hungary Posts: 217	Agents: There were the goverments secret agent everywhere.They had civil life,but they made reports about the peoples behavior.You said something wrong,the agent heard it(you did not know he was an agent)and you were taken to prison.But if the party was "generous" you were allowed to continue your old life,but you had to make reports on your friends.Something wrong means:i believe in Jesus,i hope the English football team will win against the USSR,king xy was a good monarch,etc. And unfortunately theese agents live among as today too.well,they do not make reports(but who knows,especially in countries with "socialist" goverment like Hungary),they have political roles,too!!!Even the Hungarian prime minister was an agent.(D-209) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports: A brief story: Hungary vs USSR football: Puskás,one of the best Hungarian strikers ever(may i say the best?) could hav scored a goal against the reds,he went with the ball towards the goal,and final stopped at the goal line.He beat the keeper,the defenders,he could have easily scored it,but he stopped.Why?Because we weren't to win against the "great brothers". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Imre Nagy: He was Hungary's prime minister in 1956.In 1956 he stated that Hungary left the Varsaw Pact,and became inependent.He asked the Soviet forces to leave.The revolution was crushed by Kádár and the invading Soviet troops,and the terror began.Even Nagy was executed,the prime minister. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Péter Manszfeld: He was executed after 1956 because of his role in the revolution.But he was under 18 in '56,so he was prisoned,and when became 18 was executed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nice things,aren't?? And the first of all is that theese people are still in power(D-209,and his goverment,they are allying with the Hungarian communist party(workers party,but they aere completely communist:i have read an article about them in one of the left-wing daily newspapers-except one all of them are left -they have Kádár pictures on the walls,they are antisemitic,they are the heirs of the Party-even the Socialist party is their heir,with a lots of Party members)) So i am not sure this is only the past.Maybe the present,too. __________________ Hiszek egy Istenben, hiszek egy hazában, Hiszek egy isteni örök igazságban, Hiszek Magyarország feltámadásában! - Ámen!

07-07-2002, 20:44	#4
Lindil Recruit Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wroclaw vel Breslau Posts: 5	In Poland situation is similar to the one described by Dugan, but: “Lustracja”[Vetting]: Way to make impossible for heirs of PZPR [Polish United Labor Party] participation in government, by checking if they have ever cooperated with SB* [Kind of counter intelligence]. At the time being carried out by SLD [Democratic Left Alliance – heir of PZPR]. *At start it was assumed, that everybody who was higher in PZPR’s ranks actually cooperated with it. [And this is quite close to truth.] Of course it’s present situation. You need to know, that as life behind Iron Curtain had his weird aspects, current one has its own. So this thread can as well exceed 45-89 era, and become “Behind the Iron Curtain and during transformation period – vocabulary”