"The book fills a gap in the historiography of early state socialism by discussing Stalinism in Hungary in light of social problems – such as employment, housing, financially related difficulties or war-related problems leading to children’s placement in state care – rather than political repression of the Rákosi era. One of the major findings of the book is that the institutional system of child protection of early state socialism evolved as a result of spontaneous developments in existing institutional patterns, social norms and conventions inherited from earlier political periods, rather than a critical juncture induced by the new communist state."
Reviewed book:
