Children Without Love - Czechoslovakia 1963

Year Published: 1963

Description: 16mm Film - Children Without Love - Czechoslovakia 1963 Direction: Kurt Goldberger Script: Kurt Goldberger, Marie Damborská, Zdeněk Matějček Camera: Svatopluk Malý Music: Miloš Vacek In the early 1950s, a quarter of all infants in Czechoslovakia were placed in crèches. The disadvantages of this collective care due to the lack of mental and emotional experience for the children were experienced first-hand by parents and caregivers. Despite the uncertain acceptance of the population, the state wanted to further expand the crèches, and to promote this, a film with a scientific slant was commissioned in the early 1960s. The Czechoslovak government hoped for a positive portrayal and it was intended to emphasize the advantage of crèches over the family, as the policy at the time was for women to work and children to be placed in institutions during the day. Director Kurt Goldberger consulted psychologists Dr. Marie Damborská and Zdeněk Matějček, who had already conducted a series of studies on the consequences of collective placement of young children and were well-known in professional circles. In 1963, the film 'Děti bez lásky' (Children without love) was made. However, contrary to the clients' expectations, it showed the negative consequences of collective care in kindergartens and day nurseries at the time. Damborská and Matějček's conclusions were clear from the very first sentence of the film: 'What a small child needs most is an intensive and lasting emotional bond with its mother. If this contact is interrupted and the child is not given a substitute person with whom it can establish a similar relationship, psychological damage will result.' The socialist clients were outraged and reacted with a smear campaign against the authors. The film itself was banned and the copies placed under lock and key. An illegally produced copy of the film was able to be taken out of the country and was shown at the 1963 Venice Film Festival. It received three awards and also became known in the West and among the wider public. In the German version, the film was shortened by half to 22 minutes.

Online Copy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6yTb4RcR7U

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