English
Magyar
István Papp
Where Two Worlds Meet
Displaced People from Budapest in Csorvás (Part II)
My original aim was to ensure that Csorvás is not viewed merely as a destination or final stop to which people from Budapest were relocated, nor simply as a remote village somewhere in the eastern part of Hungary. Rather, I wanted to introduce a community where, in the summer of 1951, strangers arrived and such human relationships were formed that would have been impossible both before and after that time. It is this story — the encounter of two worlds — that I wanted to tell. Although much has been said about the conflicts, difficulties, and lsuffereing, for me the emphasis is still on life, on the way these two years were experienced. Those who were part of this period obviously remembered and continue to remember it in many different ways: the police, the local council members, the hosts, those arriving from Budapest, the employers and the workers, old and young, women and men alike. Whenever people are brought together, it never happens without consequences, especially when it happens under such extraordinary circumstances.
Kristóf Gyebnár
Incitement Against the Democratic State Order?
The anatomy of the proceeding initiated against the editors of the Egri Barázda, 1946
In the spring of 1946, the authorities in Heves County carried out several arrests on suspicion of involvement in conspiracies allegedly aimed at overthrowing the democratic state order. The case that attracted the greatest public attention was the incident in Gyöngyös involving the Franciscan friar Szaléz P. Kiss. In their public communication, local representatives of the Hungarian Communist Party sought to connect the alleged conspiratorial activities uncovered across the county to this particular case, thereby constructing a narrative of a coordinated series of conspiracies extending across the entire county. The proceedings initiated against the editors of Egri Barázda, the newspaper of the Independent Smallholders’ Party, formed part of this campaign. Drawing on the available sources, this study seeks to reconstruct the details of the proceedings against the editors of Egri Barázda and examine their political motivations. It also explores the local and national conflicts generated by the case as well as the consequences of these conflicts on political life at both local and national levels.
Krisztián Ungváry
Counterintelligence Against a Foreign Mission
Contributions to the History of the U. S. Embassy in Budapest between 1945 and 1950
The case study presents the early counterintelligence operations directed against the US Embassy in Budapest. In addition, it examines four trials in which Hungarian citizens received severe sentences. These four cases also demonstrate, on a smaller scale, the absurdities that characterized counterintelligence work during the period. They provide vivid evidence of the all-encompassing counterintelligence mentality that typified the state socialist era. At the same time, the study shed light on the extent to which US diplomats were “engaged in espionage”. The quotation marks are justified because, in a significant number of cases, the so-called espionage activity in fact consisted merely of information gathering that would not have encountered any obstacle in a state governed by the rule of law. Nevertheless, some US diplomats were entirely unconcerned with the boundary between legitimate information gathering and espionage. Their conduct was strikingly irresponsible, and in this way they also contributed to the deaths of others. The available evidence suggests that most of these diplomats were poorly trained and had little understanding of intelligence or counterintelligence work.
Balázs Orbán-Schwarzkopf
Watch Smuggling in the 1960s – with State Security Assistance
In my research, I measure the drugs smuggled by the state in tons, cigarettes in railway wagons, and weapons in shiploads. More recently, I have also measured smuggled milk powder in railway wagons, but I have not yet found a suitable unit of measurement for alcohol smuggling. This article, however, focuses primarily on the smuggling of fashionable Swiss watches in the 1960s, which was also closely connected to the smuggling of jewellery, works of art, and gold. In many cases, the Hungarian government did not even have the initial capital necessary for smuggling operations and therefore relied on innovative methods to generate funds. The payments of private individuals who transferred money to their relatives in Hungary were collected and were used by the money-handling mafia to purchase watches, which were smuggled from Switzerland to the Vienna dealership. The watches were then smuggled across the Hungarian border, often with the assistance of Western diplomats, to the Hungarian state security services. The proceeds of these operations were used to purchase works of art in Hungary, which were then smuggled to Western Europe by the Hungarian state. The value of the goods smuggled to the West was used to purchase gold in Italy and Lebanon, which was likewise smuggled into Hungary for the state, and which was then partly used to finance secret operations.
Adrienn Joó
A Female Statistician's Career Path: from the Budapest University of Technology through the Hungarian Central Statistical Office to the UN
Overview of Júlia Zala's career
The study presents the life and career of Júlia Zala, a Hungarian statistician. Through a brief biographical overview, the reader gains insight into the ways in which her life was shaped during the Second World War and what role she played during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The article also explores aspects of the relationship between Júlia Zala and the Hungarian state security apparatus. In addition, emphasis is placed on her career within the United Nations system, including her appointment in Geneva, her advancement to senior positions as a woman, and the opportunities available to an official from Eastern Europe.
Dávid Derda
Data – Protection
Operational Counterintelligence by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (1951–1962)
The study examines the earliest source-documented relationship between the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) and the state security organs. The surviving archival sources document the establishment of an informant network within the Office as early as 1951. The study analyses the organisational framework of counter‑intelligence, as well as the roles of network agents and official contacts within the institution. It also examines the tensions between the leadership of the KSH and the Ministry of the Interior. The destruction of state security records during and after the 1956 Revolution has significantly complicated the research; consequently, the study necessarily relies on information derived from documents produced at a later date.