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For those of you who don't have family who escaped from Cold War era Eastern European communism, you should have the added context that this is actually a prett
by WoodenChair 4y ago
For those of you who don't have family who escaped from Cold War era Eastern European communism, you should have the added context that this is actually a pretty commonly shared experience—and even something of a trope. My mom and grandparents upon going to a Canadian supermarket for the first time after escaping from communist Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s couldn't believe it. They were used to stores that only sold a few products and eating oranges once a year at Christmas. Of course conditions varied within different eastern bloc countries and even at a local level, but the general thrust of the theme is recurrent.
- timeon 4y agoI grew up in 80s Czechoslovakia. I do not remember empty shelves like those in the article but other then that yes. Oranges on Christmas. Fewer things in general - shops were smaller. You had to stand in line for several days if you wanted to buy a car (Škoda). You had no idea what color it would be once it was your turn. Most groceries we had was homemade especially meat and vegetables. You could buy some stuff from west but from specific shop [0]. You had to have special currency for this that could be obtained on black market. People are now used to have anything on demand. But they are also used to shitty things like tasteless tomatoes (in case of supermarkets not only during winter). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuzex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuzex