The Lost World of Communism

BBC

ABC DVD

R4 DVD

Traditionally the history of political empires have been told from the top down; we learn about the various theories which underlies the structures involved and biographies tend to focus on power brokers and people of significance. The Lost World of Communism, it focuses on the average person and their experience of everyday life under a political system very different from our own. The filmmakers have been very astute choosing three different communist regimes which each had their own interpretation of the socialist ideal. The regimes chosen are East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Romania during the period of the Cold War.

The series is presented in three episodes of approximately 51 minutes each, with an episode on each regime. While 1989 may have been the year in which communism fell and Central Europe the reverberations of these regimes continue to be felt and will continue to be felt for some time to come. The structure of each episode is a balance between historical narrative and a series of interviews. The interviews are well chosen bringing together both interviews with “average” people and significant individuals who played a role in the regimes. These divergent interviews allow us to gain a clear appreciation of both the history and nature of the political structure and the life of the average person living within it.

To help us gain insight into lives within these countries, many individuals have opened up their private lives offering precious photographs, films and recordings never seen before. The filmmakers, once again, work hard to avoid bias and interview a wide and diverse range of people including those who dislike the regimes they lived under, those who have misgivings but have some fond memories and those who still are staunch communists.

There are also, inevitably, the tales of the victims of the regimes including the woman who in her young teens drew a funny face on Stalin’s pictures and ended up in a work camp for teen years enduring years of abuse and rape. There are stories of escape, suppression of free speech, abuse and violence. The East German case of a young athlete given so many hormones that her sex changed is a terrible reminder of the effect of the dangers of the politicization of sport.

It is fascinating to see the differences between each regime. East German was a model Soviet satellite and when too many of its members started to be influenced by the West recruited 1 in 6 to work as spies shrivelling on their neighbours. Czechoslovakia tried to go its own way creating a new form of “communism with a human face” which led to an openness not seen in other communist states. This “Prague Spring” did not last long leading to Czechoslovakia being invaded by the U.S.S.R for leaving pure socialism behind. Romania was a different case altogether, a communist state which was more aligned to North Korea than to the U.S.S.R, it was run by a family empire which enforced their own strange values on a whole nation. It is also the only state in which the leader and his wife were executed when the people revolted against their suppressive control.

This is a revealing series, superbly constructed, filled with rare and unusual footage; offering insights into both the political and private side of the Communist experience.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No. 3 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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