Records of the Hungarian Consulate in Graz, 1929-1943

Collection description

Holding institution (official language):: Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Országos Levéltára

Scope and content:: Records of the Hungarian Consulate in Graz, the capital of the federal Austrian state of Styria, contain considerable material concerning Hungarian Jews, especially from the months following the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938. The bulk of the material documents the efforts of Hungarian authorities to secure the assets of the Hungarian Jews living in Nazi-occupied Austria. These records include various registries and reports concerning the property of the Hungarian Jews in Styria, documents on German-Hungarian negotiations on the wealth of Hungarian Jews and other anti-Jewish measures, reports on arrests, internment and other atrocities against Hungarian citizens and the confiscation of their assets, including the case of the Zsolnay family. The collection also records the attempts of Hungarian Jews to save their property and the expulsion of Hungarian Jews from Styria. Furthermore, there are decrees and permits pertaining to emigration, expatriation and passport cases as well as to Hungarian citizens liable for military service.

Archival history:: The fragments of the surviving records of the Hungarian embassies and other diplomatic corps were handed over to the Hungarian National Archives in 1950. The material was rearranged at the end of the 1950s as well as in the 1960s and 1970s. The first finding aids were published in 1959 and 1964, followed by a revised second edition in 2003.

Administrative/biographical history:: The Hungarian Honorary Consulate in Graz was established in 1928. It was converted to a regular consulate in 1940, which operated until the collapse of the Nazi government in 1945.

System of arrangement:: The papers issued by the Consulate were originally organised partly by thematic units and partly in chronological order. As most of the registry books have been destroyed, the material was rearranged into thematic units (tárgyi tételek). Within these groups, the items are organised chronologically.

Finding aids:: Ferenc Nagy, ed. Külügyminisztérium levéltára. Vols 2. Budapest: MOL, 2003.