PAINTING THE TOWN RED

The intensely political cultural production that erupted during Hungarys shortlived Soviet Republic of 1919 encompassed music art literature film and theatre Painting the Town Red is the littleknown history of these developments The book opens with an overview of the political context in Hungary after the First World War and how the Soviet Republic emerged in the chaotic months which followed the collapse of the AustroHungarian Dual Monarchy It looks at the subsequent roles during the Soviet Republic of artists filmmakers actors musicians and writers and the attitude of the newly established Peoples Commissariat for Education and Culture in which the future internationally renowned Marxist Gyorgy Lukacs played a leading roleAt its centre are the questions why did so many prominent people in the arts world participate in the Soviet Republic and why did their initial enthusiasm later subside Painting the Town Red is an important contribution to the lively debate about the interaction between art and politics