Workforce for the system: Vocational schools and the educational system in Berehove during the Soviet era (1945–1991)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the vocational school system in the city of Berehove, including its reorganization and/or establishment in 1945–46, as well as any changes in its focus following the arrival and consolidation of Soviet power in Transcarpathia. The research traces the “birth” process and activities of vocational educational institutions from the first year of the period following the region’s annexation to the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1991. The research methodology is based on a combination of general scientific and specialized historical methods. Given the lack of prior research on the topic and the formulated objectives, a search for primary sources was conducted, which involved the use not only of contemporary documents but also of sources and data available in both paper and digital formats from the current successor institutions, as well as news reports published in contemporary press publications. Results and summary. During the Soviet era, the regime operated three vocational schools in Berehove (for healthcare, the garment industry, and agriculture and mechanization), as well as an art school and a sports school. Prior to 1944, only one industrial apprenticeship school had operated in the city; the establishment of the others was a consequence of the region’s Soviet-style industrialization and the mechanization of agriculture. Of these, only the vocational school for the clothing industry had adequate infrastructure, as it was housed in the building of the industrial apprenticeship school – built in the 1930s and considered modern at the time. A common feature was the frequent turnover of the institutions’ administrators, which was particularly pronounced at the vocational school for healthcare. Two institutions – the Children’s Music School and the Children’s and Youth Sports School – boasted graduates who became famous both nationally and internationally, which seems almost unbelievable for a small town the size of Berehove, yet it happened. It is also worth noting that among the former graduates of the vocational school of healthcare, there were also those who went on to become renowned specialists and nationally renowned professionals.