COURAGE

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An open letter written in January 1965 by Knuts Skujenieks from the prison camp was addressed to his writer colleagues. He asked them not to keep silent about his fate, because ‘culture does not exist without its carriers, and it is important to fight for them, and not to contribute to their moral and physical annihilation.' The letter is a statement of Skujenieks' civic position, a protest against inertia and the fear in Latvian society. It was perhaps too bold for the political climate of Latvia, because it presented evidence that in prison Skujenieks became spiritually more liberated than his colleagues who enjoyed physical freedom, although it has to be admitted that the spirit of resistance of the younger generation of writers in Latvia in the 1960s was stronger than in the 1970s. Official discussions by the Writers' Union in 1965 and 1968 of the poetry he wrote in Mordovia testify to this.

“Interrogation” is one of the most renowed films directed in Poland after World War II. It is a bold, politically engaged settlement with the Stalinist period in contemporary Polish history. The story is about a young actress (character played by Krystyna Janda) who is arrested by the Security Service and held captive in prison in order to force her to testify about her colleagues. “Interrogation” shows the methods used by Stalinist repression apparatus in order to break ordinary citizens, as well as prisoners’ efforts to preserve dignity and humanity.

The pre-release committee took place in April 1982, in the midst of Martial Law in Poland. As one can see from the committee’s meeting protocols, film critics and representatives of authorities deplored Bugajski’s oeuvre as hateful, false, antisocialist propaganda without any value. By the central decision, the copy of “Interrogation” was sealed and put on the archive’s shelf (this way “Interrogation” became one of the most famous “półkowniki” – the films laying on shelves, without possibility to be shown publicly). Bugajski managed to preserve one copy of his film, which was later screened privately within opposition circles of the "second circuit" (“drugi obieg”).  The official premiere of “Interrogation” took place on 13^th December 1981 – eight years after introduction of the Martial Law and eight years after the film had been produced. The film was Bugajski’s debut – repressions put on him by authorities, forced him to emigrate from Poland in 1985.

Bár a szerkesztőség még több számra való anyagot készített közlésre elő, a ’régi’ Mozgó Világ utolsó – kinyomtatása után betiltott, bezúzott – lapszáma az 1983 decemberi volt.

Valójában búcsúzó gesztus s egyben mementó volt ez, melyet a szerkesztők szinte teljes egészében Bibó István kiadatlan kéziratos tanulmányának s a róla rendezett történész vitának szenteltek.

A szám elején Illyés Gyula és Egyed Péter versei állnak, mintegy mottóként. (Az 1983 áprilisában elhunyt Illyés volt egyik versével a Mozgó Világ címadója – így kettős tisztelgés volt emléke előtt, hogy a búcsúszám élén két versét közölték.)

Ezután Bibó István nagyívű tanulmánya: Az európai társadalom fejlődése teszi ki a lapszám túlnyomó részét. Az erősen antimarxista eszmetörténeti művet Bibó 1971-72-ben mondta hangszalagra, majd leírt szöveget halála után fia, ifj. Bibó István javította és rendezte sajtó alá.

After a few months break, when the journal was coming close to its end, the restart of “World in Move” with its double issue of March–April 1981 seemed to be not just a positive sign of survival, but a real promise of a rebirth. The newly designated chief editor, Ferenc Kulin, together with his very much tried and tested editorial team, managed to get rid of direct censorship from the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and was offered another chance by the main cultural commissar, György Aczél himself, “to prove their talents.” No doubt they tried to do their best on the 224 pages of the book-sized double issue.

On the first two pages there was an editorial addressed to readers briefly summing up the recent changes in and around the paper, and drafting further plans for the future. As it was stated, a long decade passed since the start of “World in Move,” and after a prolonged period as a “youth paper,” it was high time to become a forum for adults with full responsibilities. It is true that in two short paragraphs one can be read the obligatory ideological “loyalty statement” of all legally published papers (“engagement with socialism, dialectical and historical materialism,” etc.), but more important is the list of radical claims for free public debates in all fields of life: in politics, culture, arts, literature, science, education, and so on.