Records of the Subprefect of Heves County, 1867-1950

  • Heves vármegye alispánjának iratai, 1867-1950
Identifier
IV. 404
Language of Description
English
Dates
1867 - 1950
Level of Description
Fonds
Languages
  • Hungarian
Scripts
  • Latin
Source
EHRI

Extent and Medium

146,19 linear metres, paper

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Subprefect (alispán) was the chief of the administration of Hungarian counties between 1870 and 1950. Elected by the municipal committees for a term of 6 years, subprefects were granted independent general administrative rights by Act 42 of 1870. The administrative power and authority of subprefects were modified by Act 21 of 1886, Act 30 of 1929, and Act 22 of 1942. The term of subprefects was extended to ten years in 1929 and they were appointed by the Minister of the Interior from 1942. The main task of the subprefect was the implementation of the decisions of the Municipal Committee and the Small Assembly (kisgyűlés), as well as of governmental decrees. He was the superior of all offices and administrative bodies in the county, except special offices appointed directly by ministries. The administrative scope of authority of first instance of the subprefect included the matters of social associations, regulating the press, and the office issuing passports. Besides, the subprefect was entitled to overrule the decisions of the chief constables (administrative heads of county districts) and the village clerks.

Archival History

The collection was taken to the Heves County State Archives in 1950. Due to several instances of archival sorting and war damage, a part of the collection has been lost. The records of the Subprefect of Heves County, 1945-1950 (XXI - 4) has recently been incorporated into this fond.

Scope and Content

The fond of the records of the Subprefect is one of the key collections pertaining to the history of the Jewish communities and the Holocaust in Heves County. The most relevant parts are the following: IV. 404.a. Administrative records, 1876-1944 The material from the years 1938-1943 (boxes 492-748), include records concerning the implementation of the anti-Jewish laws and instances of bureaucratic and illegal antisemitic measures, including the withdrawal of trade licences and permits, quitting rental agreements of Jews, exclusion of Jews from the municipal committees and social organizations, registration and expropriation of Jewish landholdings; administrative procedures against Jewish communities; Jewish responses, including requests for exemption from anti-Jewish laws, cases of magyarization of names, citizenship and naturalization cases, petitions for birth certificates and other family documents, request for passports, activities of Zionist organizations; activities of the national socialists and other extreme right-wing movements, hate speech and propaganda, military labour service The Holocaust-related part of the collection (boxes 749-775) includes the implementation of anti-Jewish decrees, internment of Jewish individuals, ghettoization, transit camps, labour service, expropriation of Jewish assets, cases of escape, rescue and mitigation, exemption cases, antisemitic propaganda (posters, fliers), as well as reports and denunciations against Jews. Post-Holocaust records include petitions of returning survivors for social aid and restitution, the re-establishment of Jewish organizations, participation of Jews in the social and economic life, including the restart of enterprises and reports about abandoned property. IV. 404.c. Records of Petty Offences, 1884-1944 This part of the collection includes cases of Jewish tradesmen, merchants, shop- and innkeepers and other individuals as well as industrial and commercial companies who violated (or were falsely accused of violating) economic laws. Jewish-related cases can be localized by the registries and indexes.

Appraisal

No data available

Accruals

No accruals expected

System of Arrangement

The records of the Subprefect’s Office of Heves County are arranged into 4 provenance subgroups (állag) by departments or special functions, numbered from 404. a. to 404. d., out of which the most relevant are the following subgroups: a (administrative records), b (records handled separately), c (records of petty offences), d (public welfare). Within these groups, the folders are arranged by basic numbers (alapszámok), and the number of files are re-started each year. Each file registered by the office was given an individual number, and later the files pertaining to the same case were collected in folders, the number of which was identical with the number of the latest file within the folder.

Conditions Governing Access

Letter of support from an academic institution is required Hungarian data protection laws apply

Conditions Governing Reproduction

Letter of support from an academic institution is required Hungarian data protection laws apply

Finding Aids

Existence and Location of Originals

  • Originals are stored in the National Archives of Hungary Heves County Archives main building in Eger

Existence and Location of Copies

  • A broad selection of the Holocaust-related records from 1944 is available at the Hungarian National Archives in the special collection prepared on behalf of the National Office of Hungarian Israelites (MIOI) in the 1960s, known as ‘Series I’. Series I is held by the Óbuda section of the National Archives of Hungary. Copies are available in the YVA and the USHMMA.

Archivist Note

The collection was described by László Csősz and Gábor Kádár

Sources

  • Nemes, Lajos-P. Kovács, Melinda-Bán, Péter. Heves vármegye iratai 1304-1944(-1963). Eger, 2000.

Rules and Conventions

EHRI Guidelines for Description v.1.0