Records of the Central Endorsement Committee No.1-2 of Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County, 1945-1947

Following the end of World War II, the Hungarian state established Endorsement Committees to screen the state employees who had served under the Horthy era (1920-1945), with special emphasis on their political behaviour during the war. Only those whom the committees declared politically reliable were allowed to keep their jobs. Regulated by Prime Minister’s Decree no. 1080/1945, the committees comprised of five members delegated by the parties of the Hungarian National Independence Front, as well as a lawyer and a representative of the workplace of the individual under the endorsement procedure. No restrictions on access The collection holds the survived records of the Endorsement Committees established after the end of World War II in Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County. Endorsement procedures were initiated against employees of municipal and state administration, military and law enforcement officers and intellectuals, including lawyers, teachers, physicians and pharmacists. The material provides specific insight into various aspects of the political, social and economic life in Pest-Pilis-Solt –Kiskun County. It contains plenty of information on antisemitic policies and incidents, the implementation of Jewish laws and decrees and the Holocaust, the behaviour and activities of local perpetrators and bystanders, including civil servants, officers, party activists and local citizens from all walks of life. Furthermore, the collection also reveals some cases of rescue and mitigation attempts.