Social Histories of Money in Socialism: The GDR, Hungary, and the USSR

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

Money has recently attracted considerable attention from social historians of communism. In his 2007 study, Jonathan Zatlin argued that East German authorities’ ideological ‘antipathy toward money’ created a growing disconnect between ideology and practice, ultimately contributing to the collapse of communism. In contrast, Kristy Ironside’s 2021 study contended that postwar Soviet authorities saw the ruble as a crucial tool for incentivizing workers, fostering economic growth, and delivering prosperity to the masses. Engaging with these opposing perspectives, this panel examines social practices related to money across various socialist countries to better understand its role under socialism. Rather than treating money as a mere exchange medium devoid of social function, we explore it as a tool of social relations through three case studies. Gunnar Take examines the ways in which the postwar East German regime modified rather than revolutionized the inherited monetary and banking system. Szinan Radi explores how the postwar Hungarian communist authorities used various fiscal instruments to shape citizens’ memories, experiences, and expectations of monetary value to create a stable currency and an environment conducive to Stalinist industrialization. Finally, Anna Ivanova analyses how Soviet planners conceptualized the ‘minimum wage’ and ‘subsistence’ from the 1950s to the 1980s, balancing ideological commitments with welfare development.

Sub Unit

• History: 1945-1990

Chair

• Friedrich Asschenfeldt, Princeton U

Papers

• Money, Banks, and Tradition in East Germany until 1961 - Gunnar Kristian Take, U of Stuttgart (Germany)

• The Temporality of Money in Socialist Hungary, 1950s - Szinan Radi, U of Exeter (UK)

• 'Subsistence Rate' as a Soviet Analytical Category: Between Ideological Commitments and Economic Realities (1960–1980s) - Anna Ivanova, Humboldt U Berlin (Germany)

Discussant

• Kristy Ironside, McGill U (Canada)