Toy soldiers from the age of Kádár

Play and power

Can be visited: June 22 – September 17, 2023.

On the one hand, this exhibition gives an overview of the "world" history of a toy type, the plastic soldier, over a few decades, but on the other hand it also offers a specific and large-scale overview of contemporary history that visitors would hardly think of when they hold a 5-6 cm figure in their hands.
Firstly, this toy was a socialisation tool for the path towards traditional men’s roles in the 20th century, and the advent of the mass production of cheap plastics made experiences, that had previously been available to a fortunate few, more universal.
Secondly, the world of toys and of imagination of adults in this period changed much less rapidly than today, was more strongly tied to the past and much less divergent from that of children, i.e., the mass culture was much more unified than today: adults and children cheered for the same heroes in the cinema or in front of the television for almost a century.
Thirdly, because of Hungary's particular position in the political world system of the time, these toys were a clear sign that the people believed that our country belonged to the western half of Europe, regardless of what great power interests and violence dictated.