Hungary and Czechoslovakia at the 1958 World’s Fair: National Identity and Politics

This article examines the message given by Hungary, and Czechoslovakia at the 1958 Brussels world’s fair during the Cold War. These two countries faced similar circumstances at the time, with both operating under a socialist form of government as part of the Eastern Bloc. They faced the challenge of showing their cultural and national ability as socialist nations, attempting to dispel their reputation as having not developed with modernity. Hungary and Czechoslovakia both participated with exhibits at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair; the direction that these exhibits took was different despite national similarities. While designing the Hungarian exhibition, there were criticisms that the exhibition was not socialist enough. The final exhibition focused on Hungary’s modernity, future, and authenticity. Czechoslovakia’s exhibition similarly focused on modernity but with a populist theme portraying the lives of Czechoslovaks. World’s fairs act as a stage for nations to display their national identity and culture to visitors from all around the world; in 1958, Hungary and Czechoslovakia were able to show new aspects of their national identity at the world’s fair.