Ministry of Finance Presidential Classified Records, 1871-1944

Collection

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

Title (official language):: Pénzügyminisztérium Elnöki rezervált iratok, 1871-1944

Scope and content:: The collection contains fragments of the Presidential Classified files of the Ministry of Finance, which includes papers of confidential nature, such as the property issues of certain individuals and documents proving “racial” origin (származási igazolások) demanded by the Jewish laws (Fascicles 35-37).

Archival history:: The records were obtained by the Hungarian National Archives in the early 1950s.

Administrative/biographical history:: The Ministry of Finances played a crucial role in the state-directed and state-controlled campaign systematically to seize the assets of Hungarian Jews between 1938 and 1944. During this period the Ministry was headed by Lajos Reményi-Schneller (1892-1946), who was appointed Minister in March 1938 and kept his post (uniquely in Hungarian political life) in all successive governments until the end of the war, including that of Darányi, Imrédy, Teleki (his second term), Bárdossy, Kállay, Sztójay, Lakatos and Szálasi. Reményi-Schneller even held the position of economic superminister (gazdasági csúcsminiszter) in the governments of Teleki, Bárdossy and Kállay. His policies were strongly in favour of Nazi Germany during the war years. In 1946, he was sentenced to death and executed as war criminal.

Subject terms:: Antisemitism; Antisemitism--Antisemitic legislation; Real estate

System of arrangement:: The material is organised by year and by file number.

Finding aids:: Contemporaneous finding aids are available for the collection.