LAUSR

This study deals with the history of the Hungarian cottage industry co-operatives with applied folk art profile after World War II. Since publications in this topic concerning Hungary are scarce, this framework is dedicated to the circumstances under which these co-operatives which employed a high number of people and operated quite successfully up to the beginning of the eighties, came into existence, their operations and the scope of objects produced by them, which are identified as applied folk art today. Having the economic, political and cultural environment of the Rákosi- (1949–1956) and Kádár-era (1956–1989) in mind, just as well, as the current approach of creators and ethnographers to the activity of the co-operatives.