Aladár Szegedy-Maszák papers
Extent and Medium
boxes
oversize box
20
1
Creator(s)
- Aladár Szegedy-Maszák
Biographical History
Aladár Szegedy-Maszák was born on November 19, 1903, in Budapest, Hungary. He studied history and politics at the University of Economy in Budapest and graduated from the Ecole des Sciences Politiques in Paris. He also studied at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Aladár Szegedy-Maszák joined the Hungarian Foreign Ministry in 1928. In 1932, he was assigned to the Hungarian Legation in Berlin, Germany, where he served until 1937. Following that he worked at, and in 1943 became the head of, the Ministry's Political Division. After the German invasion in March 1944, he was dismissed because of this pro-Allies views and activities; subsequently he was arrested by the Gestapo, and deported to Dachau, where he was liberated in May 1945. His registration number was 125,739. He returned to Hungary, and in October 1945, he was appointed Ambassador to the United States. In December 1945, Aladár Szegedy-Maszák married Hanna Kornfeld, daughter of financier Baron Móric Kornfeld, published in Budapest, Hungary, in 1996
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
Aladár Szegedy-Maszák’s daughter, Ms. Marianne Szegedy-Maszák of Arlington, Virginia donated the collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives in January 2006. Accretions to the collection were received on December 7, 2006, and on January 24, 2007.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of the personal papers of Aladár Szegedy-Maszák, a high ranking Hungarian diplomat and foreign ministry official during the Holocaust era. Includes correspondence and memoirs relevant to the Second World War and its immediate aftermath, with special emphasis on Hungary’s role, its efforts to leave the war and to avoid Soviet occupation. The collection also contains biographical information on Aladár, family correspondence, subject files, copies of his Voice of America commentaries, and phonographs.
System of Arrangement
Organized into five series: 1: Memoirs, journals, 1929-1996; 2. Correspondence, 1945-1987. 3: Subject and correspondence files created by Aladár Szegedy-Maszák, 1937-1986. 4: Voice of America commentaries written by Aladár Szegedy-Maszák, 1948-1960. 5: Voice of America programs, 1956-1957, phonograph records. The second series is divided into two sub-series: 1: Professional correspondence, 1945-1987. 2: Family correspondence, 1946-1987. The 1945-1953 years of the professional correspondence were arranged by Aladár Szegedy-Maszák in loose chronological and alphabetical order. The rest of the professional and family correspondence arrived in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives with no detectable arrangement, and was organized by the Archives by year and thereunder by document date
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Marianne Szegedy-Maszak
People
- Szegedy-Maszák, Aladár, 1903-1988.
Corporate Bodies
- Voice of America (Organization)
Subjects
- Jews--Hungary.
- Hungary--History--20th century.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Washington (D.C.)
- World War, 1939-1945.
Genre
- Document
- Correspondence.
- Personal narratives.