Plastic Materials in Postwar Czechoslovakia: A Testimony to Man’s Inventiveness and Consumerism

Plastic materials and products were a truly remarkable phenomenon in the postwar period, influencing not only material reality but, through their symbolic validity, also the value settings of society. The production of plastic materials was a cornerstone of the postwar chemicalisation of industry, and their widespread adoption due to their multiple advantageous properties, led not least to the rapid development of scientific research on polymers. The Czechoslovak Communist regime also sought to exploit the advantages and popularity of plastics ideologically, and positioned them as a symbol supporting the legitimacy of the political course of the time.