Keyword – image of Lake Balaton

Trádler, Henrietta:

Bikini and Bar Behind the Iron Curtain

From the 1960s onwards, the Lake Balaton was an important tourist destination during the Kadar-regime. In order to enhance political stability, the state-socialist regime paid particular attention to improving the quality of everyday life. An important scene of the construction of “gulasch communism” was “the Hungarian Sea,” an attraction in the eyes of foreign tourists. During the period of political detente, the number of western tourists increased immensely. Balaton was the scene of reconciliation, and the articles published in the western press created the impression that there was a livable and pleasurable life behind the Iron Curtain.

Keywords: English press, image of Lake Balaton, Kadar-regime, propaganda, representation