An der Grenze des Erlaubten. Ungarische Kontakte der Aktion Sühnezeichen in den 1980er Jahren

Abstract

On the Border of Acceptability. Hungarian Contacts of the Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (Aktion Sühnezeichen) in the 1980s

Comparing the history of oppositional movements in the GDR and Hungary during the 1980s, their different social backgrounds are especially striking: While the Protestant Church in the GDR became in many cases a refuge for oppositional groups, these acted almost invariably outside of Church in Hungary. The history of the Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (Aktion Sühnezeichen, German Abbreviation: ASZ) is especially interesting in this regard, as its international contacts alone constantly explored the limits of what was allowed. It exploited the advantages of an informal as possible mode of operations and thus also formed a testing ground for internalizing the code of conduct in a grass-roots democratic setting. The 1980s brought internal polarization to the ASZ. Above all, relations to the independent peace movement proved to be crucial. While on the one hand the wish to secure state recognition grew within the leadership, a smaller group tried on the other hand to expand the agenda of the ASZ from resting solely within German history and to rebrand it as critical of the system. The political importance of the Hungarian contacts becomes especially apparent, if one views them in context of the ramified connections between oppositional circles in both countries.