TOY SOLDIERS FROM THE AGE OF KÁDÁR
2022.10.28. - 2023.03.15.
TEMPORARY EXHIBITION
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The new temporary exhibition of the BTM Castle Museum is another journey back in time, taking us back to the world of injection-molded plastic figurines of the 20th century.
After the Second World War, soldiers, Indians and cowboys appeared in children's households almost all over the world, reproducing the political and other environmental changes of the time. This temporary exhibition presents the world that coincided with the explosion of plastic toys after 1945 during the Cold War. From the 1960s onwards, Hungarian people watched French, English, Italian and American films and TV series. Under Kádár's "ban, tolerate, subsidise" system, small domestic entrepreneurs were barely restrained, thus had the opportunity to copy the American, West German, French and Italian toy characters . Throughout the 20th century, the powers of toys have increased, and had the means to shape society's outlook on the world. Toy soldiers became tools in the political and ideological propaganda . For instance, it was greatly exploited by the German Third Reich. Their influence even could expand over the German borders due to the fact that Germany was world-leading when it comes to the toy industry. By placing the toy figures in their context, the exhibition presents the different social, political and cultural conditions of the different periods. The exhibition also tells the story of what and how toy figures were around the world and in Hungary. How reality entered the world of toy tanks and soldiers. The exhibition is aimed at those who are nostalgic for their childhood, as these toys defined their childhood and even their children have inherited them, but it is also for those who did not live through this period but would like a lighter presentation of social history. In short, for anyone who would like to experience the Western atmosphere for a while or visit the 20th century world of Western action heroes. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to get up close and personal with this universe through life-size 2D tanks, period films and various field tables. Curator of the exhibition: dr. János B. Szabó - historian, museologist Curatorial assistant: Álmos Molnár - collection manager, museologist |