Records of Prime Minister Pál Teleki, 1939-1941

Collection

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

Scope and content:: The collection contains fragments of the semi-official correspondence of Pál Teleki as an important public figure and Prime Minister with political parties, economic, scholarly and social organisations as well as with individuals. A substantial part of his correspondence concerns various social organisations, including the Hungarian Boy Scouts, of which he was president, several Transylvanian Hungarian political formations and organisations, and the Party of Hungarian Life. The collection also holds Teleki’s office diaries (előjegyzési napló) from 1939-1941 and his correspondence with key dramatis personae of the period, including Regent Miklós Horthy, the race protectionist and later prominent anti-Nazi politician Endre Bajcsy-Zsilinszky, extreme right-wing politician and paramilitary leader Iván Héjjas, and Minister of Religion and Education Bálint Hóman. Furthermore, the collection contains considerable information about Teleki’s scholarly activities and various proposals and pro memoriae concerning the agrarian question and land reforms. The letters are in alphabetical order by name of sender and according to the subject list created by the Prime Minister's Office.

Archival history:: A substantial part of the records were lost during the Second World War. The remaining parts were acquired by the Hungarian National Archives in 1948. The material was rearranged several times.

Administrative/biographical history:: Count Pál Teleki (1879-1941) was a Hungarian geographer and politician. As prime minister from 1920 to 1921 and again from February 1939 to April 1941 he played a prominent role in the creation of the so-called numerus clausus act (Act XXV of 1920), as well as the Second and Third “Jewish Laws” (Act IV of 1939 and Act XV of 1941). Having failed to halt Hungary’s involvement in the Axis attack on Yugoslavia, he committed suicide on 3 April 1941.

Finding aids:: No finding aids exist. The material requires item-level research.