Overview

Produced in the early 1960s, this documentary explores the consequences of large-scale state childcare in Czechoslovakia, where extensive crèche systems supported policies encouraging full female employment. Directed by Kurt Goldberger, the film draws on psychiatric research and observational footage of young children in institutional care, arguing that emotional and intellectual deprivation in early childhood had long-term effects. Initially controversial, the film circulated internationally and later came to be associated with policy changes extending paid maternity leave.