I was born just after communism collapsed, but my parents told me many stories of their life under the regime, They never had proper shoes to wear, they were always second hand and too small. Because of that very often people had disformed feet.
My grandparents were farmers, in 1950's they were better off than people living in towns, but the government was taking 50% of their produce, so everyone was hungry all the time.
There was always a lot of vinegar and sugar, but toilet paper was a luxury! Villagers were bribed with that for meat and other foods.
My mother studied Russian language. She was granted a scholarship in Moscow. Because she has never been abroad before (and villagers were not mixed with any other nationalities) it was then when she saw a man of black race for the first time. She was over the moon!