First Hungarian General Insurance Company, 1911-1952

Collection

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

Title (official language):: Első Magyar Általános Biztosító Társaság, 1911-1952

Scope and content:: The collection holds the personnel records of the First Hungarian General Insurance Company, mostly from the years of World War II. Several files contain records pertaining to the implementation of anti-Jewish laws (Act XV of 1938 and Act IV of 1939), the dismissal of Jewish employees. Post-war files include claims of employees or their relatives for compensation and rehabilitation. The collection is an excellent source for the understanding of anti-Jewish policies and the Holocaust from the perspective of individuals: the files contain detailed information on the fate of the company employees, including hardships during the anti-Jewish laws, ghettoisation, deportation and military labour service. Jewish-related cases can be found in nearly all fascicles, and amount to about one hundred cases.

Archival history:: The only surviving part of the collection is the records of the personnel department. The material was taken to the Hungarian National Archives probably in the early 1950s.

Administrative/biographical history:: Founded in 1857, the First Hungarian General Insurance Company was one of the first insurance companies in Hungary. It specialised in fire, ice and transport insurance and from 1859 it was also involved in life, capital and income insurance. During WWII it merged with smaller insurance companies.

Subject terms:: Antisemitism; Antisemitism--Antisemitic legislation; Holocaust; Trade and commerce

System of arrangement:: The material is arranged alphabetically by the name of the claimants.

Finding aids:: A Hungarian-language collection-level description and an online database are available for the collection.