Margita Múčková and her brother actively helped to spread the Gospel on the territory of Slovakia from 1970 onward. Múčková devoted herself to the transcription of samizdats and Christian literature and to their further dissemination. She co-organized secret meetings of young Christian couples and families, as well as spiritual exercises. The purpose of the activities of this secret church network was to raise children in a different spirit than that of the prevailing communist ideology. The collection contains, in particular, spiritual literature, photographs, and audio recordings of secret meetings.
The Communist regime attempted to influence children with its ideology, regardless of the opinions or will of their parents. For this reason, associations such as Scouting, Sokol, or any other activities in whcih young people could gather outside of the control of the regime were forbidden. The state symbolically adopted children after birth and “baptized” them with communist ideology. An important means of forming children occurred at school, where children became pioneers, promising, among other things, fidelity to the Communist Party and friendship with the Soviet Union. If someone refused, the state often refused them entry to higher education. Children who were not pioneers were labeled as those who did not want the best for their country, and they were often bullied by teachers and classmates. Being a pioneer meant the opportunity to participate in camps, sports activities, or artistic circles. Parents who did not agree with such education did not have many alternatives, and there was little possibility to enrol children for religious classes.
The Secret Christian Communities formed a network of cells that formed an alternative to state "education." Communities organized activities for children such as carnivals, children's camps, sports, and art activities. Parents who participated in these communities refused to give their children to state nurseries and, if possible, stayed with their children at home. Mrs. Múčková was one such parent, and she also copied and spread Christian literature and recordings.
Opis vsebine
The Collection of Margita Múčková contains samizdat publications of Christian literature that were copied and disseminated by young people in collaboration with the Salesian religious order, as well as spiritual literature smuggled from abroad, photos from meetings and community activities for children, audio recordings of books and lectures, and other notes. The contents of this collection are especially interesting because very few similar collections exist.
